Tips like these helped us pay off $127K in debt. You can read our story in Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After.
Into every person’s life a little rain must fall. For most of us, that rain isn’t always a welcome experience, especially when it’s a financial crisis. A car that suddenly dies on the side of the road, a washing machine that quits washing, a lost job, a broken arm, or even a more serious tragedy – it seems we can’t quite fully know the forecast of life’s big and little hiccups. However, there are principles that can guide every experience. Because the worst thing we can do in the midst of a financial challenge is make a rash or unthinking decision and land ourselves in even more trouble.
Take a Deep Breath
There is nothing like unexpected experiences to cause our hearts (and by extension our wallets) go into full on freak out mode. When trouble arrives, do yourself a favor and pause. Don’t make a rash decision or rush into a purchase. Don’t borrow more money. Try to wait at least 24 hours to make a decision. Unless you break an arm. Don’t wait to get it set. But in most scenarios, you can afford to wait for a short period of time before you make a decision. This brief period of time will allow some clarity on the situation allowing you to make a decision with your reason instead of your reactions.
Seek Out Wise Counsel
I am so thankful that there are people who are much smarter than I am. I’m also grateful for those who have had more life experience than I have had. In times of crisis, it’s always prudent to gain from their wisdom. Whether it’s a trusted friend or a family member or even a guru or expert opinion that you can find through books or the Internet, you need to seek out someone who has faced the same dilemma or trial and see how they handled the predicament. There is truly nothing new under the sun and you can gain both concrete actionable steps and calming focus for your particular problem when you seek out counsel. You don’t have to do exactly what they say, but weighing both experience and advice might give you a more stable course of action. A word to the wise: sometimes, it’s difficult to find the voices you need to hear. Often, those who speak the loudest know the least. So be sure you know the validity of your source and the reliability of their recommendations.
Take the 30-Day Challenge
In some situations, you can truly wait as long as a month before making a decision about a replacement. Obviously, in medical situations, this might not be a choice you can afford to make. However especially when it comes to items like small appliances, take a thirty-day period of time before you replace said item. Just because you owned a particular device in the past, it doesn’t mean you need one in the future. I’ve done this before with items like toasters and even a microwave. In the case of the microwave, we decided that it wasn’t a necessity (believe it or not, people lived without them for hundreds of years!). We never replaced it. But we would have never known that we could function without it if we ran out and purchased a new one immediately. Taking a set period of time to make a decision allowed us to realize we could get along without and work around not having one.
Chart Your Own Path
More than once you probably heard your mother quip, “If your friends jumped off of a bridge, would you jump off of one too?” Even though we grit our teeth, we know her words to be true. We don’t have to do everything that everyone else does. Sometimes financial crisis gives us the opportunity to take a step back and redefine our priorities. Just because everyone else has more than one vehicle, it doesn’t mean that you need one. Just because everyone else gets a car loan, it doesn’t mean you have to have one. Determine now before trouble arrives that you will not just go with the flow. Decide now that you will weigh your options, take the time necessary, and find a valuable advisor. You don’t have to be like everyone else. In fact, it might just be better if you aren’t.
When the rain begins to fall, pull out these umbrella principles to protect you from making a poor choice. You might be caught a little bit off guard, but you won’t be caught in a trap.
My book is now available: Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After. You can also check out Inspiration to Pay Off Debt: 30 Days of Encouragement from the Queen of Free
This post contains an affiliate link. That means when you get a great deal or maybe even something for free, you also help our family pay off our mortgage early. And for that, we royally thank you!
