FAQs  |  Help  |  About Us
  • My Credit
  • Karma Offers
  • Tools & Calculators
  • Credit Cards
  • Compare Rates
  • News & Advice
  • Blog

Credit Karma Blog

Recession Proofing Your Life

Written by Credit Karma October 24th, 2008 at 5:01 AM CDT 2 comments

Right now there is a lot of talk about a recession. The financial buzzword that is out there this month is “Recession” and for good reason. It has become increasingly vital that as American citizens, we begin to understand how we can properly safeguard ourselves against the risk of a potential downturn in the economy. Obviously there are no real guarantees in life, but there are numerous healthy and advantageous steps that can be taken in order to mitigate your losses during any financial turbulence that should occur in the near future. Here are some steps that you can take to recession proof your life.

Clean your finances up.

It is time for you to get serious about your financial health. Look at your budget this month and start cleaning everything up. Decrease your debt slowly but surely, and work to find friendlier credit lines and ways to increase your cash savings and emergency fund savings. By reducing unnecessary expenses and increasing cash savings, you can safeguard against the occurrence of becoming financially strapped.

Focus on creating a financial plan.

If you have a plan, focus on it. If you do not have a plan, put together a one year, five year and ten year financial plan and tweak it over time to ensure that it is meeting your needs.

Make yourself invaluable in your profession.

If you become invaluable at work, it will be much harder for you to find yourself laid off during a recession. Some people are laid off without any warning, but if you can increase your role at work in any way, do so now and you may be spared.

Figure out a way to earn real money.

Can you further supplement your income in any way? If so, now is the time to start thinking long and hard about these opportunities. Consider obtaining a second job, or some other form of part time work that will allow you to increase your bottom line. This is the best way to prepare yourself for a recession, in case you have no idea where you’ll be when the economy takes a turn for the worst.

Think ahead and plan accordingly.

Above all, keep in mind that “this too, shall pass.” Think about the future and work on learning from the past. Think ahead and plan accordingly and you should have no difficulty overcoming the recession with the shirt still on your back. A recession does not automatically mean that your finances have to go south, but the more prepared you are, the better off you will find yourself when the waves die down and things go back to normal, so keep that in mind when recession proofing your life.

There is no way for you to completely and fully protect yourself from a dip in the growth of the economy, but there are plenty of ways to ensure your survival during this period with as little turbulence as possible.

Photo Credit: 1

Topic:
Career, Credit Karma, Debt, Economy, In the News, Personal Finance, Stock Market

Related Articles
  • Is a Recession Really On the Way?
  • Credit Karma Roundup - All You Need is Love (and Money!)
  • Monday’s Personal Finance & Credit Report News
  • The 6 Most Important Financial Milestones
  • Credit Karma Roundup: Recession-Proof Yourself!
USER COMMENTS

Hi

Some good advice in this post. I think that trying to obtain some kind of second income is especially important as it will soften the blow if you lose your main job. At this stage it is still hard to say exactly how bad things are going to get, but better prepared for the worst!

Neil

by Neil - October 24th, 2008 at 10:05 AM CDT

[...] how to Recession Proof Your Life over at Credit [...]

by Sunday Money Madness: Bootacular Edition | Rich Credit Debt Loan - October 26th, 2008 at 2:14 PM CDT
ENTER YOUR COMMENT




Previous EntryNext Entry

Credit Karma provides FREE credit score access and educational content with no hidden cost or obligations.

Join Credit Karma

Subscribe to RSS Feed

Compare & Save Money

  • Credit Card Reviews
  • Compare Deposit Rates
  • Compare Mortgage Rates
  • Compare Home Equity Rates

Blog Search & Categories


  • Announcements (3)
  • Automobile (7)
  • Banking (21)
  • Bankruptcy (5)
  • Budgeting (28)
  • Car (8)
  • Career (5)
  • College Students and Money (10)
  • Credit (65)
  • Credit Cards (74)
  • Credit Karma (142)
  • Credit Report (39)
  • Credit Scores (71)
  • Credit Union (2)
  • Debt (48)
  • Economy (71)
  • Emergency Funds (5)
  • Financial Emergencies (7)
  • Functionality (7)
  • Guest Blogger (1)
  • Housing (49)
  • In the News (52)
  • Insurance (1)
  • Interest Rates (23)
  • Investment (6)
  • Kids and Money (4)
  • Loans (46)
  • Marriage (1)
  • Mortgage (35)
  • Personal Finance (130)
  • Portfolio (4)
  • Q&A (3)
  • Recession (16)
  • Retirement (2)
  • Reviews (25)
  • Roundup (34)
  • Shopping (15)
  • Stock Market (10)
  • Taxes (2)
  • Unemployment (3)
  • Women and Finance (2)

Most Popular in October, 2008

  • The 6 Most Important Financial Milestones
  • 4 Quick Fixes For Your Credit Score
  • What Does a Credit Score Really Mean?
  • Credit Crunch Affecting Car Dealers
  • Recession Proofing Your Life
  • Current State of the Economic Bailout Plan
  • How Bad is the Credit Crunch - Really?
  • Protecting Your Credit Score in the Credit Crunch
  • Bad Credit Means Paying More For iPhones and Cellphones
  • Do You Really Need Credit Cards?

Most Popular All Time

  • What is a Good Credit Score?
  • Homebuilders Offering Big Discounts on Loans
  • How Often Does Your Credit Score Change?
  • Bad News for the Condo Market
  • moneyStrands Review
  • Public Savings Bank Secured Visa Review
  • Begin Saving for Your Retirement
  • Chase Sapphire Card Review: A Credit Card For The High Roller In You
  • Weekly Mortgage Roundup June 5, 2009
  • How A Credit Card Limit Is Determined

Credit Karma Blogroll

  • Credit Card Forum Blog
  • Credit Matters Blog
  • Five Cent Nickel
  • Lazy Man and Money
  • My Money Blog
  • Netbanker
  • Prosper Blog
  • Taking Charge
  • Wisebread
  • About Us |
  • Terms of Use |
  • FAQ |
  • Privacy Policy |
  • Press |
  • Glossary
Copyright © 2007-2009 Credit Karma™, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Patent Pending.
Click to verify BBB accreditation and to see a BBB report.
  • Free Credit Resources:
  • Credit Report |
  • Credit Scores |
  • Credit Check |
  • Credit Rating
  • Credit Card Resources:
  • Balance Transfer Credit Cards |
  • Business Credit Cards |
  • Student Credit Cards |
  • Credit Cards for Bad Credit