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5 tips for making the most of having no money

It finally happened - you are tapped out, cleaned out, sans cash, penniless, and flat broke. Its funny how there are so many ways to say it but none of them make it sound better. Not having any money is one of the worst feelings in the world.

What is the worst part about being flat broke?

When you are flat broke you have no control over your life. You can't choose where to sleep, what to eat, or what job you want. When you have no money, you have to take what you can get until you get some savings built up. That is the worst part - it's humiliating to have someone else tell you, a grown person, where to go and what to do. How can you learn to cope with being flat broke? Here are 5 tips on how to cope.

#1 - Make a plan

If you have a plan on how to get back on your feet, you will feel better. You will have something to guide your actions, and goals to reach for. This will ensure everything you are doing is aimed at getting you out of this humiliating situation as fast as possible. Even if your plan doesn't work out perfectly, you can change it along the way. The important thing is to have a plan, and to follow it as best you can.

#2 - Attitude check

When you are flat broke you basically have two choices. First you can mope around and blame everyone else. Or second, you can not care about the past and look for the best of your situation - enjoy what you can along the way. If you mope and blame, you will not make any friends, won't get any help, and you'll be stuck at the bottom for a long time. If you try to find the good things about wherever you find yourself, you will brighten people's days, make friends, and generally have a much happier time in what could be the worst days of your life.

#3 - Do favors for people

Since you don't have any money, you can happily give what you do have to people who need it - time. You will be surprised how loyal a friend you can make with just a simple offer of help in a time of need. It could be keeping the shelter doors open until someone gets inside rather than sleep in the freezing cold. It could be protecting a defenseless bag lady from kids roughing her up. Or it could just be helping the staff at the shelter get their jobs done faster so they can go home sooner to their families. A couple minutes here and there, and before you know it you will be everyone's best friend. Someone with lots of friends has lots of people looking out for them, which is never a bad thing.

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