23% of Americans are worse now than before the Great Recession – The Fool Motley



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Although it has been about a decade since the Great Recession hit the Americans and upset their finances, a large number of American adults are still struggling to recover. According to Bankrate, one in four Americans states that their financial situation has not changed since the Great Recession, while 23% say their financial situation is worse than before.

Much of the problem boils down to stagnant wages. Although the labor market has been relatively healthy in recent years, 54% of Americans say their wages have not recovered to their pre-recession level.

The problem is that we do not know when the next economic downturn will occur. Those who are still struggling to recover from the Great Recession are likely to feel the effects if the economy deteriorates rapidly.

Seated man with serious expression, resting chin on hands

Source of the image: Getty Images.

Yet, everything is certainly not lost. If you're still trying to financially recover from the last major recession, here's what you can do to speed up the process, while preparing for the future.

1. Control your expenses

If your finances continue to hurt you after events that happened many years ago, it may be time to re-examine your expenses and aim to reduce your expenses. The easiest way to do this is to budget, to see where you spend more than you need and to reduce those specific categories. Dining out less often and canceling a low used monthly gym membership could save you over $ 1,000 over the course of a year, and these are just a few options to consider. But having this budget will put you in a better position to evaluate your expenses and make informed decisions about them.

2. Build emergency savings

One of the main reasons why so many people have had a hard time in the finances of the Great Recession is that they did not have emergency savings to deal with periods of unemployment. To prevent this from happening again, make an effort to build an emergency fund covering your living expenses for three to six months. This fund could be useful if you lose your job in the years to come, but it could also bring you a much desired peace of mind. Once you have identified bills to cut into your budget, you can use your savings to build up these cash reserves slowly but surely.

3. Get rid of debt

The less debt you have, the healthier you will be financially. If you are sitting on a pile of unhealthy credit card debt, paying it back quickly could save you money on interest – money that you can then use for other purposes, such as example, save more. But you must not get rid of credit card debt. If you take out a large mortgage loan that is difficult to manage, you can consider reducing the size of your home for a smaller home and significantly reduce your living expenses. The same is true if you make payments and you cover the costs of maintenance and insurance of a car that you like, but that you can technically do without.

4. Increase your income

Earning more money could help you financially recover from the last recession, manage your bills, save money and eliminate debt. But chances are you can not just get into your boss's office and ask for an increase. What you can However, we are working to strengthen your professional skills so that you are eligible for a promotion with a higher level of pay. In addition, it is useful to consider doing secondary work in addition to your usual work. In this way, you are assured of an increase in your income, and you will also have a crush on which to recoil if another recession occurs and your main job disappears from you.

The Great Recession hit a lot of people. If you are one of them, do not resign yourself to a life of financial instability. Instead, take steps to improve your personal economic situation, even if it means changing the way you spend and manage your money.

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