Introduction
Let’s be honest, some of our financial past, may still be lurking around and making our financial present difficult. Whether the financial “downturn” was cause by external circumstances (a recession or work lay off) or internal situation (lack of good money management skills), the repercussions can result in you struggling to get back on your financial feet for months, even years. In addition, financial turmoil takes both an emotional, mental and physical toll on you. One financial misstep and you could find yourself battling problems on multiple fronts.
So how to you deal with your financial past?
It can’t be undone.
The hard truth is a financial mistake can be recovered from, but it cannot be undone. Unfortunately, the past…is the past. There is no reset button, time machine or finger snap. The effort, dollars, time etc. lost are gone. The decision is made and the repercussions are set. Own it (even if it wasn’t your fault), learn from it, and then…set your mind on moving forward. Do not allow yourself to wallow in it. Sure, if you had done something different, the situation could have been changed, but that’s not what happened. At some point you have to come to grips with your current circumstances and the sooner you can do that, the better. The situation is, for lack of better words, what it is. So, again, own it, learn from it and work on recovering.
It can be recovered from.
Years ago I found myself newly divorced, in debt, no savings to speak of and two young children. My “single” income was routinely stretched to its limits. There were months where expenses were barely paid. One unexpected expense, such as new tires for the car, an unusually high utility bill, or house repair, would take months to financially recover from. I realized, in order to improve my situation, I needed to get financially savvy…now, because later would be too late. And you know what? I did.
The first step was to invest in my own financial education. Learning money management is critical to getting past, your past. However, I didn’t try to take everything on all at once. I started with budgeting then moved to debt management and progressed from there. Evaluate your situation and start your recovery where you need help most, but budgeting is always a good place to start.
It can take time.
This sucks because it may seem like it took no time for things to fall apart, but it is taking FOREVER to get back solidly on your feet. In my situation, it took a good ten years for me to pay off cars, multiple credit cards and a student loan, PLUS consistently create and live within a budget, build up emergency savings and retirement accounts. Believe it or not, paying off debt is the “easier” part. Developing a new financial mindset and behavior to keep me out of debt was much harder. So much in society is tied to consumerism. It is easy to get caught up in it and find yourself reverting back to old habits. That’s one reason developing a financial recovery plan is so important.
So, how long it will take you recover?
Well, it depends on your current financial circumstances. Like me, you may have bills to get caught up, savings to rebuild, credit to reestablish. This can only be accomplished over time. Plus, remember, you won’t be just dealing with the financial side. A whole mindset change may be in order, which will most likely require you to eliminate unhealthy money habits. That isn’t easy, even when you know you need to make the change.
Take your time, have patience with others, and especially yourself. Life will happen, and then…it will happen again. Be a prepared as possible for financial setbacks and/or slip ups and their potential emotional/mental toll. I can almost guarantee recovery will take longer than you would like, but stay the course, plan, and prepare yourself for the journey.
Until Next Time…
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