How to Manage Your Money During a Recession (2024)

How to Manage Your Money During a Recession (1)

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Summary.

If you want to come out of a recession more financially stable than before, here are some options:

  • Reassess your expenses and increase your savings. An emergency fund of six months will help you face potential financial hardships.
  • Invest in things that increase in value over time. During recessions, you have access to more assets for less money. It’s common to see the stock market declining, which provides an opportunity to invest or purchase shares of good companies at a discounted price.
  • Diversify your investments. When it comes to the stock market, for beginners, an index fund — a mutual or exchange-traded fund that tracks a market index such as the S&P 500 or Total Stock Market Index — is likely the best place to start.
  • Leverage tax advantages. Some retirement accounts offer tax benefits, like a 401k, 403B, 457. With these accounts, your contributions are deducted from your income to calculate how much you should pay in taxes. In other accounts, like a Roth IRA and Roth 401k, your investments grow tax-free until retirement.
  • There are also tax deductions for owning real estate property, and the possibility to defer tax payments on real estate profits via a 1031 Exchange while continuing to build wealth through real estate.

You’ve probably heard that a recession is coming more times than you can count over the past year. By now, you may be wondering, is it true?

How to Manage Your Money During a Recession (2024)

FAQs

How to Manage Your Money During a Recession? ›

Saving Accounts

Like checking accounts, they're federally insured and are generally the simplest and safest place to keep cash in good times and bad. Other advantages of savings accounts include: Simple to open and maintain. Deposits are fully insured.

How to manage money during a recession? ›

Consider these five preemptive strategies that may help protect your finances in a recession.
  1. Revisit your budget. Keeping close tabs on your budget is a cornerstone of good financial health, especially when inflation is high. ...
  2. Pad your emergency savings. ...
  3. Tackle debt. ...
  4. Consider staying invested. ...
  5. Maintain focus on your goals.

What is the best asset to hold during a recession? ›

Still, here are seven types of investments that could position your portfolio for resilience if recession is on your mind:
  • Defensive sector stocks and funds.
  • Dividend-paying large-cap stocks.
  • Government bonds and top-rated corporate bonds.
  • Treasury bonds.
  • Gold.
  • Real estate.
  • Cash and cash equivalents.
Nov 30, 2023

Where is the safest place to put your money during a recession? ›

Saving Accounts

Like checking accounts, they're federally insured and are generally the simplest and safest place to keep cash in good times and bad. Other advantages of savings accounts include: Simple to open and maintain. Deposits are fully insured.

Is it better to have cash or property in a recession? ›

Cash. Cash is an important asset when it comes to a recession. After all, if you do end up in a situation where you need to pull from your assets, it helps to have a dedicated emergency fund to fall back on, especially if you experience a layoff.

Should I take my money out of the bank before a recession? ›

Your money is safe in a bank, even during an economic decline like a recession. Up to $250,000 per depositor, per account ownership category, is protected by the FDIC or NCUA at a federally insured financial institution.

What not to do during a recession? ›

What Are the Biggest Risks to Avoid During a Recession? Many types of financial risks are heightened in a recession. This means that you're better off avoiding some risks that you might take in better economic times—such as co-signing a loan, taking out an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM), or taking on new debt.

Is cash king during a recession? ›

It will give them the funds to buy stocks or other assets during the decline. Because of how precious cash can be during times of financial stress, many have said that cash is king. The phrase means that having liquid funds available can be vital because of the flexibility it provides during a crisis.

Should you stock up on food during a recession? ›

All Americans should have at least a three-day supply of food and water stored in their homes, with at least one gallon of water per person per day. If you have the space, experts recommend a week's supply of food and water. Choose foods that don't require refrigeration and are not high in salt.

What assets go down in a recession? ›

Riskier assets like stocks and high-yield bonds tend to lose value in a recession, while gold and U.S. Treasuries appreciate.

Should I take cash out of the bank? ›

In short, if you have less than $250,000 in your account at an FDIC-insured US bank, then you almost certainly have nothing to worry about. Each deposit account owner will be insured up to $250,000 — so, for example, if you have a joint account with your spouse, your money will be insured up to $500,000.

Is it bad to have money in the bank during a recession? ›

If you have money in a checking, saving or other depository account, it is protected from financial downturns by the FDIC. Beyond that, investment products are more exposed to risk, but you can still take some steps to protect yourself. Here's what you need to know.

How to prepare for a recession food? ›

Shelf stable foods are foods that don't need to be refrigerated or frozen to stay fresh. These are things like canned goods, dried fruits, nuts, and jerky. They're great to have on hand because they last a long time, so you can always have something to eat even in an emergency or unexpected situation.

Do things get cheaper in a recession? ›

While the prices of individual items may behave unpredictably due to unexpected economic factors, it is true that a recession might cause the prices of some items to fall. Because a recession means people usually have less disposable income, the demand for many items decreases, causing them to get cheaper.

Is it good to have cash on hand during a recession? ›

During challenging financial times, cash and liquidity is king. Having easy access to cash during a recession can help you avoid going into serious debt.

How to protect your money from economic collapse? ›

How to prepare yourself for a recession
  1. Reassess your budget every month. ...
  2. Contribute more toward your emergency fund. ...
  3. Focus on paying off high-interest debt accounts. ...
  4. Keep up with your usual contributions. ...
  5. Evaluate your investment choices. ...
  6. Build up skills on your resume. ...
  7. Brainstorm innovative ways to make extra cash.
Feb 22, 2024

What happens to my money during a recession? ›

Savings interest rates decrease

In turn, it affects the amount of interest you earn on your savings. However, inflation also tends to be lower during a recession, so the value of your money is higher than when there is high inflation.

How do you invest wisely during a recession? ›

A good investment strategy during a recession is to look for companies that are maintaining strong balance sheets or steady business models despite the economic headwinds. Some examples of these types of companies include utilities, basic consumer goods conglomerates, and defense stocks.

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