Doctor Oz knows that withe the recession, our tough economy, and high levels of unemployment, a lot of us have financial worries and stress from financial problems, which is surely hurting our physical health! Dr. Oz brought Carmen Wong Ulrich, author of Generation Debt: Take Control of Your Money–A How-to Guide
Dr. Oz said that two of the biggest sources of stress in our lives (which definitely hurt our health) are uncertainty about our futures and our financial insecurity. Carmen Wong Ulrich’s list of 3 things to manage our bills that are piling up will hopefully help us to sleep better at night!
Dr. Oz & Carmen Wong Ulrich’s 3 Step Financial Health Plan
1. Cut the Excess & Trim the Fat
– Spend less on your utilities to help cut back your bills. By using less electricity, water and gas, your bills will go down. You can try simple things to save hundreds of dollars like decreasing the amount of time you watch television, turning off your computer, and taking fast showers.
– Make sure to watch your interest rates on your credit cards, because credit unions or community banks often have up to a 20% lower interest rate and may even let you transfer your credit card balance for no fee… so consider consolidating your credit card bills.
2. Borrow From Your Future to Maintain Your Present
– Borrow money from your children’s college fund, and promise yourself that you will return the money to their college accounts when your financial situation improves.
– By leveraging your home equity, you can get enough money to help you out for quite a few months. You can usually ask your home lender for 10% of your home’s equity.
– If you have a retirement fund or 401k plan, you can apply for something called “hardship withdrawal” which will let you take out your money early without the usual penalty for an early withdrawal of money.
3. Adjust to Living Small
– Living large costs a lot of money, so make lifestyle changes to learn to live small… and these lifestyle changes should be maintained even when things get better, because you will be able to save more money in the future too!
– If you are lucky enough that you have two incomes in your house, try to live off of only one of the incomes. If you can live like you are only making 1/3 to 1/2 of your current household income, then you will have more savings for your future.
– Save money so that you have an emergency savings fund that would cover your expenses and retirement fund (401k plan) for 8 months.
So now that we have a plan to get our finances back on track, Dr. Oz also gave us some tips to reduce the stress of being unemployed:
Dr. Oz’s Unemployment Stress Reducing Tips
1. Adopt a Regular Routine
Try your hardest to make your days have meaning. Don’t let yourself sleep until noon… get up at the same time each day and get dressed, even if you don’t go out. In addition to looking for work, find another activity to partake in.
2. Get Out!
Do not remain isolated and stay by yourself. Walk outside for at least an hour to make sure you get Vitamin D. Talk to your friends and socialize – a support system is extremely helpful.
3. Exercise!
Make sure to take 10,000 steps a day and track it using a Pedometer. 30 minutes of cardio workout is a great plan as well.
Taxes says
I just have to ask one question…did Doctor Oz become a doctor just because his last name was oz?! I just have to think that he did. I mean, I know a dentist with the last name mohler and I think the same thing about him. Oh and by the way, I really like your unemployment advice. I think that whether you havea job or not (but especially if you are jobless) you should keep up your health and exercise because that helps you emotional health.