Jordan Park
What is a recession?
Many of us have heard the word “recession” uttered by our parents and the president a number of times, but what does it actually mean? It depends who you ask, but a recession is often technically defined as two consecutive quarters of negative GDP (gross domestic product) growth. But more generally, a recession can be thought of as a widespread, meaningful, and lengthy downturn in economic activity. You can also think of a recession as when the economy stops growing and starts shrinking.
A recession is usually only declared after the economic downturn has persisted for a decent amount of time; additionally, recessions vary in size and impact. They can be short, long, create a detrimental impact, or vanish without leaving much of a trace. A recession typically ends when economic growth returns once again to previous levels.
What you can do to prepare for a recession
There isn’t much you as an individual can do to prevent a recession. But that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare. There are plenty of steps you can take to make sure that the impact of an economic downturn doesn’t hit you as hard as it can.
1. Work on your resume
There are usually significantly fewer job opportunities out there during a recession, so you’ll want to make sure that you’re as competitive as you can be when searching for jobs. You might want to look into learning a new skill or two to help you stand out above the competition.
2. Build your credit score
Weathering a recession is all about being prepared. Even if you don’t have a use for a good credit score right now, there’s a good chance you will in the near future. With a Fizz card, you can build credit without worrying about overspending, fees, or interest. And with a good credit score, you’ll be able to save boatloads from getting cheaper student loans to getting approved for apartments that are in short supply.
3. Reduce your expenses
Take a step back and start to assess where you can cut back. Maybe it's getting rid of a few monthly subscriptions or limiting eating out to once a week. The idea is to start preparing for a worst case scenario. Overspending is a issue we all tend to grapple with at some point or another, so make sure that you're being cautious of how you spend.
Author bio
Jordan Park
Jordan Park is a senior at the University of Texas at Austin and is a Growth intern at Fizz. He is new to the beautiful world of finance, but is quickly growing his knowledge through personal research and learning from his peers. Out of office you can find him playing guitar, or attempting new recipes. He currently resides in Austin, TX.
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