People tend to ignore bad news because they want to focus on positivity. But we could no longer ignore recession because it’s already happening. Sooner or later you are going to experience its effects and it will mess with your life. In my case it came sooner.
Few days ago the agency I was working with cut our pay in half. They weren’t getting more clients. Not to mention Christmas and New Year are coming and it looks like we’re not gonna be having noche buena on our table this year.
Small businesses are tightening their belts and are reducing budgets on marketing to prepare cash flow for the recession. Layoffs are happening left and right, salaries are cut, prices of goods are rising but the expenses stay the same. So I completely understand where they’re coming from.
Maybe I was lucky I wasn’t part of the workforce that got laid off. Although, I’m not at a point where I need to post my paypal or gcash account asking for donations, I was getting paid in USD so the conversion to PHP really stings. This is why having an emergency fund is very crucial and I encourage people to prepare financially.
The real takeaway here though is that this is just the start and by Q1 to Q2 next year the economy could get worse, not just in the US but in other countries as well.
As for me, learning new salable skills, finding other income opportunities, producing content for the long-term, and preparing a budget to leverage dropping prices of investment assets are some of my strategies to face this coming recession.
Preparation won’t stop the economy from crashing but it will definitely help to put food on your table during uncertain times.
Stay vigilant.