Change Dynamics

Even in the best of times finances are one of the things in our lives that stress us  the most.  What are the financial stressors in your life? For many people, these include: worries about debt, paying bills late, not having a financial security net, not having a sense of control over your finances, and arguments over finances.

 

This Is Not the End of the World; It’s Just the End of a Crazy Era. (Martin Weiss)

 

In the midst of recent market turmoil, it is more important than ever to focus on long term goals and develop patience in order to achieve financial peace of mind. We know where the market has been, but nobody truly knows where it is going in the future. Historically, in fear driven markets such as the one we are experiencing right now, there usually is a bounce back, or rally, in stock prices when normalcy begins to set in again, but this country has never quite seen a financial crisis like it is currently experiencing. There is no true precedent, as times have changed significantly since the Great Depression.

This is certain:  our country has a wealth of resources and knowledge. Even after a great fall, we will still have the elements for a great recovery.  This decline will undoubtedly deliver severe financial losses to most of those who endure it. But it can also deliver long-lasting benefits to all those who survive it.

The ultimate outcome may be for the best. Burdensome debts will be liquidated. Wild spending will be replaced with prudent saving. Unaffordable luxuries could give way to affordable bargains. And after the worst is over, thousands of new, innovative companies will burst onto the scene with clean balance sheets and a new vision

The current economy has magnified financial worry. What’s the worst that can happen in this economy? Loss of job? Loss of home? No income for the bare necessities?  Severe relationship stress? A real nightmare scenario. How could anybody cope with all that? And that’s not even all of it. If you were doing okay before, and now you’re in financial difficulties, you may also be painfully struggling inwardly with what it all means about you, personally.   

 

The way you respond to financial worries is under your control

 

Even if things never reach the nightmare proportions listed above, most of us face financial worries of some kind during the course of our lives. These may come our way due to our own actions, or be forced on us by circumstances outside our control. However they come about, the way we respond is within our control. And keeping your financial worries in their place is a vital mechanism for surviving the strain.

So what is the place of financial worries?

The real purpose of financial worry

 

Like any worry, financial worry is there for a purpose. It’s alerting you that you need to pay attention to your circumstances, and take any necessary steps. Of course, taking action may mean doing a number of things that you don’t really want to do. That may tempt you to ‘put your head in the sand’ or at the very least to procrastinate. Worry is there to encourage you to get on with what you need to do.

 

Some Practical Steps

To survive uncertain economic times while keeping your sanity, it is essential to get down the basics. Here are 7 things that you can do to find peace of mind when times are tough

 

1.      Aggressively Pay Down Debt

If you have income that can go towards paying down your debt, now is a great time to tackle your debt. Apply income towards paying down your mortgage, or if you have credit card debt, or other high interest, unsecured forms of debt, they should be your first priority. 

2.      Analyze your Monthly Recurring Expenses & Trim the Fat

Most recurring monthly expenses come in the form of entertainment.  These non-essentials add up over time. For example, do you need to spend $90 per month on cable or satellite TV, especially when digital TV will soon be accessible to all for free? Look at your monthly expenses, such as movie rental subscriptions, magazine subscriptions, newspaper, cable or satellite TV, land line phone, cell phone data plan, etc. to see if you really NEED them. Pay attention to food and related expense as well and cut back where possible.

3.      Keep More of your Paycheck

If you are getting a large tax refund every year, but struggling on a month-to-month basis, you may want to consider raising your tax allowances. The more allowances you claim, the less the government holds onto over the year and the lower your refund will be. This allows you to use more of your earned income over the year instead of giving an interest-free loan to the government.

4.      Increase your Emergency Savings

Experts typically recommend that you save three to six months worth of living expenses Perhaps it is time to increase your emergency savings account as a safety net in the event of a family member losing income due to economic slowdown.. In times like this it may be wise to push it to a year or more if you have the means to do so.

5.      Recognize Wants vs. Needs

With all one-time purchases it is more important than ever to really ask yourself if you truly need the item you are about to buy. Focus on recognizing when emotion is driving your purchasing behavior. Eliminate impulse spending.  In order to delay emotional purchase gratification, resist buying things immediately. Sit on your decision to purchase for a few days. Check out this post for ways to delay instant purchase gratification.

6.      Bring more value to your work

In the unfortunate event that your employer should make cutbacks in an economic slowdown, make it hard for them to cut you. Not just not a matter of bringing more skills, but also a better attitude, being friendly and helpful when appropriate, having a positive attitude, and being efficient in what you do.

7.      Keep Some Cash on Hand

With uncertainty about which banks will fail next, your mattress never looked as safe as it does now. Even though the FDIC insures your deposits up to a certain amount,  if your bank fails it could take weeks, possibly months to get your money back. If you need this money in a pinch, you would be out of luck. Keeping a little cash on hand is an extra safeguard in the event of a bank run.

 

What to do when financial worries invade

 

Taking informed action is a big step in establishing financial peace of mind. But  financial worry, can overstep the mark. Because it’s big and scary, we are prone to letting it invade parts of our life where it doesn’t belong. It’s important to remember, and keep separate, those parts of your life that are okay and going well. If you’ve taken the action that the worry called for, you don’t need it to be invading your sleep, or your leisure time, or your relationships.

 

How hypnosis can help you take control of financial worries

 

In theory, you can use willpower to keep worry in its place, but it’s much easier if you also make use of the capacities of your unconscious mind to create and maintain appropriate states of wellbeing. Hypnosis is a powerful and effective way to do this.

There are a number of hypnosis audio programs that are always a good investment, but especially now. Each comes with a guarantee of satisfaction , so there’s no risk. Click on any of the titles below for more information.

 

Financial worries is an audio hypnosis session which make the process of mental compartmentalization – keeping financial worries in their place – both relaxing and enjoyable.  The powerful hypnotic techniques are used in this session help you  relax deeply amid the stresses and strains of dealing with financial problems. At the same time, your mind will be fed practical inspiration that will help you develop creative and effective responses to your situation.

Millionaire Mind-Set  Wealth, in any economy comes down to your mindset - the habits, attitudes and behaviors you use every day that move you, step-by-step, towards your goals status. In every economy, just as fortunes are being lost by some, others are seeing the opportunities that abound and create new fortunes

        This Millionaire Mindset 6-part hypnosis program is designed to program your subconscious mind with the common attitudes of millionaires

  Money Wealth & Prosperity - Wealth is created first and foremost in our minds - through goals, beliefs, and a strong sense of self worth. It sounds simple, but many people never learn the basic tools of visualizing success, believing they deserve it and working towards this goal with the belief they will succeed. This simple-to-follow program will help you develop new daily patterns concerning money, success and wealth. This program uses Hypno-Peripheral Processing, or HPP, a dynamic technology that puts the tremendous and largely untapped power of your subconscious mind into your hands. http://www.mindperk.com/Glauberman.htm - 44

 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 at 6:16 am and is filed under Finances, Hypnosis, economy, financial peace, prosperity, wealth. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.