Imagine raising five young children, watching the economy collapse in itself and not changing your spending habits. I don’t have to do it, because it happened to me during the 2008 great recession.
I must say that I do not recommend it. My naivety led to my financial fall, a divorce, the loss of contact with my family and even to become homeless for a while.
As many of us are now on the edge of our seats wondering what is the next step for our current economy, I plan to be a little more careful this time. I have learned a lot of difficult lessons since the last recession, and I will no longer make the same mistakes.
Life seemed beautiful
I felt economically stable in the late 2000s. I had a good salary as a technical writer at Citigroup. My wife and I have a four -bedroom house, two cars, and we had discretionary money. Our life was comfortable.
I was not worried about the 2007 subprime mortgage implosion. After all, I had a fixed rate loan of 30 years.
I was not concerned about the stock market crash of September 2008. In my mind, it was Karma which struck the endless greed of American companies.
I did not worry about Citigroup – a multinational company with billions of assets. Admittedly, the bank of almost two years was too large to fail.
So they didn’t do it.
I claimed that everything was fine
I obsessively looked at Citigroup’s action of its value. For the shortest moments in November 2008, it fell below one dollar per share before rallying.
When this happened, I temporarily imagined a worst of cases: Citigroup could quickly collapse under its financial weight, taking its thousands of employees with me.
I did not physically reveal my discomfort at the time. Instead, I put forward as the economic world was not on fire. I put an impassive face and I assured my family that nothing was bad.
My wife and I did not have any discussions at the end of the evening on appropriate budgeting. We have not talked to the children to tighten our belts. I did not speak of a financial advisor or shop for lower automobile insurance costs. In retrospect, I should have done everything I could to guarantee the financial future of my family.
Instead, I spent thousands of dollars on family vacation in Disney World. We have put our terrace in place, bought new kitchen parquet and updated devices. In 2009, we welcomed our fifth child, adding more expenses.
We bought some of these items with money (new baby excluded), but a large percentage was bought with credit, which finally led to thousands of dollars of debt.
However, it seemed to be a calm sea for the SS Keller. However, I did not run a double -hull cruise ship. I brought back a canoe against the current while a cascade of denial was in front of me.
Now I know better
This life of lies to myself and my family injured everyone at the end. In my mind, it was normal to draw on savings and use credit for expenses beyond the budget. I had a stable and well paid job in a large business.
However, I repeatedly raised my finances when I should have been in shock from the financial habits of my family. Composed this was an unmatched bipolar disorder. This contributed to impulsive expenses and magic reflection on unrealistic financial assessments, but not all could be attributed to this possible diagnosis.
The mistakes I made during this period led to my possible divorce and a period of time that I spent homeless. The transition from a four-bedroom house to a mini-dinner was a devastating blow.
In addition, whenever I review my credit report, I creak teeth in the history of my financial missteps.
I only learned to be financially responsible after my bipolar diagnosis in 2020. Before that, I spent money as soon as it was earned. I lied to my family and endangered their financial stability. It took years to cure injuries.
I now know that honesty and open communication with your family, even on difficult subjects such as finances, are essential to navigate uncertainty. Although you don’t have to prepare for the worst case, you must have the monetary tools necessary to withstand economic turbulence. This includes an emergency fund, a budget and a debt reduction plan. I know it now, and I will keep it in mind in the coming months.
Today, I live in northern Colorado and I work hard to maintain a solid financial base. Although I recently lost my job, I do not give up and I do the minimum to find a new position as I did. I put 100%, even when my neurodivergence wants me to do otherwise.
It is a precarious balance, especially for someone in the mid -1950s. Nevertheless, I am determined to live a life of abundance instead of rarity.
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