The United States is in recession! The National Bureau on Economic Research admitted as such! The economists of the NBER predict that the recession may well run into 2009. This is the worst financial crisis that hit the United States since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

President Bush already apologized for the sorry state of the economy. Meanwhile President-elect Obama has outlined his strategy in creating 2.5 million jobs by the end of 2011.

As they say, when the United States catches colds, the world sneezes. The Philippines will not be spared from this economic backlash.

image courtesy of: http://thefishbits.wordpress.com/

What do we do then to beat this recession?

1. Spend money very economically!

Since the Christmas season is upon us, it would be wise to spend minimally. Christmas need not be expensive. As long as the family is together, you can celebrate Christmas. Christ was born on a stable and not on a mansion. Frugal spending during the holidays would still be in keeping with the spirit of Christmas.

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I’ve been out of the blogging circuit for the past week or so because I attended a conference and I was part of the team tasked for the live video streaming of the proceedings of the conference. Actually, I still am not in the mood to work and write. I want to rest for now.

But then, the readers of BeMightyNow have been missing on a lot. So here I am reporting back for duty to give you tips and pointers on your personal development journey.

I was relaxing in my room yesterday when I decided to pick up my copy of Kobliner’s “Get a Financial Life.” Based on the first two chapters of the book, I came up with a four-point principle of financial management.

1. Know Your Financial Goals!

You may not know the entirety of your goals but if you have a general idea of what you want, then that would be a good starting point towards financial breakthrough. You can put it in simple terms such as “pay off 50% of my debt within a year”; “save $5,000 within a year”; or “save a million dollars in ten years.”

If you know where you are going, you can then plan for the strategies you have to implement to achieve your goals.

2. Know your present financial situation.

Most people do not know where their money are going to. If you want to achieve your financial goals, you have to evaluate your present financial situation. List down all your income and expenses and analyze where your money is going to. This way, you can identify problematic areas that you can solve in due time.

3. Realign Your Budget and Your Lifestyle.

It matters not how much money you earn. What matters is how you use it. By realigning our budget and living within your means, you are actually doing yourself a favor and enabling your money to work for you instead of you being a slave to your money.

4. Save and Invest as Much as You Can.

When you have done the previous four principles, then you have to make sure that your money is working for you. You can do this by shopping around for the best savings account deal and investment deal. Although you need in depth research and care in doing so.