The effects of a financial crisis can be devastating. As an employee, you may lose your job or get a cut in pay. As an independent contractor your gig pipeline may dry up. As a business owner, you may lose revenues overnight that have taken you years to build up. And as a retiree, you may see your hard-won savings evaporate. You may feel panicky and that’s understandable. Even financial pros can feel unnerved when markets are crashing.
Take heart. I’ve now seen 8 financial crises in my working career resulting in a stock market drop of 20% or more. Each came with its own unique set of circumstances, but all shared a similar recovery over the 12 months that followed.
Thriving in a financial crisis means being smart about navigating the personal financial hits while grabbing the opportunities that every crisis creates. I’ve complied this list of tips on how to thrive in a financial crisis that I hope you’ll find helpful.