Going through a financially stressful period can start to seem like the end of the world. While nobody openly admits to being materialistic, tough times can really limit your options, especially if you’re accustomed to a particular lifestyle. The good news is, with a bit of perseverance, your financial hardship will not last. Here are five ways to make it through when money is tight.
1. Do Not Get A Payday Loan
If you are in need of an urgent cash injection, do not resort to payday lenders, no matter how friendly they or how legitimate their advertising may seem! If you are in debt already, this can quite seriously worsen the debt-cycle you’re trying to escape. The best alternatives to payday loans are borrowing a small sum of money from somebody close to you or taking out a small low-interest personal loan from a reputable lender like a non-profit organization.
2. Renegotiate All Your Bills
Any privatized service you receive can be negotiated. This means your utility bills, telecommunications accounts, insurance, and even entertainment subscriptions can be negotiated. It’s simple too: all you need to do is find a competitor with a better price and ask your current biller if they can beat it or sweeten your deal. Use the “I’ve been a loyal customer for X years” spiel and remain polite when in conversation. You’d be surprised at how willing they are to offer discounts, and if not, you can always just go for the cheaper competitors!
3. Use Meal Preparation To Your Advantage
The value of restaurant, cafe, and takeaway food is marked-up notoriously high. This is done for a number of reasons, including the fact that they need to cover bills, staff wages can be steep, it’s essential to keep up with competitors, and of course, businesses need to make a profit. You can easily cut these costs from your budget by consuming home-made meals, coffee, and other beverages. Meal preparation for a week (or longer) only requires an hour or two, some containers, and your fridge. This tactic will save you time and money throughout the week as you’ll pay less by shopping in bulk, will need to spend less time in the grocery store, and won’t feel as tempted to eat out.
4. Focus On Your Health
The most underrated way to get through a difficult time in your life is to maintain your health. Ensure that you attend check-ups with your GP, look into counseling or health-related services offered by your council or community groups, stay close to your support networks, eat healthy (see point number 3), and exercise daily. Keeping healthy will help you maintain the right mindset for decision-making during difficult times. There’s a reason people in trouble often say, “at least I have my health.”
5. Increase Your Income
It’s as obvious as it is important. Most of the time, saving alone will not be enough to dig your way out of a tricky financial situation. Sooner or later, you will need to take more measures to boost your income. You can do this in various ways, depending on your capabilities and living situation. For example, you could try picking up a second job, negotiating a raise from your current employer, putting on garage sales, freelancing, or getting on the gig economy apps.
It’s important to note that these tips aren’t instant-fixes, but they are all worth implementing as they will start working right away. It will take time, but with a bit of patience, you will get through this.
6. Don’t Bury Your Head In The Sand
Money worries may be something that you don’t want to think about, but burying your head in the sand is never a course of action that you should take. Don’t hide unopened bills away, this does not solve the problem, in fact, it will only make it worse.
You need to confront money problems head-on. If you are struggling with debt, get in touch with a debt charity, and get support. If you are facing bankruptcy contact an organization such as Bankruptcy Canada to get help putting your finances back on track.
