While the troubled economy taken a toll on all of us, one financial expert says there is hope. Donna Every suggests in her new book, What Do You Have in Your House?, that we may already have all we need to face the bad economy. While the book is subtitled “Surviving in Times of Financial Crisis”, she says that is it not just for times of financial crisis because many people have been struggling to make ends meet even before the Great Recession and it addresses those issues as well.
“There are two ways to deal with scare finances: earn more and spend less” Donna states. “That’s not as hard as it seems. The important thing is to be proactive – don’t sit around and wait for something to happen – make it happen!
“There are things that you have in your house, literally, that you can turn into cash. Get together with your neighbors and have a street sale to get rid of all that stuff you’re not using. You can also list it on craigslist or sell it on E-bay or Amazon. Now is a good time to do that because people are looking for cheaper alternatives. They’re becoming more budget conscious and therefore more likely to buy used stuff.”
Donna also emphasizes the importance of using your own gifts and abilities that you may have overlooked. You may be able to cook or bake and you can sell things that you make to neighbors or work colleagues to earn extra income. If you’re good at repairing computers, electronics or other types of equipment now is the time to use those skills because people are holding on to big ticket items longer rather than buying new ones now.
In the past we’ve bought a lot of things that we don’t need. We’ve had a “spend, spend, spend” policy and may have even lived according to the “Greed is good” motto from Gordon Gekko, the anti-hero of Wall Street, which has led to the consequences that we now face, including huge credit card debt.
“If you didn’t have financial goals before, now is the time to set some,” according to Donna, “because they will help to restrain your spending and motivate your saving.”
The Bible states that through God we can do all things (Phil 4:13) and through God all things are possible, that is why it is so important for Donna to fight the good fight and to keep the faith.
“This recession can be seen as a well-disguised blessing because it has made us change our spending habits and make different financial decisions. Or it should have!” Donna continues “Testing like this makes us stronger. Perhaps it’s time for each of us to do some soul searching and decide what’s important. Once our soul is at peace, then all of those things we felt we couldn’t live without before don’t seem to matter anymore.”
