Starting Over

Life is full of ups and downs which have financial implications. How we respond to different circumstances and situations has a cumulative effect over time which can lead to significant differences between people in terms of their financial outcomes later in life. There are many things that go wrong in life – poor health, redundancy, business failure, death of a family member, or the end of a relationship. Often these events are interlinked. Death of a family member can lead to business failure and the end of relationship can lead to poor health or redundancy can lead to the end of a relationship. Significant adverse events are financially destructive. Mostly, they are not within our control, but we can certainly control how we respond to them.

Along with adverse events come grief, a sense of loss and, initially, denial. This manifests itself mostly as not wanting to let go of a previous lifestyle, particularly the family home but also small things such as expensive clothes or subscription TV that are no longer affordable in the short term. Reluctance to give these things up leads to a worsening financial situation.

Acceptance of being in a new financial situation is the willingness to let go of the past and to be able to contemplate travelling down a new path. It comes from digging deep within to discover what is really important in life and set new financial priorities.

It is only with acceptance that you can start over, gathering together the pieces, consolidating and rebuilding. Let go of the things that are no longer important or which are financially draining, gather together the assets that will work positively for you, rework your budget to include the things you value most. Take time to pause and strengthen your position before you move forward. Resilience is the key factor that determines success.