Just 2 years ago, our country was in one of the most thriving economic seasons of recent history. Now, after a pandemic and a wide range of national crises, and with supply chain fiascos that have made once commonplace items hard to come by, things look completely and utterly different.

Whether you are an employer or an employee, a service provider or a service customer, a shopper or a stock clerk, you are no stranger to the tumultuous economy we are in. The spinning and shifting momentum in the job market, in the workplace, in the stock market, and in our checking accounts has us all feeling a sort of economic vertigo, unsure how to get our legs back under us. 

As you look at rising prices on almost everything and a rate of inflation that has made $1.00 from last year worth only $.93 today, it can be difficult to get your bearings. Should you buy or sell? Should you change jobs or stay where you are? Should you continue the course you’re on or make new plans? 

The short answer is that there’s no short answer.

Many people who opted to sell their houses for huge profits when the market was booming found themselves in difficult situations when they couldn’t get back into a house at a reasonable cost. People who had jobs that seemed promising and promotion-bound found themselves without a paycheck. Because of the uniqueness of this season and the proclivities in each scenario, your path for surviving this time and actually moving forward is probably going to look slightly different than those around you.

There are, however, some things worth considering. 

Make a Financial Plan

If you haven’t worked actively with a financial planner, now is the time. A good financial planner can help you get moving in the right direction for the future. It may seem like the worst time to make financial commitments, since things seem on some levels to be so unsteady. But these seasons have come and gone in the past, and those who made plans, refused to panic, and trusted the right people to guide them through ended up making it through just fine.

Adapt

When we enter into seasons of uncertainty or confusion, the defaults we’ve relied upon in the past may be insufficient for what’s to come. Adapting is ultimately about our ability (and our willingness) to adopt new methods, to develop new habits, and to listen to new truths. What once worked may not work anymore. What once made sense may now be nonsense. Flexibility in your systems, perspectives, and rituals will benefit you in the long-term, giving you an ability to keep the essential pieces of life intact and to let the unnecessary pieces fade. 

Look Backward

This may seem contrary to the advice you hear about keeping your eyes on the future and setting goals. But a healthy perspective on the past — on the good and the bad — will give you perspective for your future that you’ll rely on for years to come. If you previously handled money poorly, detail it. Figure out how and why. If you succeeded in a job, think about what made it different. If you went through a crisis and barely survived or if you came through it in total victory, consider the variables at work. The more you can unpack and understand about your past, the more you’ll be able to take the lessons from both the victories and the defeats with you into whatever’s to come. 

None of us know where things are going from here, but if we’re going to remain financially steady in a season of economic vertigo, it will only be because of our ability to think about our past and our future with the right perspective.