How to Handle the Stress of a Bad Economy

The emotional stress of a bad economy is just as harmful to an individual as the financial difficulty of trying to meet mortgage payments. It’s not easy learning to tighten the belt tighter and tighter when it seems that prices just go higher and higher. To top it off, there’s the emotional stress of saving face and keeping up with the Joneses. The only way to emotionally survive the bad economy is to make a few changes mentally.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Determine the things you cannot change. No matter how much you complain, you cannot change the price of gas. You can’t change the price of food either. Yes it’s stressful every time you pull up to the pump or reach the check out at the grocery store, but there is nothing you can do about the price of gas, food, oil, etc.

2. Understand the things you can change. While you may not be able to change the price of gas, you can change the way you drive. You can consolidate trips, carpool or even trade in your SUV for a more economically feasible car. As far as food prices go, maybe it’s time to stop paying the manufacturers for the convenience of being able to microwave their less than nutritionally sound food. It may be time you learned how to cook food from scratch, it’s cheaper.

3. Know the difference between what you can and cannot change. The major stress factor comes into play when people complain, moan and gripe about things they cannot change and don’t change the things that they can. You cannot control whether or not your credit card lender will increase your credit limit for emergencies, but you can control how much money you put aside for a rainy day to cover an emergency.

4. Change what you can and accept what you cant. This is where the rubber meets the road. If you can change something, then do so. If you can’t either prepare for it or accept it. Complaining and stressing about it only increases your blood pressure.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember this Serenity Prayer: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.