While we all are grappling with the uncertainties of the current economic scenario in the country, there is a constant battle being planned with our financial challenges.
Due to COVID-19, various issues and concerns are adding up with each passing day. The entire world is slowly moving into a recession that is even deeper than the Great Depression.
Even the wealthiest countries are witnessing economic slowdown and inflation at a fast pace. Consumer demand is evaporating, with some of the businesses becoming temporarily shut down. Indeed, these are challenging times.
The pandemic financial stress
The pandemic has had a great effect on everybody’s lives. Many people are struggling to revive their financial conditions.
Also, many people borrow fast no credit check loans for unemployed to support their finances. We have to buckle up to face the impending storm heading towards us.
5 ways to tackle financial stress during difficult times
- Be Realistic
Need of the hour during such tough times is to be reasonable. Understand the grey financial areas and start working towards them. It is the right time to cut down on unnecessary expenses you are bearing while the nation is under lockdown.
Make a budget and note down any and every expense that you are making. Do it daily, in discipline, over the months. Once you have the list ready, analyze and calculate how much of your spending are not that necessary, which you would not need and hence can be cut down.
Unlike most people, keep reminding yourself of your budget post following it a few days so that you don’t get back to the old routine of overspending. Taking control and overcoming your spending habits is a proven method to tackle your financial problems.
Maintaining a budget helps as an essential tool as it keeps you aware of how much money to spend and exactly when.
Once you get into the habit of keeping a budget consistently and sticking to it, you will always find some extra penny every month.
Use this money judiciously, maybe put them into an emergency fund or use it to repay your debts.
- Taking Smaller Steps
Always start small. There is an old saying, “Take care of the smaller things, and bigger will take care of themselves.” This should be implemented in your lifestyle. Debt cannot be repaid in a single day.
Start repaying, even in smaller amounts, but start. Even if you have multiple quick loans on you that you are finding difficult to handle or prioritize to pay back, take help from some expert, and take a debt consolidation loan.
Even if you think consolidating your debt is not the right thing right now, check out other alternatives for help. Explore options that are available to ease the process.
The idea is to find the areas of concern and start walking or working towards mending them, even in smaller steps. Be patient but consistent with the financial practice you are following.
Set the financial goals; keep meeting them to keep up with the budget that has been prepared. Be honest with yourself! It sounds easy to stick with the planned budget, but often we fail to do so.
Even if the expense crosses your budget at times, but that in your planner, find ways to compensate for the following months, and make sure your budget doesn’t get compromised on an annualized basis.
- Have a Safety Net
We, at times, land up in a situation when we are loaded with debt(s), and we probably take more to repay or meet some emergency requirement. These are the signs of us getting into the vicious cycle of debt.
What is required then – Emergency fund? An emergency fund is nothing but spared some money from your regular earnings for such emergent situations. If you have an emergency fund, you may get out of the debt cycle.
People taking personal loans during emergencies and repaying them within time are seen as good money managers. That means they understand the responsibility of a borrower and plan and repay the debt in time.
Emergency situations never tell you before landing on you. Better be prepared in advance. Start small and create an emergency fund to rely upon, especially during difficult and dark financial situations. Having some extra money handy for help during such a crisis can be proved to be very beneficial.
When you are already under financial anxiety, and on top of it, you take a loan that you find difficult to repay, it also damages your credit score.
Start setting aside a particular amount (be it small) of money to prepare your safety net (emergency fund). Be strict with yourself to differentiate between essential and non-essential expenses and maintain the discipline of maintaining a safety net.
- Track your Progress
One of the most important steps is to track your progress. Keep a monthly record of your expenses and savings. Dividing the final goal into this habit will help accelerate your growth towards achieving financial independence.
You will often be surprised by the progress that you are making. Such achievements (however small) will encourage you to continue and strive further and make improvements.
Celebrate each milestone you achieve and keep planning out what are the next steps or things you may need to take up to become financially stable and secure.
The critical task is to remind yourself that you are doing all of this for yourself and your loved ones. Some of the common examples of financial goals you can start with are:
- Improving credit score,
- Create an emergency fund
- Cutting back on non-essential things
- Spend less money than the last month
- Save money for wedding/education/vacation
- Pay back credit card expenses (debts)
- Talk to Someone
Financial worries are a big reason for the stress and anxiety we go through, at times, can lead to depression too. Talking to your loved ones can be a solution. Even if you do not feel the need to talk about your finances, muster up the courage and talk to your partner.
Not discussing your financial worries will not only put you under more pressure disturbs your mental peace but can also dent your relationship you’re your partner.
Discussing your money matters doesn’t always mean that you seek financial help. It is also for the emotional support you need from your loved ones.
Often, we are immersed such deep into our problems that the possibility of a solution seems far-fetched. Talking to someone gives us a different perspective of our problem and often opens the doors to solutions.
To cater to your financial needs, you can borrow bad credit loans no fees no guarantor no broker. These loans will help you to survive difficult situations.
Conclusion
Everybody is going through a difficult phase, especially in such pandemic times. Financial security and stability are key ones that any of you would want to achieve.
And to achieve, there are a few simple ways discussed above which will help you achieve to come out of the financial stress. You need to put these into practice and make them into a habit to move towards a healthy financial lifestyle.
