Planning for Your Economic Survival

It's hard to even imagine planning for the future when you are flat broke. But, when things are at their worst, you really do need to be at your best. You have to have a good head on your shoulders and you have to try and make good decisions for yourself and your family. One thing that you have to do is try to make a good solid plan for surviving in a turbulent economy.  Unfortunately, there are worse things than having a budget that is a little tight.  Here is more information about surviving in a rough economy.

Building an Economic Survival Plan 

By Elena Chochkova (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

Set Goals to Survive an Economic Downturn 

Attention! Attention! Your lifestyle is under attack. In an era of economic uncertainty, the living and lifestyle of many middle class Americans is being severely threatened. Even stable, profitable, enterprises are using the recession as an excuse to cut, outsource, and restructure their workforces. So, no matter how safe your job may appear, you must have a solid economic survival plan in place.
When you create your economic survival plan, you'll have to set forth your overall goals, objectives on the way to achieving your goals, specific work steps to take towards your objectives, timetables for reaching your objectives, and a budget for achieving your objectives. Some of the goals, objectives, and priorities you should consider when creating your economic survival plan might include:

1) Cash Reserves - The importance of a strong cash reserve cannot be underestimated. Ideally, you should have six months of living expenses in your savings account. As part of your plan, you should identify a fixed amount to deposit into savings each month.

2) Reduced Debt Levels - After building a cash reserve, it is important to reduce the overall amount of debt hanging over your family. Generally, it's best to eliminate the highest interest debt first. As part of your plan, you should list out your creditors, debts, and interest rates. Then, you can come up with a plan of attack to lower your interest rates and pay off some debt.

3) Alternate Revenue Streams - If you can generate extra income without alienating your friends and relatives, now is the time to start. If you can generate additional income from your hobbies or write, do it. You never know when you might need the extra money.

4) Lowered Expenses - Even as you bring in extra income, you have to lower your expenses. It's time to squeeze the waste out of your family budget. If you don't watch your movie channels, drop them. If you don't need four sodas a day at work, stop drinking them. If you can eat a few extra super cheap meals at home each week, the savings will add up.

5) A Paid Off Vehicle - The bank can't repossess a vehicle that you own outright. You can't get to a job interview without reliable transportation. It makes sense for a family to always own at least one vehicle outright.

6) An Interview Suit - If a layoff rocks your world, the last thing you'll want to do is shop for clothes using your dwindling severance pay. Gentlemen, get your interview suit, shirt, shoes, socks, and tie in order now.

7) An Updated Resume - This is a good time to quietly update your resume. Have some friends and relatives review it and check for misspellings and typos. There is nothing worse than sending out a flawed resume to dozens of employers.

8) An Backup Profession - If your job function was suddenly moved to a third world country where everyone apparently has five years of experience in your profession, what is your Plan B? It might be worthwhile to think of and lay the groundwork for alternative professions now rather than in the middle of a personal crisis.

9) A Training Plan - This economic downturn is a great time to skill up for the challenges ahead. When you take on new training, be wary of scams and look for something that will provide a verifiable return on your investment.

10) A Political Strategy - If your livelihood is being threatened by foreign competition, mass immigration, or Wall Street greed, you must make your views known to your political representatives. Instead of going quietly, go to Congress.org and lobby your elected officials. Take on the banks, corporate leaders, and outsourcing firms.

11) Get into shape - A job layoff is extremely stressful. The uncertainty will spike your blood pressure and keep you up late into the night. Make sure you have the stamina to withstand the experience. If you've been putting off visits to the doctor, make sure you take care of things now while you still have health insurance.

12) Network - It takes time to build a professional network through linkedin.com, professional associations, and civic groups. You need to start the process well before you become unemployed.
There are alot of things to do to get a solid footing in this economy. Your economic survival plan will prioritize your goals and set specific timetables for achieving them.