The economy is tanking, your 401K is in the toilet and your house is losing value faster than the dollar. With all the volatility in the financial market, what in the world should you be investing in? Take your eyes off those statements and the plummeting numbers and take a look in the mirror. Now is the perfect time to invest in you.
Yes, you.
The best part about investing in Y.O.U. is that it doesn’t necessarily take money, though it will take time and effort. You can’t stop the stocks from falling, but there are plenty of things you can do to help you feel a little less wobbly. Every bit of time, energy and money you spend improving your healthy, increasing your marketability, learning new skills or just plain doing what makes you happiest is time, energy and money well spent.
Get some exercise. Research shows that regular exercise can relieve stress, decrease your risk for a variety of diseases, and improve sleep, mood and overall health and wellbeing. Getting to the gym or walking the dog may seem like the last thing on your mind, but taking that time out to get the blood pumping and clear your head will make dealing with your family budget or those extra work hours more bareable.
Learn something new. The job market is tightening, unemployment is rising and there’s less money to go around. Make yourself indispensible to your current employer (or more valuable to potential ones) by learning a new skill. It doesn’t even have to apply to your career. Whether it’s improving your typing speed, learning to knit a sweater or brushing up on a computer programming language, expanding your skill-set will give you more confidence and make you a more well rounded person. You may not even have to pay for this new knowledge, either. There are low-cost or free resources everywhere. Check some books out at the library or find out if there are any community classes being offered in your area.
Get a hobby. Sure, it’s not the most obvious of things to do when you’re tightening the purse strings, but having a hobby can decrease stress. Doing something you love just for the sake of enjoyment is pleasure at its purest. Take painting lessons, join a club, read a book—whatever you choose, just have fun.
Brush up your resume. It never hurts to have your resume up-to-date and ready to go at a moment’s notice. With today’s uncertainty, it’s probably even more important. So pull out your CV and get to work updating it. If resume writing isn’t your thing, you can find plenty of samples and tips online. You might also consider hiring someone to spruce your resume up or offer to exchange services with a friend whose resume is top-notch (your babysitting services for her editing help, for example). And don’t forget the all-important cover letter. Have a template at-the-ready so that you can fill in the blanks when that perfect position opens up.
Investing in yourself is the most important investment you can make. When you put time, energy and money into your mind, body and spirit you’ll find your personal stock rising faster than anything in your investment portfolio. And you can take that to the bank.
By Ami Spencer, Technical Freelance Writer. Visit Ami’s personal blog or her professional Web site to learn more about her.
