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How to Cope with a Cash Crisis

Photo by Ahsanjaya on Pexels.com

Introduction

In the end, it can be hard enough to make ends meet on a decent wage, but when the times get tough and the money just is not there to meet the need, a person can easily despair. It can be very difficult to cope with financial problems.

There is no real magic formula for coming up with on-the-spot emergency cash. There is a good deal of thinking through and the putting of a good plan into action if you have it made. If you can do that, any one of us can secure out tomorrows.

Cash Crisis

If you are hit with a serious money crisis and you find yourself scrambling around for emergency money, here’s how to assess your situation and get back on your feet.

All of a sudden and without warning, your roof begins to leak! Your hot water heater shuts down and your computer goes up in smoke, the clutch needs to be replaced in your car and your son decides to have his wedding on the Isle of Oahu – all of this within the same week!

As you sit, stunned and you ponder an exit strategy you receive a friendly letter from the IRS explaining that you miscalculated your taxes in 1996, and they now own your house.

What do do if your bank account runs out of money?

The above scenario looks like a money emergency of biblical proportions. You are afraid to open your front door for fear of finding a swarm of locusts!

Thank goodness, there are things you can still do to restore your financial life and equilibrium—and perhaps even fend off future misfortune—without having to sell your very soul.

Learning to Cope

You can be sure to find crippling emotional setback if you try to avoid it all you try. You will need to cope very well with both if you hope to make a solid financial comeback. Don’t worry about money woes, just start to prepare for the devastating fiscal and emotional fallout.

When a series of financial hits come your way that the stress will tend to accumulate and make your life much more difficult to cope. Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you are feeling stressed or in need of it. If you sit back wringing your hands with worry and allow all of your emergencies to pile into one; you will find yourself down for the count. You must NEVER allow yourself the luxury of panic. There is no one there for you to just take over.

The more you panic, the less effective you will be. Be aware of your own tendency to sabotage your plans further. It is only when you are at your most calm that you can get to where you need to be and then overcome. You need to keep a very clear head to be able to come up with an appropriate plan.

Be Calm

If you have a money emergency, it’s important not to act right away. You must first manage your emotions before you can make a plan.

If your money emergency demands that you act quickly, think first about seeking the advice of a debt counselor, money coach or financial planner. If possible, seek out the aid of a financially perceptive friend or family member who can help you to come to a clearer perspective.If you’re strapped for cash a financial planner can give you the advice you need to turn your situation around quickly if you’re in need of help.

Crunch some numbers

The first step toward establishing financial stability is to assess the damage. You need to know exactly how much you owe, how much money you have in hand and what it will take to cover the distance between the two.

If you are not properly prepared, you must become prepared on the spot. The idea is to not be overwhelmed and to have a good plan of action. You need to be entirely prepared to deal with any sized setback. Some people will be able to handle it OK; some will be sunk from the start.

You might have an emergency stash, but it’s most often depleted. Don’t turn to plastic for relief you will only be transferring your problems from one pocket to the other if you don’t have a good budget. The Irregular Expenses account should be set up in any good budgeting system.

If you’re running while on your last leg, consider taking out a home equity line of credit. The interest is tax deductible, but those aren’t fixed rates. Unless you plan to pay back the amount you borrowed promptly, it can end up costing you more than you thought.

Be Smart-Don’t be Rash

Think well before borrowing from loan sharks. There are loopholes that allow you to do so, but there are also hidden costs. If you lose your job, you’d have to repay the loan immediately, or be taxed as though it was a withdrawal.

Summary

When a person can have good financial control and a good plan of action. Should emergency funds be needed, a person can then sleep better at night.

There is no real magic formula for coming up with on-the-spot emergency cash. There is a good deal of thinking through and the putting of a good plan into action. If you can do that, you have it made. That is truly all that any one of us can do to secure out tomorrows.

Disclaimer

    The author of this blog makes no warranty or representation of the organization’s mentioned herein. No warranty of any kind may be created or extended by any written sales materials or sales representatives. There is no guarantee of merchantability or finances for a particular purpose, nor are there any implied warranties of merchantable or finances.

    The information contained in this guide is for information purposes only and may not apply to your situation. The author shall not be liable for any loss of profit or salary or any other damages resulting from use of this guide. All links are for information purpose only and are not warranted for content, accuracy or other implied or explicit purpose.

    Please keep this in mind when reviewing this guide.

    THREE (3) WAYS TO SAVE FORTNIGHTLY USING PROVEN METHODS THAT WORK.

    Introduction

    Coronavirus has affected our way of living and doing business and life isn’t the way it used to be before.

    SMEs are struggling to keep afloat, and so many if not thousands have lost their jobs and those who are still employed are very fortunate. Whilst the opportunity is now with the employed, it is now high time to think seriously on how best you can save some money preparing for pandemics like Covid-19, Natural Disasters and other related disasters and unforseen needs that may arise or better still for early retirement.

    In Papua New Guinea most of the employed are so lazy thinking that putting some money through government sanctioned channels like superannuation contributions, and or savings and loan societies is enough. When you resign, or lose your job or retire, you will find that you haven’t saved enough and cannot do much about it.

    I have worked in the superannuation industry for eight(8) years, and savings and loan societies for four(4) years and have seen how reckless our working class are. Even me included. I could just apply for loan to just drink beer which led to my going into a lot of bad debts, both with loan sharks and peer to peer lending or dinau moni. I’ve never thought of saving those extra money’s for the bad days ahead. I was all reckless in saving.

    Whilst like many others, I learnt my lesson the hard way. In this blog I will be discussing my thoughts three ways I think are the best and effective ways on how you could save some money using existing and proven methods.

    Without further ado, let’s go straight there.

    1. Voluntary Contributions With Superannuation funds.

    Voluntary Contributions to Superannuation funds is a very effective way to boost your savings. In fact our superannuation funds in Papua New Guinea encourage voluntary contributions.

    How is voluntary contributions done?

    Every fortnight from your pay, your employer deduct’s 6% of your salary to the nominated superannuation fund. Your employer contributes 8.4% on your behalf bringing to a total of 14.4% going to superannuation.

    You have a option to increase your portion up to 15%. In this way, you increase your chances of saving quickly to reach your target and retire early whilst you are still young and enjoy your hard earned cash.

    You can visit the nearest super fund branch and enquire for more information or collect the application form to fill and start saving.

    Whilst still on superannuation, you can also do salary sacrifice to save even more and save fast for early retirement. Remember, time is our enemy therefore, doing everything and anything using proven methods to retire early should be our aim.

    So what is SALARY SACRIFICE and how do I do that?

    Super funds also allow this option. To do a salary sacrifice, you can arrange with your payroll to have portion of your salary (annual gross) sacrificed to be added on your employer’s portion so it goes in before tax. This is another way to reduce tax on your salary. Visit your super fund branch for more information on this option.

    Notable supera funds that provide the avenues discussed above are Nasfund and Nambawan Super Limited .

    2. Savings and Loan Societies.

    Savings and Loan Society is another best option to increase your chances of saving more for early retirement. All savings and loan societies in Papua New Guinea have a minimum requirement of K20 to start saving but unlike super funds, you are allowed to do cash deposits as well.

    The disadvantage of savings and loan societies is that you are allowed to withdraw your savings so long as it has a minimum of K200 in the savings account.

    However, following are the advantages of savings and loan societies:

    • You can do cash contributions/deposits
    • Withdraw anytime when you need cash for emergency situations
    • You can deposit any amount to boost your savings
    • More than 10% including special savings accounts such as “school fees club’s account” and “Christmas Club account”.

    Call in to the nearest savings and loan society office and enquire for more.

    Further, the interesting thing about savings and loan society that I like is the number of special accounts with their interest rates. The interest for general purpose/savings account is 2% annually, whereas all other special purpose accounts are 6% annually when added together, you have a total of 14% annually. This is just awesome. You will definitely make a fortune for yourself utilizing the savings and loan products provided you control your borrowing habits with the society(savings and loan).

    If you have extra cash, you can do peer to peer lending to increase your capital thus increasing the amount to deposit cash to your savings and loan account to attract the 14% interest discussed above.

    There are number of savings and loan societies in the country but the most notable ones that I can recommend you to check are Teachers Savings and Loan Society Limited, Nambawan Savings and Loans Society Limited, Nasfund Contributors Savings and Loan Society Limited, etc.

    3. Fortnightly Savings to Secondary Account using the Plus One(+1) Savings Method.

    Simple fortnightly plan to raise K3, 800.00 in 26 fortnights from your salary.

    Plus one savings method is my personal favorite. In fact you can teach this method to your kids so they can start with K0.10 and learn the art of savings at a early age to secure their own financial goals.

    Plus One Savings Method is a method in which you add one part of the principal amount ontop of the previous amount contributed, each amount, each given day in your own convenience. Study the method (example) given/insert photo above to see how it’s done.

    I have enquired at Bank South Pacific and was told that you can have a secondary account with the bank.
    Given that opportunity, you can open a secondary account with BSP and transfer your contributions via SMS banking or internet banking every fortnight for 26 fortnights and see how much you have saved.

    The key to savings or building wealth requires commitment, determination, hardwork, and ALOT of patience.

    This strategy is very effective. There’s a separate blog post on this subject giving details on how you can use this method on this link.

    For the benefit of this blog post, I’ll discuss little bit on this method.

    First, you must have a steady flow of income, which you already have, your fortnight pay.
    Secondly, open a secondary account with the bank where you receive your salary from.
    Third, start saving by transferring your prescribed portion to your secondary account.
    Lastly but not the least, thank me after you see your savings grow. Hahaha, just kidding there, but that is the way to effectively save during this very difficult economic times we are in.

    This method will take a lot less time than you think, and you can do it in very small amounts each fortnight.

    Here’s an extract from my previous blog on this method.

    100Days Savings with the Plus One method.

    For instance, let’s say, we start savings with K1.00 on day one, and K100 on the 100th day.
    If we were to start with K1, this is how it will be. Since its 100 days, a day is equivalent to the amount we drop in the penny box or save for that matter.

    On day 1, we save K1,
    On day 2, we save K2, giving as a total of K3,
    On day three, we save K3, giving us a total of K6 and so on until we reach day number 100, we save K100, giving us a total of K5, 050. Boom! You made yourself a lot of money. No tax, no bank fees, no bank queues, but just your penny box and your disciplined action with commitment to invest in yourself.

    This is the method that can be used for fortnightly contributions.

    NOTE: Amount is not restricted plus number of contributions is noted restricted as well.

    Conclusion

    The key to building wealth is developing good habits—like regularly putting money as little as K0.10 away every day. If you make investing a habit now, you’ll be in a much stronger financial position down the road.

    All it requires from your part is, planning, set target, commitment and discipline. That’s all you need, to go down the journey to financial freedom. You don’t have to rely on your superannuation contribution and finish pay from your employer as the only means available to cash out at retirement.

    There are so many different ways you can utilize whilst working to increase your savings. And like the common phrase, don’t put your eggs in the same basket is true in this sense.

    Disclaimer
    Whilst the author has used his best efforts in this blog, he makes no warranty or representation of the organization’s mentioned herein, nor any representation with respect to the accuracy of the content of this blog and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or finances for a particular purpose.
    It is further acknowledged that no warranty of any kind may be created or extended by any written sales materials or sales representatives.

    The information contained in this guide is for information purposes only and may not apply to your situation. It is advisable that you consult a financial expert or legal professional where appropriate before using this guide and users of this material assume risk.

    The author shall not be liable for any loss of profit or salary or any other damages resulting from use of this guide. All links are for information purposes only and are not warranted for.content, accuracy or any other implied or explicit purpose.

    Please keep this in mind when reviewing this guide.

    The Top Signs that You Might Have Low Emotional Intelligence

    Having low emotional intelligence, or EQ is an issue that can have a significant influence on your social relationships. Some experts even believe that emotional intelligence has more of an impact on your chances of overall success in life when compared to one’s IQ. Your emotional intelligence can play a significant role in how you interact with others, and with low emotional intelligence, you might find social situations difficult and full of tension. Here are some of the top signs that might suggest you have low emotional intelligence.


    Getting in a Lot of Arguments

    You probably know someone who is incredibly combative with others, or you might be the one who tends to get into arguments with others. Family, friends, colleagues, and even random strangers might find themselves embroiled continuously in disputes with these argumentative people. Since people with low emotional intelligence tend to struggle with understanding other’s emotions, they find themselves arguing without considering the feelings of others.


    Not Understanding How Others Feel
    People that have low emotional intelligence are often oblivious to the feelings of others. They simply don’t get that someone might be angry or irritated with them. Not only that, but they tend to feel annoyed that others expect them to know how they are feeling.


    Believing Others Are Overly Sensitive
    People who have low emotional intelligence might tell jokes at inappropriate times and become offended when someone calls them out. When others react to these out-of-line jokes, those with low emotional intelligence might feel that others are being too sensitive. People with low.
    EQ find it challenging to understand the emotions of others, which makes it difficult for them to interpret the emotional tone after tragic events.


    Refusing to Consider Other Points of View
    Individuals with low EQ feel that they are right and will defend their position while refusing to listen to what others have to say. This is particularly true when others are critical of how the person doesn’t understand what others are feeling. Low EQ individuals are often pessimistic and overly critical of the feelings of others.


    Blame Others for Your Mistakes
    Individuals who have low emotional intelligence have very little insight into how their own emotions might lead to issues. When things start to go wrong in their lives, their first instinct is to blame others for their problems. They might suggest that they didn’t have a choice for what they did and that others simply don’t understand their situation.


    Low emotional intelligence can wreak havoc in not only your life but the lives of others. If any of the above categories sound familiar to you, it might be time for you to work on improving your emotional intelligence.

    5 Ways to Improve Your Social Skills and Increase Your Emotional Intelligence

    The term “social skills” is incredibly broad, but it is also used correctly in the context of emotional intelligence. When it comes to emotional intelligence, your social skills refers to how you handle and influence other’s emotions effectively. Emotional intelligence starts with your understanding of your feelings and being able to effectively manage them to achieve your goals. When you can understand and manage yourself, you can begin to learn how to understand the feelings of others and how to influence them. Here are five ways that you can improve your social skills to increase your emotional intelligence.

    1. Work on Your Communication Skills


    Your communication skills are a vital part of having good emotional intelligence. People who demonstrate high emotional intelligence can effectively listen to others and convey their own thoughts and feelings appropriately. Good communicators listen well to others and make sure that they understand what is being said. This allows them to register and act upon the emotional cues so that they can respond appropriately.

    2. Improve Your Conflict Management Skills


    Conflicts and disagreements are a natural part of life and can happen at any time. The art of managing and resolving disputes is a crucial aspect of emotional intelligence and is critical for your success both personally and professionally. Improving your conflict management skills starts by being aware of the importance of diplomacy and tact, and how they can be used to diffuse a situation.


    3. Improve Your Leadership Skills


    Your leadership skills are inextricably linked to emotional intelligence. Leaders must be tuned into their own and other’s emotions if they want to be influential. Good leaders tend to have high emotional intelligence because they can articulate a vision and provide support and guidance to their colleagues while holding them accountable for their actions.


    4. Develop Persuasion and Influencing Skills


    Persuasion is the art of motivating others and winning them over to your ideas. People who have high emotional intelligence are apt at persuading others to their proposed course of action. They can read the emotional currents of any given situation and fine-tune their response to appeal to everyone involved.


    5. Work on Building Rapport


    If you want to improve your emotional intelligence, then it is vital that you figure out how to build and maintain relationships with others. Developing this skill will lead you to have better relationships and an increased ability to get on with life. Not only are highly emotionally intelligent people good at building rapport, but they also work to maintain the relationships they already have.


    When you have high emotional intelligence, it’s obvious based on your social skills. If you want to improve your emotional intelligence, then you need to work on these five ways for developing your social skills.

    3 Easy Steps for Increasing Your Emotional Intelligence

    Over the last several years, the topic of emotional intelligence has become increasingly popular. People with average IQs have been shown to outperform people with high IQs by roughly 70 percent of the time because they have higher emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is your ability to evaluate, control, and express your emotions and assess the feelings of others. If you want to increase your emotional intelligence and become successful in both your personal and professional life, there are three easy steps that you need to follow.

    Step #1 NOTICE

    If as a leader you find yourself anxious or tense when you are trying to solve critical issues, the energy you are expending can end up permeating the rest of your team and stall the progress that you’re trying to create. These emotions can also end up causing you to make decisions that alleviate your anxiety, but that might not be the best decisions to address the challenges you are facing. To increase your emotional intelligence, you need to take the time to notice how you are being. Take stock of how you are feeling at the moment. Noticing your’ way of being’ can help to increase your self-awareness, which is a crucial aspect of emotional intelligence.

    Step #2 CHOOSE

    After you’ve successfully noticed how you’re being, the next step is to decide how you want to be. Consider when you are stuck in a contentious meeting that is causing tension. While being tense isn’t wrong, it might not be helpful for the team. They might benefit more from a calming presence, which will allow them to see all of the possibilities rather than becoming mired with negativity that is associated with the current conflict. However you choose to be, you need to acknowledge that it is your choice. This will help you to manage your emotions and recognize the role your choice plats in boosting your emotional intelligence.

    Step #3 BE

    Channel the way of being that you have chosen and become it. If you’ve decided to be peaceful, take the time to calm your mind, slow your breathing, and relax your muscles. This is the step where you effectively implement the decision you’ve made.

    TO CONCLUDE

    These steps are a way for you to start to manage your emotions and be an effective leader during difficult times. To improve your emotional intelligence, practice these steps over and over again until it becomes second nature. This process can help to empower you as a leader in a way that will benefit the entire team.

    About the founder

    Hi, I am Eddie Kabuni, a Business Development Officer with Ijivitari District Administration in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea.

    I founded this blog site, Bukhaus, to just jot my thoughts down to help others struggling in life to pick up balance and start living.

    It is my desire that anyone reading my blog posts can share or elaborate the message to those who may need it most.

    Please enjoying reading my blogs and I’d really appreciate your feedback and comments.KABUNI