Learn How to Relieve Stress in Times of Trouble and Change the Direction of Your Life

                                                               

Adjusting to the turbulence created by the global economic and financial industry meltdown can be stressful and challenging. There are things that can be done now to plan and safeguard for the future including your financial security, health and well being, and peace of mind. 

There are far too many different scenarios and individuals to mention each and every case. This article intends to provide a beginning point framework to get started with the process of identifying some areas where review would be in order and a process will help clarify the reality of your situation and remove some stress from your life.

1. First step, take a close look at your current situation. Ask yourself some simple questions. How were you affected by the financial crisis? Did you lose your job, were your savings affected by the market volatility, do you need to change careers, move to lower cost housing, and in general, survey very carefully what your current situation is and how it lines up with the reality of what's going on?

Write these things down on a piece of paper. Remember, list all the things that you touch in life that were affected by the world economic changes. This includes job, housing, car or other transportation, what you eat, how you eat, medicine and care needs, shelter and housing, education, entertainment, and other necessities.

2. Second step, and this is very important, prioritize all of the things that you have listed in step one. This is a critical step and will vary from person to person. The key areas that generally prioritize first are housing and shelter, food, and energy needs. Many other things arise from these three cornerstones.

Look at your existing housing situation, and evaluate whether it will meet your needs in the next two, five, and ten year time frame. Also look at whether you can meet its needs in the same time period. In other words, review and assess your costs of housing, your mortgage, your rent, your family plan.

Can you afford them now, in the future? When you align this with the reality of expected future inflation and job market reductions, you will have to make a determination as to whether or not you can continue to support your current situation financially. For the time being just do the prioritizing and don't worry about the assessment.

3. Third step calls for taking a look now at the two worksheets, everything that you thought of and the priorities and rankings of each in importance. Now start to link them together in a project model. For example, if you determine that current housing is too expensive and you will need to cut your housing expense that would be related to the real estate market and how feasible it is at the current moment to make a change.

Ask yourself more questions. Now you need to do some research. Can I find a buyer at a reasonable price? How far can I compromise my price to accelerate the plan? If I own a house now, then can I rent a house or an apartment and net out with some savings? Is it worth it to move or should I link and focus supplementing income with this priority and make new income a top priority first?

4. Fourth step will lead you to perhaps shifting your priority. Maybe a house move and relocation is in order, but first you need to secure an additional or replacement income stream in the new location. If it's new job search, then tie it to some research on the job market and the housing question in the new area and determine if a move is feasible to further research. 

You may see that you need to move to another part of the country or country outside your own country, and this develops out of your research work and fact checking.

First look at job opportunities there and keep coming back to the question of is it feasible to prioritize this? Should I be taking action to find a new job in another city first or should I be selling the house first and then planning the move to the new city as a next action? 

When you line these issues up on worksheets you will see them more clearly.

This formula of identifying, prioritizing, and linking life's hot points will help you breakdown the current issues facing you, and help you logically balance activity against the reality of the changing world. It is possible to smooth out the rough spots and stay calm and diligent.

Follow the steps and be thorough in your preparation and work. Most importantly don't keep agonizing about it letting the problem eat at you. Get started analyzing the situation and making your first step list.