The National Treasury projects the economy will be bad in 2023. The short rains have already failed and crops collapsed in most parts of the country. The drought and famine is biting deep in more regions of the country.
It is hard for most people to imagine how their finances will look like with these realities for the year 2023. Am sure there is fear and trepidation for many people with all this uncertainty around us.
For those looking for jobs, opportunities are definitely going to be fewer until we have a rebound in the economy. Even for those of us with jobs already, the jobs are vulnerable since as things get worse, employers are going to struggle to keep the current levels on employees.
This not withstanding, there still will be a lot of money moving around since economic activities never comes to a complete standstill.
The question now is how does one cushion themselves against the potential negative impacts of the expected slowdown in the economy? Here I shall share five tips to help anyone keep their money goals on target in the year:
- Do not fear nor panic – when things look uncertain, sometimes the best response is to do nothing and hang-on there. It does not matter what happens –you gain nothing by being afraid of the unknown or what has not happened. Just keep on doing the things you are presently involved in that give you money;
- Adjust your budgets to create a larger buffer should anything go wrong – of course it will be foolish not to understand the times and take the necessary precautions. While you must not be afraid, we all have an obligation to align with the potentially difficult economic days ahead. Boost your cash reserves, albeit in probably lower return investments where you can easily access it should you need it on short notice. Experts advise for at least a 6 months buffer at your current monthly average spending. Given the times, you can boost this to about a 1 year buffer; you can always re-allocate the investments once the bad days are behind us;
- Do not be quick to dispose your earning properties now – while we create properties to help us when we are under financial difficulties, property values get into a spiral downward trend when the economy is not doing well. So, if you dispose land or other fixed assets around this time, you are likely going to get bad prices and hence lower returns. If you can, do not be quick to give up your investments for sale around this period until the economy rebounds;
- Take time to find the emerging new opportunities – even bad economic creates new opportunities. As human beings, we are wired to innovate to adapt the any circumstances that we find ourselves in. What this means is that money in the economy may shift from your current sources to new ones. It thus becomes your responsibility to find where it has gone and follow it there;
- Keep on investing in yourself – it is possible to do your budget cuts on activities that support your self-improvement in bad times. For instance, you maybe tempted not to invest in books or a seminar that is going to improve your skills or expand your knowledge. This is the most suicidal moves many people take because it works against the shiftings within the economy. Economic slowdown may shift opportunities from your current industry or skills –meaning you will need to develop new skills and remain versatile enough to notice the shifting changes.
As my concluding thought, I want to end on a motivational note: Treasury and Government Thinkers have pronounced themselves about what they forsee of the economy for the coming days – but that does not have to be true or your reality at your personal finances. From this desk, it is a good time to make money and thrive despite the times. You need to affirm this as your reality if it will become your truth and reality in 2023.
Insightful