The fiscal cliff

What I am about to say will seem harsh to some and true to others.  We should be ready for the fiscal cliff whether or not it happens.  As Americans we should be more financially prepared for whatever comes down the pike than we usually are.  Unfortunately this type of thinking comes later in life after we have made most of our financial mistakes and are in the midst of fixing, or 'repairing' those mistakes. 

One of my favorite phrases lately is 'you don't know what's coming down the pike.'  Since no one knows what's coming down the pike, we must save accordingly.  I have discussed this in previous posts but I cannot say it enough.  No matter how much or how little we make, we must put something away for a rainy day.  In these days of rampant layoffs, downsizing or demotions, and  multiple job changes during our working years; we have to find a way to stay ahead of the curve, or the mayhem that ensues when a sudden financial loss occurs in our lives. 

It is only a matter of time for each of us to hit a terrible financial roadblock, something we did not see coming.  American society has gone through some serious financial changes since 2008 when the housing bubble burst, uh, exploded.  Some of us have considered our financial ways, but many people still want to keep up with the Joneses, overspend, and live above our means.  But what happens when that unexpected pink slip is so kindly handed to us and we do not have three to six months saved for a rainy day?

I am not trying to spread doom and gloom, I am spreading hope.  We can maintain our own hope by exercising common sense in our spending, the amount of debt we allow ourselves to carry, and paying attention to the signs and to the times.  Too many of us are crashing and burning financially every time a pink slip is handed out.  Let us maintain more control over what happens to us financially if or when we are sent packing whether it is being released from our job or if our tax burden increases because we go over the fiscal cliff, which some have mentioned is actually a fiscal slope. 

Slope or cliff, we must not be afraid but do the best we can with what we have, what we have been given.