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In today’s society, we are constantly bombarded with doom and gloom from the government shutdown to the roller coaster loop the loos of the stock market to the uncertainty of the real estate market. Something that I have noticed is that everything has a cycle. The stock market goes through its cycle from a bear and bull market to market corrections. The question is despite the current conditions is there still positivity and certainty. Yes, you have to be living under a rock to not see that it’s hard for people to be positive with the current economic and government climate of today.

There is nothing wrong with being concerned. I am not saying not to be concerned. What I am saying is that everyone needs to take a step back and look at yourself and situation and find out why am I worried about everything and my thoughts are clouded with nothing but negativity. You can still be positive and be aware of what’s going on but not giving in to the fear. We need to learn to utilize the fear to be able to push through the challenges we face. This corresponds with business, personal, and more. Here are a few suggestions to help you deal with and take action in your life to reduce stress and worry and be prepared for anything that may come your way in life.

1. Evaluate your situation. Take a look at your personal life, business, finances, and more. See where you are coming up short. Lay it out to have a visual of everything even though it may be difficult. This need to be done. It’s similar to an addict acknowledge your shortcomings (your addiction). Admitting that you have a problem is the first step to help you create a map to recovery and healing.

2. Once you place everything to the front to see what you have to face, map out a plan from where you are to where you want to go. It’s hard to look at but these two steps need to be done. This is showing you that there is more than a general problem involved. It is usually an immature nature that takes control (thriving on instant gratification). We need to learn how to make responsible choices if we want to succeed in life despite the economic climate.

3. Follow the plan. If you need to start having a rainy day fund, start by putting away at least $20-$100 away in a savings account. Do not connect it with your checking account. Believe me, I had to learn the hard way and messed up everything when I did that. If you can’t put that much away there are different apps that can help you put some money away little by little to help build a rainy day fund like Digit.

4. Get out of debt. We are constantly bombarded with advertisement and media about debt. The problem is that debt is what got a lot of people in trouble to begin with. I heard it best from several people (those of who are financially free and no debt). “If you can’t buy 2-5 in cash don’t finance it.” or “If you don’t have the cash to buy it don’t finance it.” Don’t overspend, especially on stupid stuff that you don’t need or make excuses to make large purchases you know for a fact that you don’t need to make.

5. When you are out of debt and have plenty of money coming in you will be able to save and invest. Make your money work for you as the saying goes.  When you get to this point you will worry less because the issues that caused the worry are gone.

I know that some people will expect someone to write sunshine and rainbows about this issue. Don’t get me wrong. We all will go through challenges. I am not dismissing that at all, far from it. I believe in being positive, motivating, and encouraging like a lot of people. My concern is that people are putting too much emphasis on that without first addressing the issues and denial of their financial woes. I am also speaking from personal experience. I have been through it all. I have been where I had lots of money and spent like I was in Congress. I also remember the days of without. Somedays I never knew where I was going to eat. I would ask and beg for money. All of this because I didn’t REALLY get how money works and how to make it work for me. I have come a long way and still learning. I am definitely in a much better place than I was a few years ago. That’s what I like about this journey that I have embarked on. It’s not how you start but how are you going to get to the finish line with grace, be consistent, be a mentor, and willing to share my experiences with everyone. I believe we can all learn from each other.