Get Rich This Recession: 3 Rules of the Self-Made Millionaires

Recession is coming. Are you ready?

Did you recession-proof your house, business, and life?

Because if you do that right, this recession might be just the thing you need to catapult you into the money you’ve been dreaming of.

Don’t think just because it’s recession time it’s also poor time. It’s actually the best time to get rich!

That’s what happened to me during the crisis of 2008. If I hadn’t seen it on the news, I wouldn’t have even known there was a recession.

That was when I started a very profitable business with faux leather goods designed and marketed for vegans. People were losing their jobs and their income, but I bought my first car and 2 years later my first house.

I was 29 at the time. The 2008 recession was the most lucrative time of my life.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t smart enough to use the huge money I made then to my advantage. I was smart enough to make it, but not smart enough to keep it.

Learn from my mistakes.

1. The main reason why people will stay poor

If you do nothing else, do this one thing that all people who get rich do, especially in a crisis or while still working on becoming financially independent.

Don’t live above your means!

When you’re making money, especially a lot of money, the last thing you feel like doing is live within your means or, even worse, below.

But you have to be aware that no matter how much money you make, win, or inherit, you have the capacity to blow through it all.

We all do. It’s what separates us from the animals.

The recession is coming. It’s more important than ever to live within your means. This will hit everyone hard, from the rich to the poor.

And while the rich may be able to weather the storm, the rest of us are struggling to make ends meet.

But this might just be your chance to make it big if you play your cards right.

Take a close look at your income and expenses.

Did you really need to buy 2 perfumes and 2 pairs of boots for Black Friday?

Disregard the question, it was directed at myself. And yes, I really did that. My writing hustle has been going great and I wanted to splurge a little.

Was it a good idea? Definitely not.

Don’t do what I did.

Make sure the money coming in is greater than your expenses. If it’s not, you’ll need to either find a way to increase your income or decrease your expenses.

I think you already know which one is easier. And if you manage to do both, you’re well on your way toward the good life.

First of all, make sure you have enough money for your bills and food. Live frugally and leave the rest of your income for getting rich.

If this sounds like a lot for you, use the psychological trick that works for doing difficult things.

Tell yourself: ‘I just need to do it today. I can do it for just one day!’

Anybody can do something for one day. Tomorrow may never come and it’s no lie. You won’t be doing this forever. Just focus on today!

Second: avoid credit cards like the plague!

Credit cards can be a helpful tool if used responsibly. But face it, you’re not responsible! Most of us are not. If we were, there wouldn’t be this massive amount of card debt out there.

If you’re already in debt, that is your main priority! Work on paying it off as quickly as possible.

2. The trick to making a lot of money or losing it all

Don’t be afraid!

Keep your eyes open for the opportunities others don’t see.

It’s easy to miss opportunities when you’re focused on the day-to-day grind. It’s even easier to do it when you’re scared that you might lose everything.

That’s why so few people have the mental strength to pull their brains out of their own fears, take a breather, and just look around: where should I invest my efforts?

For example, during the recession of the early 1990s, some savvy investors saw an opportunity to buy up distressed properties at bargain prices. As the economy recovered, these properties increased in value, making the investors rich.

Recession or not, there are always opportunities for those who keep their eyes open.

You might be thinking that you’re not smarter than anyone else, so how could you see what others don’t?

People who make bank are not smarter than anyone else. They’re just better observers. Because they’re not scared.

This is the context where the saying “the time to buy is when there’s blood in the streets, even if the blood is your own” takes a whole new meaning.

Baron Rothschild, a British nobleman of the 18th century and a member of the Rothschild banking family, is credited with the saying. He made a fortune buying in the panic that followed the Battle of Waterloo against Napoleon.

You might say that he was able to do that because he had the money to invest. And part of that is true.

But the main component of making bank in a panic is not the bank, but the panic!

The trick is to look beyond the fear, the turmoil, and the blood (even when the blood is your own).

There is no way you can guess what’s coming next, but there is a way to see what’s right in front of you if your vision is not impaired by your own panic.

3. A different type of engagement will give you no competition.

If you want to get where nobody else is you need to do things that nobody else does.

This works in times of peace too, but it’s especially important in a crisis.

You’ll need to work harder than anyone else.

This doesn’t mean that you have to work 24 hours a day, but it does mean that you need to be willing to put in the extra effort when it’s needed.

Stop wasting your time.

Forget Netflix. Netflix is for the poor.

If you’re thinking that’s bs because you’re rich and still binging on Netflix, you’re either one of the few exceptions or you inherited your money.

Sorry, buddy, but people who make it big have the same 24 hours in a day and none of them is gifted to Netflix.

When you have something with such a huge binging potential in the house, you just can’t keep yourself from it.

It’s not you, it’s it. It’s a beast!

That’s why I never got a Netflix subscription. I know I’d get hooked and spend all my time on the living room couch, getting high on Netflix and bbq corn chips.

Yes, I’m weak and so are you. Get rid of temptation if you want the good life.

Use your present time to create future time.

Let’s face it, most of us are not even after the money. And the material possessions that we buy with it are second-tier benefits. But we’re all after the most important asset money can buy: time!

The time you get from someone else cooking your meals because you’d rather spend some extra time hugging your child. The time you get to travel the globe and feel one with this big beautiful world instead of staring at a pristine white beach only on your desktop background.

That’s why you need to work harder than anybody else right now.

If that sounds like something you really don’t want to do, use the same mantra from method 1: ‘I can do it for today!’

This is not a plea for the FIRE movement. No, I think it’s dumb to work like a dog and not enjoy life for the great majority of your young adult life so you can do nothing after 40. It doesn’t work that way for the great majority of people.

But it’s definitely a method that you should employ during a recession. And think about it, modern recessions typically last around 10 months. The Great Recession lasted about 18 months.

It’s not a lifetime of outworking everybody else. It’s just a few months. Or even better, it’s just today. And every day is today and you decide what to do with it.

Conclusion

Don’t try to outsmart the recession. Try to outsmart yourself.

Outsmarting recession or (even worse) running away from it, can’t be done, and when it happens it’s by accident.

You are your biggest asset and stepping stone in your life. Unfortunately, also the biggest limitation.

If you go beyond your limiting beliefs, your fear, and your procrastination, you are further than most of your friends, colleagues, and the rest of your family.

You are further than most people in this world.

And it’s a hundred times more powerful during times of crises and blood in the streets.

Don’t waste this recession. And don’t be afraid of it. It can be the best thing that ever happened to you!

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