I’ve been very hesitant in making the Money Talks part two video for the longest and that is because a lot has changed since the first video and being that I’m also learning, I couldn’t come here and give advice that I don’t use myself or that I haven’t tried and tested for myself.
I’m currently in the process of making some serious adjustments to my spendings because a lot of things have changed drastically, most importantly my diet so I’ve been busy trying to set up a new, more effective system for myself right now.
I had a couple of breakdowns and moments where I felt like nothing was going right financially mostly and even though I’d rather not have been in those situations they did teach me a couple of things that I’d like to share with you:
- First of all, keep calm. Things are never as bad as you think they are. I tend to worry way more than I need to about almost everything and one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned during these rocky times is that you tend to see problems twice as big as they really are. So take a deep breath, keep calm, worrying won’t give you answers.
- Secondly, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Seriously, pride will have you starving for no reason when you have people who are genuinely willing to help you. Don’t be afraid to tell your friends that you just can’t ball like that, don’t be afraid to let them know that if they really want you to come out with them someone has to take care of your share of the check because you’re just not in a position to spend like that and if it’s really imperative that you come, trust me, someone will have your back. There’s always a way for you to go out with your friends and still save some bucks like, you don’t need to go out for the whole dinner experience for example, but you can meet up with your friends for dessert, that way you keep your costs low while still hanging out with your friends.
- Thirdly, apply for jobs. Apply especially for those which you don’t feel you’re the most qualified for. Now, hear me out. I didn’t say apply for jobs or positions you know nothing about, I said apply for those you feel you could do, but you’re not as confident in your skill in that area yet. You might not always get the jobs, you’ll probably get more NOs than YESes but what you get out of this is more confidence to apply for jobs and positions, more confidence in talking to potential employers and more confidence to ask for what you want (whether it be pay, negotiating work hours, etc.), it helps you perfect your resume and cover letters and adjust them to the type of job you’re applying for, it helps you realize the areas you might need to improve on and which skills you might need to add or perfect and most importantly it helps deal with the fear of rejection. At the end of the day, the most they can tell you is “no”, and if you do get the job and it turns out to be harder than you thought, you either learn how to do it very very quickly or if it doesn’t work out so well you’ll learn to identify the skills you need to acquire to be better at it next time. Plus, odd jobs give you relevant experience and references which will serve you well in the future when you’re applying for that job you really want.
- Also, take this opportunity and explore as many free entertainment options as you can. Not only will this help pass the time till your next paycheck comes but it’ll help you discover other ways of having fun on a budget. I’ve been meaning to explore the city I live in for the longest and I’m taking advantage of my current situation to do just that. Go to parks and have picnics or just sit and read a book, go to museums which usually have student discounts or weekend discounts or might even be free depending on where you live, go for walks early in the morning to watch the sunrise or late afternoon to watch the sunset or even take your camera out and go to a part of town you haven’t seen before and take pictures. The main thing is to keep busy. Even after you’ve exhausted the free entertainment options try to keep busy. I’m a bit of a clean and order freak so organizing is something I enjoy. Sort out your bookmarks, re-organize your music or your files and folders on your computer, clean out your closet and who knows, you might just find a few things you could give away, trade or even sell *wink wink*. “Idle hands are the devil’s playground” so if you don’t keep yourself busy you’ll just start worrying for no reason about things you can’t control and that won’t bring you any answers.
- Last but nor least, learn from past experiences. Learn from the struggle and use that to make better decisions next time. This won’t guarantee that everything will fit the budget next month and you won’t struggle, but at least you won’t be making the same mistakes over and over again. Learn to fail better, to fail forward.
(And a bonus one, if you’re religious or if you’re spiritual or what have you, trust that the universe will sort things out for you, God will take care of you. So don’t stress too much over it. Things have a way of working themselves out 🙂 )
So while I’m working on readjusting my budget and settling into a system that works better for me and my needs I try to keep these tips in mind and they’re making the transition a whole lot easier. Hope you found them useful too!
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How do you deal with situations when life flips the script on you? When things that used to work for you suddenly don’t? Let me know in the comments section bellow!
Figuring Things Out. 