Starve.
Just kidding…Mostly. We all know the world is going through a tough time- 99% of us are not billionaires or millionaires- shocking, right?
I don’t want to gloss over the fact that so many people live paycheck to paycheck. You’re doing your best to provide for yourself, your family, and any fur kids you might have. There’s a very real social structure making the rich richer and the poor poorer.
But, there are some things you can do to help yourself.
- Learn the art of negotiation.
Call your credit card companies. Call your banks. See if there’s anything they can do to give you lower interest rates. Even if you can just get one company to lower your interest rate it’s a win.
Ask for a raise. Be forthright and have a backup plan if possible. Role play speaking with your boss or manager. Also, hold people to their word. If they promised you a raise. Get it in writing and hold them to their word.
2. Plan your purchases strategically.
I’m an impulsive person. When I decide I want something it can be hard to slow down and wait. I like to like to look at my annual and monthly purchases so there are no surprises. Planning ahead will put you ahead. Things will always happen that are unexpected, but planning ahead has saved my ass a time or two.
3. Play the long game.
It can be hard to develop the mindset of how today’s actions will effect the future. I created a budgeting sheet that shows how spending today impacts the coming month.
Unfortunately, we don’t have many options when it comes to capitalism. To an extent you have to play the game. More work equals more money.
While boycotting Starbucks will never get you enough cash to buy a house- remember that whatever you get from capitalism will ask you for three times as much (or whatever 29% APR amounts to). Like most fantasy books will tell you- there is a price for every miracle. Becoming mindful about your expenses can push you to realize you may not need everything in your cart at Target.
4. Ask for help.
Americans are trained not to ask for help. We have a stigma against people who receive benefits or that we should be embarrassed we can’t do everything ourselves.
If you are human, you deserve a safe home and a full belly at minimum. We pay into social services, into unemployment, into our county, state, and country through taxes. There are programs to help people get on their feet. There are emergency housing organizations, grants for struggling artists, downpayment assistance, and more.
Throughout the pandemic we’ve seen people posting their venmo asking for help or starting a crowdsourcing campaign. Do not be ashamed if you need to do this.
Once we start realizing humans should be a team instead of competitors, we might just make the world a better place. There is enough for us all if we can let go and give when we can and take what we need.
Photo by micheile dot com on Unsplash
