When dealing with a financial setback, it’s very easy to have a pity party for yourself. What do you do when you are behind on bills, have no savings to speak of, and can’t see a solution in sight? Well, there are 3 key tasks you should focus on, before the next month shows up. If there isn’t enough money for the month,
You Have To Relax
I know. That’s the last thing you want to do, or hear, when you need more money, and are dealing with muddled budgets and bank statements. You have to relax before you can tackle any of this. Being frantic, worried, inconsolable and delusional won’t make any of this better. You’ll need to calm yourself before you can take on the next step.
Focus On The Real Challenge
What’s the real issue here? Inconsolable you would have responded to this with “EVERYTHING is all messed up! I suck at this budgeting and paying bills thing. All of it is horrible!” But, now that you have relaxed, let’s focus. What the ONE reason you are having a financial setback? Is is a large bill that you’ve had trouble paying for the last few months or a year? Did the transmission give out and you didn’t have your 1000 dollars saved yet? What is the one issue here? Being truthful about what you are actually struggling with, instead of saying every part of your budget and finances is a struggle, will put you on a trajectory to erasing this setback.
Backtrack To The Solution
Here’s the cool part about focusing on the one thing that is causing your financial setback: none of this is a surprise. This setback has been put into play months ago, and you probably decided to ignore it. That transmission you have to replace? You probably had an inkling of it giving out 6 months ago. That large bill that you now have to tackle? You might have had a chance to lower it a while back, but you were too lazy to take the steps to do it. The solution to these setbacks is found in the action you neglected. If there is any way you can take on those actions right now, you need to do them. The amazing part of backtracking is life seems to get simpler once we acknowledge the mistake we made, and rectifying the situation.
