I sell software and Q2 was the worst I have EVER seen. Q1 wasn't exactly stellar and the only reason it wasn't dismal was because of Q4 stuff rolling over. So, '09 itself has not been great, so my income is down because I rely heavily on commssions. I actually found myself in kind of funk and feeling like I had no control over what was happening.
I realized that I had to make some changes.... it's bad and we are not falling off a cliff, but this is a time when the strongest will survive. I made a few changes.
1). Realize that I am resourceful and determine how I can be more resourceful and just do it.
2). Take better care of myself mentally and physically because I need to work harder and smarter
3). Don't get caught up in the news.... pay attention to what's important, but don't be obsessively reading all the doom and gloom
4). Spend less time on IHB. Frankly, there seems to be an attitude here that we are going to hell in a hand basket and a number of folks seem to actually cheerleaders for this outcome. It's the schadenfreude that is very unhealthy. This is not a positive emotion and if we do go to hell in a handbasket, it's going to hurt a whole lot more of us than the handful that may be in a financial position to get past the end of the world as we know it.
Since making these changes, my business has gotten tremendously better. I feel optimisitic. At the end of the long days, I'm tired, but not exhausted like I was before. I did more business today, the early part of Q3, than I did in all of Q2 and there is a lot more coming. No doubt, these are tough times, but the biggest thing I can say is that the best will survive as they always have.... don't get caught up in all the negative news and feel damned. We will come out of this and we will come out of this better and stronger than before.
And yes, spending has been cut way back. I was actually so happy about my next cc bill because it was going to be the lowest in as long as I can remember, but then I had to take the dog to the vet and there went $385 on it. The bright side, even with the vet bill, it's still one of the lower ones and it wasn't deny yourself everything. I got a new pair of running shoes on this bill and it was one of the best things I did.