2023 Plan - A Looming Recession

Talks on the street and the most viewed content in Indonesia lately has been about recession. From peddlers to young executives, they were all talking about potential recession and sharing tips combating the recession. How scary is recession? How can we deal with it as a person, especially for someone who never went through it? What do we expect? These are the questions that I personally have and maybe it's also yours too.

I think it's fair to say that anyone born in 97 in Indonesia shared a fair share of system instability and changes. The first one, just a year after we were born, the country was hit with recession. It lasted a few years that my parents still had a recollection of how it happened. The thing was, we were financially stable. The recession didn't really impact the family business and it went like a breeze. However, years later I can see how those comfortable years got the best of my parents. Just like my mom said, that it was a turning point of many things that are impacting our lives today. Most importantly, when we started talking about recession back in 2021, my mom specifically mentioned that savings and assets are important. Since I grew up in an entrepreneur family, jobs weren't an issue, we could always find things to sell which is another point that my mom highlights. Be ready to have more skills, hustles, and never rely on any cushy job where we are not the one in charge. In short, be financially independent and acquire skills.

The next prediction that intrigued me was back in 2013 , my sociology high school teacher mentioned that by 2020, there will be more young people and the competition is getting tougher. He emphasized getting more education and having extra skills that would put us on top of competition. He said the world will be more globalized and our competitors are no longer just within our closed circles, it can be anyone from anywhere. He's partially right. I think that knowing the global lingua franca like English or Mandarin certainly adds more doors to opportunity. In retrospect, now I understand his concerns and how difficult finding jobs these days looks like. Even nationally, getting a job is tougher with more barriers such as applicants must be triple vaccinated in which I heard, some countries don't mandate its citizens to even be vaccinated. Now, this brings into another interesting set of events. The pandemic.

Many people my age were just about to finish their university degree and about to enter the workforce. Then, the pandemic happened which also transformed the way we do things around. Although some of the things that are considered the "new normal" were basically my life, getting it normalized and on a global scale was something interesting. I remember that the pandemic was teaching me about money, irrational decisions, politics and fears . It was not a great situation to be in but during that time, my mom and I survived. During that time, we heard layoffs everywhere and that's the moment when my mom and I started talking about opening businesses that are more strategic, something that people will still buy despite recession, food and groceries are one of them. We also wanted to be more independent and create reasonable assets to survive for the aftermath. Personally, I think the pandemic robbed a few years of my youth and many as well. We didn't really get to experience life like how our parents or our older friends would. But it was a great lesson to prepare for what's to come.

I think recession can be scary to some especially when you are working with someone and have some debts. I learned early in life to avoid debts because it's the scariest thing that would ruin lives just in an instant. If you fancy reading how it was, My parents were drowned in debt and finally declared Bankruptcy when I was 20 years old. They were soon separated..... Looking back now, it was only five years that all these things happened. We are still trying float above the water and tried our best to live. Those years taught me many things which were also available in that article too. It shaped who I am today and how I financially see things especially how I see debts, loan,and credits. The key is, settle your bills, debt, and make sure that you welcome 2023 debt free because you don't want to add more financial burden just in case the recession happens.

Rationally, it doesn't even matter even if it's recession or not, having an emergency fund or savings will always help. However, the difficult part is building them. I learned that there are compromises to make just to have some extra savings that would be our lifeline later. Living below our means is a nice things to try. Right now,I'm trying to live below my means just to prepare for what's to come. I canceled many plans and just stuck to the basics of what I needed. I know, sometimes social media or society makes it just harder to do all that. But, it's for the best.

If you are young enough and still at school or rely on your parents, hustling for extra money is a great idea. Always learn any trade skill that you can offer to people. Learn to see opportunities in hard times too. The goal is to be comfortable and stable when the storm hits and even help your parents when you can.

Now, my plan for 2023 is pretty simple. I am trying to live my life and improve what's necessary. Financially, I have my worries but there are about 4 more weeks to prepare for what's to come. I am also being more sensible with my spending and making a lot of necessary adjustments. Although certainly I have some more personal plans that I created based on Warren Buffett Rules, the 5/25 list. That planning approach is great especially if you are someone who tends to be all over the place like me.

Have you been making some 2023 plans?