Am I Recession Proof?

I watched an episode of Oprah, focusing on the devastating effects of the recession in the U.S. yesterday. As I sat in the comfort of my home, with my bills paid and a sense of financial ease ... it made me wonder how secure any of this material world really is.

When a person is earning a living at a job that you've held for 'forever', it is very easy to sit back and feel lackadaisical about it all. You keep doing what you've always done, assume that the pay cheque that you have earned will come when it is expected. You find fault with the nit picky kinds of things that are an intrical part of day to day living. Whether it is a job, a relationship, a neighborhood, a car ... you name it. Any thing or any one that we see every day, becomes something that we begin to take for granted.

The segment of Oprah's show that stayed with me after the show, were the 'tent cities' that are springing up all over the country. The shelters are turning people away so this has become an alternate way of living. This was contrasted against the prior segment, where a mother and her 2 children had all of their belongings bundled up in a garbage bag. They carried this bag around with them all day and relied on finding a shelter at night. The luckier ones in the show lived in their office or found a way to shave some of their housing costs by taking in another family. People are doing what it takes to survive these hard financial times.

It is hard to imagine being placed in this scenario. Where I live has not been severely affected by this financial crisis. There may be a trickle-down effect that will hit us. But as of this moment, I feel very fortunate.

The one thing that the people who were highlighted in Oprah's show said is that they would focus on saving, if they were to do it all over again. We live in a very materialistic world. Not only living pay cheque to pay cheque ... but living beyond our means. Charging what we can't afford. Living in houses that we couldn't afford, if the mortgage interest rates were to sky rocket. A lot of us are only one pay cheque or car/house repair away from a devastating financial situation.

I just received my pension statement this past week. Due to the financial situation we are in, the balance in my pension dropped 18.65%. Not the interest rate - the actual balance. I consider myself fortunate because I am (hopefully) almost 20 years away from retirement. My retirement plan is to work at what I love. So the financial aspect isn't as devastating to me, as it may be to someone who was relying solely on those funds. For some one who did as all the financial advisers told them to do and have been diligently saving for their retirement and investing in mutual funds to maximize the long term growth potential - to see their hard earned money drop in value so drastically would be a bitter pill to swallow.

But when we compare our drop in investment values, to being forced to live out of a garbage bag and look for refuge where we could find it ... we must feel very rich indeed.

When we wake up every morning and have a bathroom that is our own and a few steps away from where we sleep ... we are fortunate. When we can have a shower in the privacy of our own home ... we are blessed. When we can open our refrigerator or cupboard doors and choose from the bounty of groceries that we have on hand ... we are lucky. When we can walk out of our home and know that we have a roof to call our own, that we can come home to at night ... we are rich. When we can turn on a light, turn on a faucet, turn up the heat or simply close and lock a door that belongs to us every night and know that our family is safely tucked inside ... we are prosperous.

I believe that we are surrounded by the riches that are our lives, every day. Even the families showcased on Oprah's show were not without hope and their health. There are silver linings where ever you may be in life.

What can I do to 'recession proof' my life? I believe that it starts by valuing what I have right here and now. I am so grateful for the roof and walls that shelter me and my family. I am grateful for my family - something that money can't buy. I am grateful for my health and the health of my family. I have the blessing of spending the energy I have, on caring and sharing with my family and appreciating the many small blessings that we have ... simply because we have each other.

Practically ... I know that I should spend wisely, save for a rainy day and build up that emergency fund that I have read about for the entirety of my adult life. Money can't buy everything ... but it can certainly ease the uncertainty out of month to month living.

When I think of the families that are toting their belongings around in a garbage bag or living out of a tent ... it makes me realize how little that we truly need, when it comes to material belongings.

What we never want to lose ... is hope.