What to Do While You Wait for Things to Return to Normal

Life on earth has never been perfect, but you’d have a hard time convincing some people of that. It’s not that they are ignorant. They have selective memories.

Now that it appears things are no longer quite so perfect, you’ve put your life on hold. You’re anxiously pacing the floor, trying to hold on until the stock market rebounds, retirement accounts bounce back, your loan modification comes through, or some TV advertiser offers a debt-settlement scheme that returns your life to the “perfect” way it was.

Can We Talk?

Stop looking back. “Normal” may be a setting on your clothes dryer, but it is not an economic condition. Every moment that you mourn the passing of the way things were, is a moment lost in the present. Concentrate on where you are and plan for how you will face the future.

Accept what you cannot change

As hard as it is for some of us to accept the fact that we cannot control everything, that is the truth. If you’ve lost your home or business or filed for bankruptcy—as terrible as these events have been—you cannot change what happened.

Change the things you can

Thankfully, far more aspects of your life fall into this category.

These days, it seems that for every letter I get from a reader who is filled with gratitude that I nagged them to death to get out of debt, to build a Contingency Fund for emergencies, to fund a Freedom Account for irregular expenses, and to make that shift to living below their means, I get one from someone who is beside her/himself with regret for just not getting around to it. The old “It could never happen to me,” has happened.

Create Your Plan

If you are still in credit card debt, now’s the time to get serious. I mean it! Revisit Chapter 7 in my Debt-Proof Living book. Create your rapid debt-repayment plan today, and commit to it as you’ve never committed before. (Check your local bookstore, library, or Amazon.)

Save More

Start beefing up your savings—your emergency fund, retirement account, or other savings vehicles. Even if all you can save right now is your pocket change, do it. Get serious about cutting back even more than you think possible so you have more to save. I predict that in years to come if you have one regret it will be that you did not save more money.

Downsize

If you find yourself in over your head in a house you cannot afford, it’s time to move. You need to downsize into a house you can afford. Of course, I do not know your exact situation, but if you are hanging on by a thread, hoping that a loan modification will suddenly make your home affordable, think very carefully. And, weigh every issue.

Get a Job

If you are not working because you’ve given up, or you’re holding out for something that fits your idea of “normal,” let that go. Reality means a job you can get right now. Find a job. Then work at upgrading to a better job.

Headed for college? The days of a fully-funded “free” education that you can pay back at a more convenient time, are gone. Let me say this again: Get a job.

“F” words

Say them often and let them become part of your reality: faith, family and friends. Without my faith, family, and friends, I don’t know where I’d be. Develop these things in your life.

I have noticed over the years that winners accept their realities. They don’t sit around and wait for things to change. They do what they must to make things happen.

Even more than that, they don’t whine, they don’t complain, and they don’t make excuses.

Save $8.11

Debt-Proof Living, by Mary Hunt

More from Everyday Cheapskate

financial independence sparkler and american flag in night sky

What My Debt Taught Me About Real Freedom

10 Everyday Items You Never Think to Wash (But Should)

a lit sparkler with an american flag in the background 4th of july hacks tips and recipes

34 Fourth of July Recipes and DIY Hacks for a Stress-Free Holiday

wooden die spell july with patriotic decor in background

7 Best Things to Buy in July for Huge Summer Savings

Summer Grilled Peaches with Balsamic and Blue Cheese

a rustic wooden christmas tree in the sand on the beach

Christmas in June? Try This Amazon Prime Day Gift Guide

why does my ice taste weird soda tea lemonade juice

Why Does My Ice Taste Weird? Here’s the Answer

a single car garaged with beautiful flowers along landscape beds things ruined by heat in the garage

25 Things Summer Heat Can Ruin in Your Garage

amazon prime day 2026 is coming everyday cheapskate mary hunt guide for cheapskates

The Cheapskate’s Guide to Winning Prime Day 2026

Please keep your comments positive, encouraging, helpful, brief,
and on-topic in keeping with EC Commenting Guidelines

Last update on 2026-07-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Linda Brady says:

June 18, 2022 at 2:51 pm

So true! Started reading your column over 30 years ago, and it changed my life in so many positive ways. I really believe it is your attitude about money that is just as important as how much you have. Thanks Mary

Mary Hunt says:
June 18, 2022 at 7:25 pm

So lovely to see you here, Linda! Wow … 30 years? We should get some kind of longevity of friendship award! Thanks for our kind words. If there’s one thing these years have taught me it is this: Teaching teaches the teacher. Oh, so true and I say that with so much gratitude.