The reality is that life is full of uncertainties. You could be living your best life, only to realize that in the next moment, you are in the middle of a financial crisis. This is something that can literally happen to anyone.
As a passionate traveler who is used to embarking on different journeys all across the globe, something like this can be extremely difficult to cope with. You still want to pursue your passion, yet money issues are not allowing you to do so.
But don’t worry. Even in the gloomiest times, you can find the silver lining. If you are not sure how to handle this burdening life situation and come out as the winner, then just take a look at these tips below.
You Need To Stay Calm
You probably constantly have an urge to scream at the top of your lungs because you cannot adapt to these sudden changes, however, although that’s totally understandable, something like this will only cause additional stress to your body and mind.
People in these types of situations, usually suffer from anxiety, frequent panic attacks, depression, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, and other things. Since all of these conditions can seriously impact your life, it’s pivotal to develop a coping mechanism that’s going to help you handle this. What you can do is to:
- Do some breathing exercises – What’s great about them is the fact that you can do it whenever you want to, wherever you are. No one is ever going to notice that you are doing them, yet they can calm you within a matter of minutes.
- Journaling – This is generally a great method for anyone who has an urge to vent and simply get all of their frustration and anger out of their head. This doesn’t need to solely be linked to money-related issues, but anything else that bothers you. Out there you can literally write about anything, but just be sure to end every writing session with an idea that could potentially help you improve your current financial situation. By doing so, you will become a bit more positive.
Loans As A Helping Hand
Those who are not as passionate about traveling may not understand that those who are perceive it as an urgency, a life or death situation. They would literally do anything even for a short city break.
If that’s the case with you, then there’s an option that might help you accomplish this. It comes in the form of car title loans which represent short-term loans in which you need to pledge your vehicle as collateral.
They are ideal for people who urgently need a certain amount of money (you can borrow up to fifty percent of your car’s value). If all of this sounds like a great idea, then just see what Google says when you type in “reliable car title loans near me” and then contact the lender who seems most reputable and reliable. Of course, before you make any final decisions when it comes to this, be sure to check all the requirements that are related to this type of loan.
You Must Set A Budget
When you are going through a financial crisis, you need to be extra careful about the amounts of money you generally spend. If you do not have the slightest idea how much you spend each month (and earn too much), then you will never be able to create some sort of emergency fund because you will never be able to tell how much money you can set aside for these purposes.
Besides that, if you do not keep a budget, you will never be able to conclude if you are living below your means, or not. Even though a budget cannot help you help you get out of this situation, it can surely help you learn more about your current financial situation.
Have A Financial Review
Another important step that you must take, is to take a closer look at your current financial picture because that’s going to give you an insight into where you stand and what area could use some improvement. Start by developing a financial inventory that’s going to include:
- An updated budget that’s going to encompass your current costs and the amount of money you earn each month
- Compared your current savings totals with your pre-crisis savings
- Do you have any debts?
- A list of bills that still haven’t been paid
- Balances for investment or retirement accounts
Doing something like this is going to help you figure out what you should currently focus on in terms of your finances. As soon as you give money on all your regular expenses, then you’ll know exactly how much you should set aside for debt repayment, or if you do not have any debts, then for the upcoming trip.
What’s Causing Your Financial Problems?
Those who are currently in debt oftentimes think that they have a major financial problem, which doesn’t necessarily need to be the case. Bear in mind that there aren’t a lot of people who can easily buy a house, or spend money on anything that’s considered a major investment.
However, that doesn’t mean that you do not have certain red flags that do not allow you to become more financially stable. Just take a look at these statements below to see if any of them apply to your current financial situation:
- You have several credit cards, and oftentimes, you utilize one of them to pay off the other one
- You were forced to refinance your house to pay off your debts
- You are not very diligent when it comes to your payments
- You aren’t capable of paying off more than the minimum necessary on your credit card
- Your current financial situation is one of the major causes of stress that you’ve been experiencing
Most people go through some sort of financial crisis at some point in their lives. Although this can truly be extremely frightening, as you can see, there are certain things that you can do that will help you change things for the better, and will allow you to continue to further explore the world.