Millennials are facing what most of us refer to our first financial setback. Coronavirus has swept our economy and crippled small and large businesses across the U.S. While a recession unexpectedly redirects our financial paths, there’s always something we can learn from the events followed by havoc. Here are 5 positive things we can learn from a recession!
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#1. The Importance of Family Time
My favorite positive lesson we can learn from a recession is the importance of spending time with family.
When things are out of your control and you’re forced to stay home due to a layoff or cut hours, appreciate your family.
When we’ve been doing nothing but working hard for years to give our family a better life, take this pause to soak in what you have in front of you.
It is easy to become upset at circumstances that hinder our financial worlds but we must look towards the positive effects of a recession.
Now lets talk about the things that are in your control.
#2. Multiple Streams of Income Matter
If you’ve lost your job or had your hours reduced during a recession, you’ll understand how difficult or challenging it can be to live your day-to-day life.
One positive thing we can learn from a recession is that multiple streams of income matter.
So, how do we develop them?
Imagine your hours were cut but it didn’t matter because your online business is providing you with cashflow to cover your bills.
Perhaps you aren’t reinvesting in the online business for the meantime or saving it, but you know it’s only temporary.
This type of scenario is something that you can certainly make possible for yourself. Online businesses can be:
- Tutoring or teaching online using Fiverr
- Monetizing a blog with Google AdSense (read how to do this here)
- Running ads on your YouTube channel
- Offering a service online
- Selling products online (eCommerce)
Learning how to make money from a second stream of income takes creativity. Ask yourself, what are you good at? What can you teach that others can’t?
Recessions teach us not to be dependent on one stream of income.
Here Are Some Ideas That Can Be a Great Fit for You!
If you have a sales career, start your own side business. Do sales for yourself.
Are you a teacher, tutor, or instructor? Use Fiverr to get paid for teaching online to people who need your expertise!
If you’re a recording artist or musician, consider distributing your music across all major platforms and earn money from streams.
DistroKid is a distributer that puts your music on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and pretty much every major streaming platform.
Read: 7 Easy Ways Millennials Can Start Earning More Money
What Are Some Other Ways I Can Earn Multiple Streams of Income?
While online businesses are a great way to earn extra income, they’re not the only way to make money passively.
You can earn income passively by:
- Putting money in a high yielding savings account
- Allocating money in a CD
- Earning money from a blog (Learn How To Start A Blog Here)
- Investing in the stock market (Learn Here)
The point is a recession can really show us things we need to improve on. One of the most positive ways is through the understanding that multiple streams of income matters.
#3. We Can Survive With Far Less
If there’s one thing we’ve learned through the coronavirus pandemic is that we can certainly survive with less.
The positive thing about a recession is that they teach us that we can absolutely get by with far less than what we had prior to an economic downturn.
It goes to show just how wasteful we can be when it comes to managing our money.
A lot of the things we spend our money on go towards clothes we don’t end up wearing, expensive food, or entertainment.
Recessions teach us to get by with just our needs.
During these times of economic turmoil, we’re challenged to face unpleasant circumstances and step outside our comfort zones; we’re survivors.
A positive thing we can take from a recession is the skills we learn to develop during our financial struggle for survival.
How Can We Prepare Ourselves To Survive With less?
We learn to survive with less by:
- Budgeting
- Building an emergency fund
- Living below your means
- Avoiding liabilities
- Working a side hustle
Read: How To Stay Afloat During A Recession
By learning these skills, we take in the positive attributes of a recession.
Once the recession blows over and the economy begins to improve, we no longer live as carelessly as we used to.
One of the positive things a recession brings to light is that once it’s over, we can continue to apply the lessons and skills we learned and come out stronger than ever.
#4. Health is Wealth Too
Ah, health.
During the coronavirus pandemic we’ve learned just how important our health plays in our financial worlds.
You get sick, guess what happens? You can’t work.
A positive change that can occur during a recession is an appropriate reflection of our own health.
When Money Isn’t Flowing: Take Care of Your Health By
- Working out at home
- Hiking locally
- Eating more organic foods
- Watching your red meat intake
- Setting health goals for yourself
Recessions teach us that we can still work on our health from home without the dependency of a gym membership.
If you’re someone who has to stay active, working out from home is a great way to save money during a recession while staying fit and keeping a focused mindset on your goals.
#5. There’s Always Room For Growth
Recessions in general teach us that there’s room for growth.
I think one of our biggest takeaways is that we should learn to become recession-proof in order to protect ourselves and our family.
This positive lesson opens our eyes to self-improvement. Especially during and after a recession.
This blog is ALL about self improvement and becoming better each day so that you can reach your financial and life goals.
Key Takeaways From A Recession
- The importance of an emergency fund
- The value of spending time with family
- Multiple streams of income matter
- Self improvement is key
- Health is wealth too
During the time of writing this post we’re in a recession, caused by the coronavirus pandemic whether people want to admit it or not.
My goal is to help you better prepare yourself during the short-term effects of this pandemic or for the next recession.
Read: How To Better Prepare Yourself For The Next Recession
Please share this post if you got value from it! Let us know in the comments section below what are some things you’ve done or are doing to protect yourself for the next economic downturn.
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