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"People are talking about
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Feeling Overworked & Overwhelmed
- During these tough economic times, it's important to pause and reflect on our own personal life journey. You need to ask yourself:
- Do I feel that I like I am headed in the right direction?
- Am I creating a circle of support to help me lighten my burdens?
- Could I be doing something different to earn more money to live a better life?
This section addresses these questions about life, money, and meaning.
 10 Point Plan for Building a Strong Financial Foundation For The Average Worker
During difficult economic times, there are many things we don’t have control over. It’s important that we take personal responsibility for our finances. Below you will find 10 things you can do immediately to improve your financial foundation.
- Create a budget to consciously and purposefully review your spending (if you would like to receive a copy of the budget I use for my clients please email me at info@louisbarajas.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).
- Create a cash (emergency) reserve at your bank or credit union (accounts are now insured by the FDIC for $250,000 per depositor). The rule of thumb is to save 3 to 6 months of living expenses. Every industry is different. If you work in declining industries, you may need to save at least 9 to 12 months of emergency reserves.
- Review your insurance (health, homeowner’s, auto, life, disability, long-term care, etc). Not having the appropriate personal insurance when you may need to use it can be riskier than the current economy.
- Get your estate plan completed. This means that everyone needs a durable power of attorney, an advanced health care directive, and a will. If you have children under the age of 18, you need a nomination of guardian. If you have real estate assets, you need a living trust.
- Contribute at least 10% of your income (if not the maximum) to your retirement plan at work. If your employer matches you, consider that extra, not part of your 10%. Select a target fund (a fund that invests with the date of retirement you have in mind) to invest in if you don’t have someone to help you select the investments.
- Don’t try to time the market or pick stocks for your core investment portfolio. No one has ever consistently beaten the market. Moving your money from your investment portfolio to cash accounts during volatile times might be a big mistake if you are invested for the long term (5 years or more). It may take you years to recuperate your losses from your investments if you miss just a few big up days in the stock market.
- Hire a registered investment advisor to review your investment portfolio’s diversification. My experience has shown me that most people really don’t understand what “diversification” means. Most financial advisors are only product salespeople and cannot (by law) give you investment advice.
- Patience, discipline, and diversification always reward the long-term investor. Greed (irrational exuberance) and fear punishes most investors. Investigate how financially strong your company and current job is. All progress starts by telling the truth. Make a realistic assessment. If the word around the office is that your job may be in jeopardy, get proactive. Sharpen your job skills, network with family and friends, or start searching the internet for potential employment opportunities.
- Investigate how financially strong your company and current job is. All progress starts by telling the truth. Make a realistic assessment. If the word around the office is that your job may be in jeopardy, get proactive. Sharpen your job skills, network with family and friends, or start searching the internet for potential employment opportunities.
- Remember that “THIS TOO SHALL PASS” during difficult financial times. A positive attitude and big picture perspective on life is the best recipe to stay emotionally and physically healthy. Be grateful for what you have and generous with what you can give.
 Overcoming Feeling Overwhelmed in today’s Economy
A lot of the financial pundits are touting that we spend less, save more, and stay calm. But what if you are living paycheck to paycheck and have nothing left to cut on your budget? What if your job isn’t secure and you’ve heard through the grapevine that they may be cutting jobs in your department? What if focusing on the bad financial news is causing you sleepless nights, stress related headaches, and shear feelings of overwhelm? It may take a while before our economy turns around but there are a few things you can do today to help you get through these tough times.
If you have all the above symptoms and need some help I would like to suggest my own remedies. They may sound more like home remedies, but I know that they work. Don’t ever discount home remedies. Several years ago I was bitten by a spider when I was doing yard work on the weekend. My left arm felt instantly numb and started turning red. I told my wife to drive me to the emergency room. While I got ready my wife called her mom and she told her to put some rubbing alcohol on a piece of bread and to put the bread on my spider bite. My wife followed instructions and made me hold a piece of bread with rubbing alcohol on my arm while we drove to the hospital. I kid you not, not less than half a block from my house the redness that was now all the way up my arm was starting to evaporate like a piece of ice on a hot summer day. In no time the numbness disappeared and the piece of bread let out steam as if it had been grilled into French toast. True story!
The first thing you need to do is remove yourself mentally from your current situation and project yourself into the future. Visualize your ideal life. How would you like to be remembered? Who did you get to become? What did you get to do? What did you get to have? All the great minds throughout the centuries have always said in one way or another to begin with the end in mind. Life is funny that way. Life works better when we think backwards and then live our life forward. Use some of the tools on this website to do that. Use the Values Compass, the Life Focus Wheel, the Relationship Recognizer to create your own Life Blueprint. Being conscious of your priorities in life really puts things in perspective. Focusing on a brighter future pulls you towards it. Focusing on an ideal future relaxes the mind and helps you to respond (not react) to your current situation.
Next, I want you to focus on your own greatness. Instead of focusing on what expense items to cut on your budget, let’s focus on your unique natural talents. I want you to focus on what you do best. I want you to become more valuable. Talk to your friends, relatives, and especially your boss about what they think makes you unique. What do you contribute to the world that others see as valuable? Everyone has a special gift. I want you to create a budget on how you use your time. I want you to start eliminating, delegating, or managing the things that are taking you away from your unique talents. Ask your boss what you can do to become more valuable. I have consulted hundreds of companies over the years and I have never heard of anyone ask their boss how they can become more valuable to their company. This will make you stick out like a sore thumb to the rest of the employees. The biggest complaint employers have is finding employees who genuinely care about their work and their company.
These simple ideas will change your life. It’s important to know that clarity creates success and that awareness creates transformation. These simple ideas will attract more money in your life and give you more peace of mind. And in these trying times, more money and a better night’s sleep sounds good to me.
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