Do we ever get a break? Just as talk of a recession started to subside, now we’re faced with worries about mass layoffs happening all around us. And if that wasn’t enough, here comes Trump with his inconsistent messaging and constant tariff threats.
Can anyone blame us for feeling overwhelmed by all this chaos? But the real question is: what can we do about it?
First, take a deep breath. The world has always been chaotic—this is nothing new. Despite how it may seem, the world isn’t ending. The economy has always had its ups and downs. If you want to compare today’s economic uncertainty to the past, just look at the Great Recession of 2008, the dot-com bubble, the 1987 crash, or even worse, the Great Depression of the early 20th century. Context is key here, as we are quick to forget history and how things have always been unpredictable, and if anything, this is fact of life and it is important to be adaptable.
Focus on what you can control. You can’t dictate what comes out of Trump’s mouth about tariffs or the price of eggs, but you can control how you react and manage your finances. Just because things look bleak and the news is overwhelmingly negative doesn’t mean you should neglect your budget, stop saving money, or abandon your investment strategy. If anything, this is the time to stay even more committed to your financial fundamentals—not to abandon them. And abandon them for what? It is tough and uncertain times like these where you double down on what you have already been doing. Keep your fundamental in check and in front of you, in good times, and certainly more so in tough and turbulent times.
Stay sharp and focused. I remember a few years ago when one of my former managers was demoted—it came as a complete shock to me. While she got to keep her job, it was a wake-up call. If someone as senior as her could be demoted, then I certainly wasn’t safe in my role either. That’s when I decided to pursue my long-held dream of obtaining the Canadian Securities Course (CSC). I had been contemplating it for years but kept putting it off. In other words, I used someone else’s bad news as motivation to improve my own situation. That decision paid off, as earning that certification has since helped me advance both in my job and my career as a whole.
If you feel uneasy, uncertain or just plain scared of what is happening with the economy or state of our world in general, do something about it. But before you do that, take a deep breath and keep things in prospective. Things may look bleak but they have always been turbulent and the boom and bust cycles are a sad reality of our capitalistic system.