How to Survive the Economic Recession

People in the prehistoric times are not the only ones in survival mode. Nowadays, people all over the world especially in the United States are feeling the heat of the prevailing economic recession. With the sudden downturn of the economy, a lot of people are more hard up than they were in previous years. Some have even lost their jobs or have lost their homes because of the real estate crash in recent months. The problem with rising costs of gas has also affected the prices of food and other products. Times right now are tighter and harder.

But this is not to say that times are impossible to survive on. In fact, with a little creativity and a lot of forbearance, you can actually ride the economic recession tide and come out the victor. In this survival game, the most likely to survive are those who are willing to change their lifestyle and adapt to the times. Here are some ways to survive the economic recession:

1. Save!
This is not the time to buy, buy and buy in the excess. Buy only those that you feel you can eat or use. Do not buy more than you need. That way, you can be sure that you will not be wasting food. If you don't need additional clothes or things at home, don’t buy any. Save your money for other things that you will be needing in case emergency times are called for.

Saving does not only mean saving money but also saving in electricity, gas and water. You may not realize it but these are things that get a large chunk from your monthly expenses. The same goes with clothes and snacks. This is the time to scrimp. People will not think less of you when you do that.

2. Plan ahead.
You may not want to become an obsessive-compulsive but there are a lot of advantages to being one. Planning ahead and keeping the household organized can help save you some money in utilities, gas and even food. Planning your meals for instance will help you determine just how much you need to purchase at the grocery stores. The same goes with the gas that you use when you cook food or the electricity that you consume when you use the microwave over.

Planning meals allow you to cook food at the same time. This saves energy big time. Designating a day to go to the laundry shop, the bank, the groceries and to do other errands will allow you to save on gas by going on one road trip instead of going on multiple trips to town. You can even plan your trips in between sending your kids to school.

3. Partner with your neighbours
If kids in your neighbourhood go to the same school, ask the mothers to form some sort of group that will take turns sending the kids to school and fetching them afterwards. This will not only allow you to do more during the day, it will also save in gas as the kids travel in a carpool. If this is not viable, considering getting your kids into a school bus.

This way, you can be sure that your kid is safe and of course, school buses are cheaper than driving your kids to school everyday, truly a good option for kids in this time of economic recession.

Worried About Financial Planning For Retirement?

As time goes on, you know that there are always going to be problems with 401k investments that you get through your job. Though they should always make some money, you never know what is going to happen with the stock market. Depending on how much you have in there, and what type of stocks you own, you may take a huge hit from time to time. Nothing is guaranteed through a 401k, so you may have to think about financial planning for retirement in other forms.

There are quite a few different ways that you can go about financial planning for retirement. You don’t have to go with the IRA (Individual retirement Account) through your local bank, but that can be an option for you. You should find out if your bank has FDIC insurance for those particular accounts. Though that insurance will not protect you if you take losses, it will protect your money if your bank were to fail. Someone at the bank can discuss this type of financial planning for retirement with you in detail.

You can also go with the tried and true savings account. These are almost always protected by the FDIC, but only up to a certain amount. Make sure however, if you use these for part of your financial planning for retirement. What you are going to get with a savings account depends on how much you have in there. Interest rates can vary from bank to bank, so see what you can get through your current bank. You may find a better rate elsewhere, so search around for the best deal if you want to.



There are also money market accounts that you can use for your financial planning for retirement. However, these are not always covered by the FDIC either. That is something that you can look into, just as with the IRA. These are something like savings accounts, but the money is used for riskier investments by your bank. The Interest rate you get is going to reflect that however, as it can be higher than what you would get with savings. There is usually a minimum amount you must have, but that is not always all that much.

Perhaps when doing financial planning for retirement the best idea would be to move your money around as you go, and keep it in different but beneficial places. If you are not good at this stuff, talk with someone at your bank about what you want and see what they have to say. You can also find someone to help you with investments if you want to dabble in the stock market on your own. Just make sure you keep an eye on things so you are not losing more money than you can afford.