Become A Survivor: Tips For Successfully Surviving Financial Loss

Financial loss is an unfortunate reality for some individuals and business owners. The idea of trying to survive it is too difficult to imagine, but it IS possible.

Each person or business is unique, therefore all financial situations are unique as well. Thus, the way a person responds to financial loss will be unique. A financial loss can cause physical and/or emotional stress on those impacted.

Physical Impacts due to Financial Loss

Physical impacts due to financial loss might affect an individual in ways such as lifestyle changes. These changes could mean eating out less or creating budgets and following them. In extreme cases, an individual may lose their home or be forced to relocate to a more budget friendly residence. Businesses, although may experience some of the same physical impacts as individuals, may also experience impacts specifically related to businesses and sometimes more specifically related to their industry. Business owners would also need to determine the amount of financial loss and whether the loss could have been prevented. If determined that had there been policies and procedures in place that the loss could have been prevented, then those policies should be put in place immediately to prevent any further loss in the future. Depending on the severity of the financial loss, a business could be looking as needing to scale their business back to prevent total loss and to allow ample time for recovery.

Emotional Impacts due to Financial Loss

Emotional impacts that follow financial loss can range from stress, panic, anger, and confusion, to cases of severe depression. The first thing that needs to happen is acknowledgement. Acknowledge the fact that this is happening or that it has happened, and start developing a plan to prevent it from happening in the future. Denial will only lead to future hardships. A financial loss can feel like a failure, but being able to look at the situation as a learning experience can make both individuals and business owners stronger.

Coming Out On Top

Start by creating a list of your debt, monthly expenses, and income. It is in this step that you need to prioritize as well; things like your credit cards cannot be at the top of your priority list if you can barely afford groceries. Sometimes understanding that things may need to get worse before they get better can be a mindset difficult for some people to grasp. A couple of questions individuals may ask themselves when trying to find ways to make extra money are: Are you able to get a 2^nd job? Can you have a yard sale and sell things that you have not used in years or possibly do not need? Can you carpool or take the bus?

A financial loss can be devastating, but it will only defeat you if you let it. Take control of the situation and work hard on the road to financial recovery!