Let’s face it – life can be unpredictable and hard sometimes. Just when you think you are getting things together, something can drop into your life and make you feel like you’ve run 60mph into a brick wall. It can be this way with our finances. Even if we plan, budget, and have a periodic expense account (for those expenses we know will occur at some point but don’t know exactly when – see past blogs about this type of account), it is possible that our finances can change dramatically and fast. The loss of a job, discovering a new baby is on the way, a car wreck or breakdown that is unfixable, and on and on. When faced with these situations the question simply becomes, “Well, what are you going to do about it?”
We have choices. We can cry and whine for a little bit and then stand up, dust off our shoulders and move forward. Or we can get stuck in a pit of despair, lost in hopeless inaction.
I don’t want to discourage you today. It’s a simple fact that life often takes unexpected turns, or even turns that are expected but come faster than we are prepared for. But the good news is that we have the power to move forward. We can choose to take these circumstances and work through them, figuring out how they can benefit us. Suppose you lost a job. The company I worked for closed when I was 38 weeks pregnant (yes, iMoneyGuy is a girl, I’m letting the secret out!) with my first child. The news was devastating. I also worked from home at the time and was looking forward to spending some of my time at home raising the kids. As hard as it was to get out there and interview and go back to an office environment (thanks to the owners of iMoneyCoach!!), I found a great company to work for, wonderful co-workers, and I am able to pay the mortgage and buy groceries. It’s not the plan I had, and it’s been tough many days to leave the house, but it’s better than wallowing in despair and letting the bank take our house. Family has been a huge part of the transition as well. They all chipped in to take days watching the baby and offering encouraging words. I would recommend looking to family, friends, and church family in your tough times as they can pull you through (and are often more than happy to help).
Part of what we do at iMoneyCoach is help clients learn to set goals, to see the big vision for their lives and figure out how to get there. Sometimes it takes knowledge, and sometimes encouragement. But our dream is to help people get to a place where they can say “I love my life!” We can help clients learn to budget or how to readjust a budget after a major setback. We help point out alternative sources of income so that maybe the loss of 1 job is hard but not the end of the world. We believe that financial success is achievable in spite of life’s setbacks, and we encourage you to stand up, dust off your shoulders, and keep on going. And definitely give us a call if you want or need help with that!
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