A financial midlife crisis can hit you like a wrecking ball.
A divorce, bankruptcy, layoff, or even a spouse’s death are some of the common causes of the crisis in our lives. At other times, an unexpected expenditure could strike your most stable income source and leave it in shambles.
As you recollect your life, there are the times you might be asking to yourself, “How Can I start my life over or Where do I start from?”
If you are reading this article in early 2021, then you would realize the COVID-19 global pandemic is having on individual situations above, serves to compound it.
In their book “7 Keys to Navigating A Crisis” the authors Dr Elia Apostolopoulos and Konstantinos Apostolopoulos provide some environmental context:
“Financial scandals. Economic collapses. Recession and depressions. The rapid cycling of the Bull and the Bear only compounded the ongoing world-wide anxiety”
they also go further to say:
“The newswires now disburse stories of global disruptions that often either paralyze us with fear or just leave us feeling numb”.
Feeling afraid during any crisis is normal.
And according to the CDC’s psychology of a crisis manual, one of the recognized states of a person in crisis is “Fear, Anxiety, and Dread” adding that “In a crisis, people … may feel fear, anxiety, confusion, and intense dread”.
And it probably gets more complicated the older you are and especially when you are 50 or over.
At that age, it might seem as if all hope is lost because you have lost the vigor that comes with age but you should not lose hope or panic.
But there is always a way out!
So if you are pondering how to start over at 50 with no money, the content below can help you with some ideas to get you started.
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How to Start Over at 50 with no Money
Starting over, especially as a mature adult is scary.
However, the fact that you are willing to start over is a sign of courage rather than failure in life.
This is because it indicates that you are willing to throw yourself back into the ring and have another chance at life. You should not lose hope about your future as you still have a chance to live the life you deserve and desire.
“You must learn to see whatever setback you had as just one event and not let it define you as a person!”
So as you pick yourself up and start making the plans on how to start over, here are a few tips you should think about how you can reboot your life;
- Accept what has happened
You will not be able to start afresh if you are still focused on what brought you misery. Whatever has happened be it a family, work-related, relationship, or any other issue, you have to accept and resolve to move on. While you might not be ready to forgive those who have wronged you should that be the case, acceptance allows you to get ready for the rest of your life
- Embrace a positive mood
You can choose to understand life happenings in any way you choose to. This implies that you are the only person that can choose whether to get empowered or disempowered by the situation. You should strive to understand what your life is saying to you and make a positive note to move forward. This implies understanding the situation in a manner that allows you to get momentum to start over
- Find a job first then find one you love later on
Your priority will be to first have a means of paying bills. This means that you may have to take the job you find first as you look for the kind of work you love doing. Even though you might have to work for long after starting over, finding a job you enjoy means that you will never have to work for the rest of your life. This is because you can work for longer without getting drained if you love the work
- Seek A Support System
One of the biggest challenges you may experience is wanting to isolate yourself from people –friends, family and loved ones, usually as a result of low self-esteem.
However, you must resist that urge and seek groups and people who can cheer you up and encourage you to be out of bed rather than dwelling on your misery. Find meet-up groups related to job interests you may want to pursue or ones dedicated to helping people suffering from the tragedy you may have experienced.
You would be amazed how being around people who love and care about what has happened to you and who are genuinely interested your recovery can help in the recovery process of getting back to your feet.
I Need Money Right This Second
If you are over 50 and you have no money for the very basic needs such as food, that may be quite scary!
That situation could put you under unnecessary pressure of being open to ideas to do things you would not normally be open to.
If you ever reach that point of pondering how to start over at 50 with no money you might become afraid which is normal but don’t panic!
It is not an impossible position.
The fact that you have no money only makes a lot of investment options more difficult to actualize. Your lack of youthful vigour also means that there are some things that you cannot be able to do, such as energy-intensive work, even when you desperately need the money.
However, you can still get some cash using the following means;
- Sell your spare time. This includes doing things such as online surveys, driving people on Uber and other platforms, offering to babysit your neighbours, friends, and families’ kids for a pay, and signing up for quick jobs on Taskrabbit
- Sell your stuff. You can sell just about anything on Craigslist, eBay, and Amazon. This includes those things that you do not use and are valuable including clothes, electronics, and books. You can also organize a garage sale at your house if you have the time
- Rent your stuff. AirBnB is one of the leading companies that offer you a chance to rent out your home and earn. You can choose to co-host on the platform and offer maintenance services on another person’s house if you cannot rent out your own. Some other platforms like turo give you a chance to earn by renting out your car
One thing you have to remember when you need to make money fast is to watch out for scams. At this point in your life, you may become vulnerable and easily prone to being taken advantage of.
“Hopelessness is the feeling that nothing can be done by anyone to make the situation better”
If you think your situation is bad, there are always going to be those worse off than you are!
Vulnerable people can easily get roped into online scams that lure people with the promise of quick cash and sweet words about how each deal offers sumptuous rewards.
Remember to go for long-term rewards as compared to the short-term kinds when looking to generate cash.
Consider legitimate programs that have proven ways of paying their customers and testimonials to show their services are genuine.
As a rule of the thumb always better to err on the side of caution: if it is too good to be true, it probably is.
I’m Broke and Need Money Fast
There are numerous ways to make money online and by working on your own when you have to raise funds quickly. The most common online businesses include starting a blog, participating in market research, doing freelance jobs, using cashback apps, renting your car to online taxi-hailing apps, or starting an e-Commerce store among many others.
Starting any of these online businesses mentioned above can only be feasible If you already have IT-related skills.
So if that is the case, your skills can help you get quickly started making money doing a number of online businesses within a short time, if you apply yourself.
While this promise could be tempting, you must also be aware that like many businesses, success is NOT guaranteed as your business could fail if you do not do your due diligence and apply sound business principles.
If you still don’t have an idea of how to start over at 50 with no money then taking a loan might be a great idea.
Yes, you probably won’t be able to walk into the bank and qualify for a loan based on bank requirements. That is why you could turn to your friends or even peer-to-peer lending clubs and apps as a source of quick funds.
You should, however, borrow only what you need and have a concrete plan for paying it back. This will help to avoid a situation where you bury yourself in a debt cycle that is vicious and hard to escape from –such as you borrowing one party to repay what you owe another party.
I Don’t Know Where to Start
Knowing where to start is probably one of the hardest tasks in answering the question “How Can I start my life over”?
However, the best place to start when starting over is to just dust yourself off and begin wherever you are and with whatever you have.
As it turns out, that may be easier said than done.
Make a budget as well and determine the expenses that you can afford to do without as they are the kinds that you can cut off easily.
Remember to stick to your budget and avoid making any big purchases or investments that could seriously set you back. Your priority should be to manage with the little you have until when you have a secure and stable source of income.
If you are in debt, consider a low rate consolidation program like Sofi for quicker payments and to avoid worsening your troubled financial situation.
If you manage to live below your means and avoid getting into a debt crisis you can get back on your feet seamlessly.
Conclusion –How Can I Start My Life Over?
Deciding how to start life over after a midlife crisis could be a herculean task to contemplate, but not an impossible one.
While it is normal that people wanting to start over after a crisis may experience fear, you must never allow yourself get beyond that to a state of hopelessness and helplessness which is another recognized state of a crisis according to the CDC.
While many resort to substance abuse and other Virus vices to deal with associated stress of dealing with a crisis, rising up and taking steps that confront the issues is a more sustainable way to start one’s life over again if you even encounter any of this crisis.
The Axios writer, Sarah Fischer describes this substance abuse behavior with some of the statistics below:
“Americans are doubling down on their worst habits to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic, Alcohol sales have jumped with sales of spirits up by 75%, wine up 66% and beer 42%. Cannabis use reached an all time high in March (2020) even as medical experts warned that marijuana and vaping as well as tobacco may increase the risk of COVID-19 infection and exacerbate the risks of spreading it”
Can you deal with this crisis as some are doing by escaping in unhealthy ways? I doubt that would be an acceptable long term strategy.
One thing you must know though is that any path to a fresh start must begin with a belief and a desire to succeed. After all, as Abram Lincoln puts it,
“Your own resolution to success is more important than any other thing” -Abraham Lincoln
If you have to start your life over at 50 with no money, we recommend you start by taking a personal inventory to identify the things you can turn into cash as quickly as you can.
This inventory could be your skills, physical items you possess, or even your time (which you definitely will have lots of).
There is also the option of going for a quick loan from friends or peer-to-peer lending services towards starting a small business.
What is clear from all the foregoing is that you can start over and turn your life around if you choose to accept the past and make a resolution to start over on a clean slate.
Finally, we will conclude with Dr Elia Apostolopoulos’ beautiful summary from the same book above:
“The good news is that we have a choice. We can choose how we respond to each new challenge. With each new experience, we have the power to learn and grow, to overcome past failures and to gain confidence in our ability to handle adversity“
We hope we have been able to deliver the key objective of this article, which is to keep you from getting to the position of “Hopelessness and Helplessness” as you start your life over after a crisis.
Just as stated by the CDC that “Avoiding hopelessness and helplessness is a vital communication objective during a crisis” we hope that is also what we have achieved with you in this article –taking you far from Hopelessness -the feeling that nothing can be done by anyone to make the situation better.
We love to hear from you. Have you had a crisis and are you still confused about how you can start your life over? What are the challenges you are facing?
Please use the comment box below and share your experience.
FAQ –How Can I Start My Life Over?
- I am going through a crisis right now and I feel very afraid. Is this normal?
This is perfectly normal according to CDC. However, after acknowledging this fear you must also take the necessary steps to get out of the crisis
- Which are the quickest way I can start earning money if I want to start my life over after a financial crisis?
One of the quickest ways to start earning money if you hit a financial brick wall is to use whatever skills you have (if any) to start an online business. While starting a business is not guaranteed to succeed, your chances of success increases with the amount of planning and due diligence you invest in it
- I am over 50 and recently lost my job due to the coronavirus pandemic and now I find myself drawn to the use of alcohol. Is this healthy?
Although research is showing many people are resorting to similar short term solutions to deal with their personal crisis, medical experts warn that this is not the best approach as it could have far worse long term negative impacts.
- I am in a crisis now but how do I avoid getting to the point of feeling hopeless?
Hopelessness comes from the feeling that nothing can be done by anyone to make the situation better. Once you start on a Getting started on a plan that gets you out of the crisis reinforces your belief that a solution is possible and hence far from feeling hopeless
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