5 Things You Must Do When You're Broke.

5 Things You Must Do When You’re Broke.

Being broke is a tough place to be, especially if the bank is breathing down your neck and you have credit card bills to pay.

I know how tough it is to be broke. When I was a single parent I was as broke as could be. One day, I only had a pound in my purse and I hadn’t a clue how I was going to feed my kids. As it turned out, I bought a tin of baked beans and a loaf of bread.

You can read my story in my Book, Turning Poverty Into Success, From Pennies in My Purse To Living My Dream, Traveling The World. I proved turning things around in your life IS possible.

Feeling in dire straits and broke is the worst feeling there is and you wonder how you are going to get out of it.

After watching a video by Brendon Burchard the other day, I resonated with his advice and remembered the bleak times when I was broke.

If you cant see a light at the end of the tunnel or you are drowning in debt, have a look at the five things below you MUST do.

They might sting a bit and you will almost certainly resist them. However, if you don’t follow them you will continue your usual pattern and remain broke, not just in the short term but long term as well.

5 Things You MUST DO NOW If You’re Broke

Don’t Lie To Yourself.

Stop lying to yourself. You keep saying things will get better and you keep spending. Avoiding the harsh reality of your current situation will guarantee long term misery of being short of money.

Face the facts you are skint. If you don’t face it, you can’t fix anything. Its time to change and if you don’t face the facts then you wont change anything.

2. Take Action Immediately

Begin by being honest (see above) and itemise every single thing you spend money on. I mean EVERYTHING. Then when you have your COMPLETE list be ruthless.

Chop out things you don’t need. Only keep things you need. Get rid of subscriptions, you can add them back later when things are better. Stop going out for dinner and drinking, until you can afford it. Yes, this is going to hurt but you are in trouble so start being honest here.

You need to keep the absolute minimum of expenditure, the necessities. Everything else has to go. Think of it as short term pain because in the long term, this is going to help you.

3. Ask For Help

Stop covering things up and tell people how it really is. Discuss it with your partner/spouse. Talk to your parents, your team, if you have one. This is not me saying you should ask for handouts. But people close to you need to know the reality of your situation.

Ask for advice. For instance, ask the question “What Can I do?” Put it out there. If no one sees you drowning, how can they help you? Sacrifice that ego of yours and get the help you need.

4. Start Saving

Ok, you’re broke and wondering how on earth I could bring this up. I want to encourage you, no matter what, that from now on you begin saving at least 10% or more of your income. Plan for rainy days in the future and change your mindset that you have to have a ton of money before you begin saving. Pay your bills, AFTER saving some.

A great many people are living well beyond their means, thinking they have to have the best of everything now. There is no harm in buying cheaper clothes and doing without the luxuries in life. This can come when you can afford it. In the meantime, change that mindset and create a rainy day fund and have it as part of your routine from now on.

5. Get Some New Skills

What new skills do you need for the future? What can you learn that help you grow and help you? Believe in yourself enough that you WILL figure things out. Look around and see how other people make their money. What is it they do that you’re not doing?

Stop your leisure time, (get rid of netflix) and use the time instead for your learning. Get books, read them at your local library. Watch videos. Keep being honest and stop avoiding whats happening. Face reality and learn new skills that will help you change your life.

Brendon uses the term “RE-TOOL”. This is what you need to do for your future.

Todays post, 5 Things To Do When You’re Broke is a tough one and has some harsh truths in it. I know a few people who would benefit from the advice and I strongly encourage you and them to follow these 5 things. If you don’t, nothing will change and you might sink further into debt.

Drop me a comment below if this post was of any value to you.

Thank you to Brendon Burchard for the content in his video which informed this blog.