“Relationships and The Credit Crunch” by Susanne Jorgensen
by Susanne Jorgensen on August 23, 2009
in Money Gym | Success
Nicola says: We are currently on holiday with ex-Money Gym and ex-mentoring client of mine, founder of The Singles Gym, Susanne Jorgensen, and as I’m feeling very lazy in my last few days, I asked her if she had a nice money orientated article for you. Her first book “Get Real: Relationship Success Is An Inside Job” is about to be published this Autumn, via my publisher Bookshaker.com, so there is a nice rosy glow of achievement (and reflected glory) around her at the moment – she’s thrilled about getting her first ISBN number……..little things!
Relationship Coach Susanne Jogensen says:
“Everywhere you turn the words ‘credit crunch’ and ‘recession’ are being used.
I was speaking with a colleague recently who was looking and sounding quite stressed. It turned out that his business was tied in to XL, the big tour operator that had just gone bust. And just a few days ago a friend of mine, was commenting on how he was noticing, in the credit crunch climate that his client numbers were steadily dropping and he was wondering what he could do.
The message in the newspapers and on the television is clear – we are entering some very difficult times and it is predicted by some, that these hard times could possibly last for the next couple of years.
We are hearing, almost on a daily basis of people having to sell their homes at a loss and the statistics on the numbers of homes that are being repossessed is at an all time high.
And it’s not just businesses that are affected by difficult economic climate. Romance too can suffer when the finances aren’t in a favorable place. I discovered this recently when I met a nice guy who told me, that he would love to take me out but that due to tough financial times, he wasn’t in a place to date right now.
Relationship counsellors tell us that financial difficulties contribute to huge tensions and arguments in relationships. In one survey, two out of five couples whose relationships broke down cited debt as a contributing factor.
Friendships can suffer too when times get tough.
If you feel like your friends are doing well but you can’t afford to hang out with them, you may feel bitter that they are cushioned from the leaner times you’re experiencing yourself. You might end up trying to pretend you can maintain your previous lifestyle, perceiving peer pressure from your friends which can also lead to you feeling deep resentment towards them.
Yes, times are tougher for many of us. So let me share my own top tips for beating the credit crunch.
Tip 1: Try To See the Opportunity in the Crisis
Opportunity I was talking to my mother the other day on Skype (I do love it!) and she was telling me that she was reading an article that said that the Chinese word for “Crisis” was actually made up of two words: danger and opportunity. A time of crisis can also be a time of opportunity. I know people that did very well in the last recession. It often meant moving out of their comfort zones, thinking outside of the box and making some potentially scary decisions.
* How you choose to view the current financial will have a huge impact on how you deal with it. If you knew there was an opportunity waiting for you, what difference would that make for you? What would be your next move?
Tip 2: Do Something Different
Einstein Einstein’s definition of insanity is “doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome.” Think about what finance strategy you have used until now, and think about what you could be doing differently. Talk to people who are good at managing their finances.
Read books, trawl the internet, study the lives of successful people and find as many ideas as you can on financial management strategies – just remember if what you’ve been doing hasn’t been working – do something different!
Tip 3: Look forward, Not backwards
At times like this it’s easy to look back and focus on what you got wrong, on the mistakes you made and on some of the poor choices you might have made. We all have 20/20 vision with hindsight! If you don’t want to continue to take the past with you in your future, quit dragging it along with you. Take the learning from your past, then let go. Focus on moving forward – stop focusing on what you haven’t done and start focusing on what you do want to do.
Read More Here >>
