How to help yourself in a bad economic climate

All you hear in the news lately are the words “bailout” and “economic crisis” and rumors of another depression are whispered in corners. Whether you think things are that bad or whether you think we will come out of it in the next few months you should still help yourself by preparing your own finances to weather whatever storm may come.

If you do not have an emergency fund set aside then work on that immediately. Having even a few hundred dollars saved can be a big help if your car breaks down or you get laid off. It is best to have, at the very least, three months income saved but when you are just beginning to save this can seem impossible. If you could get two hundred in an account this could at least pay for food and gas for a week or two as you search for another job or could either pay to have your car fixed or make a big dent in how much it will cost to fix it.

Pay down as much of your credit card debt as you can. You do not want to have to worry about minimum payments if your finances take a stumble and you may need that credit to live off of if you lose your job.

Stock up on food. Keep at least several weeks of food available so if something happens you do not have to worry about how you will eat.

Keep at least five gallons of gas in your garage. This way if you are short on cash one week you can at least get to and from work for a few days.

Begin an exercise program and a healthy eating program. The healthier you are the less likely you will have to spend money on health care.

Go through your home and get rid of what you don’t need. Have a garage sale and put the money into your emergency fund. If there are two drivers in your home and you have three cars then sell one. If you can get by on one car and you have two then sell one.

Do not get extra credit at this time. Pay off what you have do not add to it.

Look into freelance work to hold you over in case you lose your full time job.