💸 Here’s How to Prepare for a Recession 💸

✨ This Month’s Themes ✨

Our money themes help ground us each month and remind us where to focus on our intentions throughout the year.

🔍 Clarity

Get clear on what you want to accomplish this year and how you want the year to feel for you.

🧘🏾‍♀️Refresh and Reset

Rest! Everything doesn’t have to be accomplished all at once. Give yourself a moment to rest, reset, and refresh.

✅ Vision and Goaling

Allow yourself to daydream, then start drafting out what would be needed to make those dreams a reality. Remember, an elephant is eaten one bite at a time.

🔍 In this Issue

• I Need Your Input

• This Week's Money News

• Prepping for a Recession

• My Final Two Cents

• Introducing Something New

Need to catch up? Read our latest issues here.

New Products Announcement

🚀 I’m Launching a Guided Workbook!

Many of you found me via my Business Insider interview, which was originally posted on LinkedIn. Since that interview went live, so many of you have had questions not just about how I manage my money, but also how I’ve managed my career. In response, I’ve decided to launch a guided workbook! This workbook will dive deeper into how I went from $40,000 to $200,000+ in total comp. It’ll also be packed with resources to help you along your career and money journey. To ensure I can make this resource as accessible to as many of you as possible, I need your input. Please complete this 1-question survey and stick around the Ed. Opal newsletter for progress and launch updates.

This Week’s Money News

👛 Wallet Watch

• 🟤 March 25 was Equal Pay Day. Here’s where we’re at with the gender pay gap.

• 🟤 Concerned about losing money in a potential recession? Here’s how to ready your portfolio.

• 🟤 Do you know your net worth? Here’s why it’s important to track that number.

Fiscal Focus

💸 Here’s How to Prepare for a Recession

Recession whispers are getting louder, and whether or not one officially happens, it’s always smart to prepare. Economic slowdowns can bring job losses, shrinking investments, and unexpected financial strain—but you don’t have to be caught off guard. Let’s talk about how to recession-proof your money starting today.

1️⃣ Create a Solid Foundation
Boost your emergency fund. When the economy is down, cash is king. During recessions, credit is expensive, and loans become more difficult to secure. This means you’ll need cash to help weather the downturn. Most financial experts suggest an emergency savings of 3 to 6 months. However, given the current job market and economic volatility, I’d recommend one full year of take-home pay stored away in an emergency fund. This emergency fund should be stored in an easily accessible high-yield savings account so that you can access it when you need it. Building an emergency fund takes time, so don’t get discouraged if you’re just getting started. Set small milestones, like saving $1,000, to help you attack your 1-year emergency fund in digestible chunks. Consider using tax returns, bonuses, or additional income you receive throughout the year to help you jumpstart this fund.

Complete a money audit. We all have those subscriptions that sneak up on us occasionally. Now is a great time to double-check your statements to see where you’re leaking money. Look for subscriptions you’ve forgotten about. Also, consider checking in with your utility carriers, like your cell phone and electricity providers, to see if they can offer you lower-cost plans or if new discounts may be available that you haven’t taken advantage of yet.

Reduce high-interest debt after you’ve built a solid emergency fund. Carrying High-interest debt, like credit card debt, is one of the quickest ways to leak money. Carrying this debt can also negatively impact your credit score. It’s essential to address this debt as quickly as possible. Once you’ve built up a month or two of emergency savings, focus on paying down this debt as quickly as you can. 

2️⃣ Access Your Job Security
Is your industry vulnerable to recessions? Some industries are more prone to recessions than others. If you’re working in a highly risky industry, now may be the time to freshen up that resume and begin applying for new roles in more stable industries. If you’re in an industry that’s usually stable during recessions, stay the course and ensure you’re hitting your performance goals.

Research Your Benefits. How long would your health insurance last if you were to be laid off today? Would you still have short and long-term disability coverage? Make sure you know the answers to these questions now before you need to know them later. Make a ‘Layoff Checklist’ so that you have a clear list of all of your employer-sponsored accounts, like 401ks, and the contact information for your HR department. This list should also include forbearance programs offered through your mortgage or credit card lenders. Knowing this information ahead of time can make a potential layoff a little less difficult to navigate.

Update your resume and start networking. I discussed this in more detail in the last newsletter, but be sure you’re ready to start applying for roles if you’re in an at-risk industry. Have your network ready to go, and be sure you know who you can reach out to for support.

3️⃣ Invest Wisely, and Don’t Get Caught Up in the Sensationlism of the News Cycles
Stay the Course. Downturns are a natural market behavior. In fact, many people build their wealth during a market downturn. While difficult, it’s important to follow your investing plan and not switch it up once you see a market dip. Selling low and buying high will prevent you for reaping the benefits of the most significant returns, often seen after a recession.

Rebalance Your Portfolio. If your portfolio is out of balance, now might be the time to talk to your investment of financial advisor about what it might mean to adjust your portfolio to hedge against potential risks.

Look for Buying Opportunities. If you have your emergency fund fully funded, you’re not carrying credit card debt, you’ve maxed out your 401k and you still have extra money to spend, a recession is one of the best times to make money in the market. Outline your strategy now so that you can be thoughtful about your investments, and look forward to reaping the rewards once the market has rebalanced. 

Recessions are both emotionally and financially difficult. Hopefully, this list has provided you more confidence on how to navigate the ups and downs of a potential economic downturn.

Vocab, Mindfulness, and Quick Facts

💰 My Final Two Cents

💬 Money Vocabulary:
Recession: A recession is a significant and widespread downturn in economic activity that typically lasts for longer than a few months. A common rule of thumb is that two consecutive quarters of negative gross domestic product (GDP) growth indicate a recession. However, more complex formulas are also used to determine recessions. Read more here.

🧘🏾‍♀️ Mindful Money Prompt:
As we leave Q1, what money milestones or goals are you most proud to have reached? What are you most looking forward to in Q2?

📠 Money Quick Fact:
There have been a number of recessions in the past. Here’s a brief history of U.S. recessions, their causes, and their impacts.

Celebration Syndicate

🎉 Introducing a New Way to Celebrate You

Did you get a higher-paying job, pay off a credit card, or meet a savings goal? No matter what your money accomplishment is, we want to celebrate you! Share your money wins here for a chance to have them featured in future newsletters and on Ed. Opal socials!