Encomium
Recession, downturn, period of inflation… call it any name you wish, the truth remains that such period brings severe economic meltdown and leaves homes with damaging consequences. Though companies find it hard to cope in this period, it is more devastating for families, as people work hard to stay afloat and meet the most important needs.
No doubt, every family has been caught in the web of economic hardship one way or the other.
Here are the ways economic hardship is damaging homes…
Job Loss:
Many families have been shaken unexpectedly by a family member’s loss of job which further impacts the status, self-worth, health, and well-being of not only the affected individual but the entire family as paying monthly bills become a herculean task.
Breaking Family Bonds:
The stress of not finding a means of income can damage inter-family relationships which will require many years to mend. Sometimes families build hatred against friends and other family members who are not able to borrow them money to cope in such time thereby straining their relationships.
Some families may have to sell their homes, change the children schools to less expensive options, and in extreme case, children could be made to hawk things on the street, leading to other forms of child abuse.
Feeding:
Dining time is one that every member of the family looks forward to everyday, whether aged parents or young children. However, the case might turn out as the opposite when the best of food served is no longer spicy, meatier or garnished as previous ones arising from family’s inability to afford the usual stock.
Settling for Lifestyle Changes:
When the source of income into a family stops or is reduced, outing, entertainment, dining, and other extracurricular activities are considered luxurious and too expensive to afford.
Poor Investment:
This happens to be one of the most disastrous, especially for business minded people. Economic hardship would cut down the usual family budgets such that it cannot accommodate short and long-term non-residential investments leading to devastating effects on retirement accounts and savings accounts.
Insignificant Real Estate Assessment:
For families that depend on the value of their homes as part of their retirement plan, retiring during a period of economic downturn or hardship is hell because real estate values fall drastically and foreclosures increase, and this could force many families out of their homes and render them homeless.
Prioritize Needs:
There is no other time for families to understand the difference between needs and wants than during economic hardship. When there is a desire to travel around, attend parties, buy extra things, it is best left as a desire until the families is provided with a safe place to live, clothing, food, and access to affordable health care.
So, even when many families seem to move on without feeling the burns of such trying times, reflections are seen in their day-to-day interactions and change in lifestyle.
Understanding how these economic hardships could damage your home helps you to manage the effects, but in the end, the duration is shorter than the effect it has on a family.
– ‘Seyifunmi Adebote for encomium.ng
