Next, it is time to understand spending. It is next to human nature to have an urge to spend, but once again, it is overspending, or spending without thought, that got you into hard times in the first place. It is normal to want. You want more, you want nicer, you want newer, you want better. Television shows, advertisements, magazines, etc. play on that natural desire. However, if you can't gain control over your spending, especially during hard times, you will find yourself getting deeper and deeper into debt, and it will be harder and harder to thrive. When times are tight it is especially important to try and curb your spending. There are lots of ways to do this, but the best way to do it is to get in the not wanting mindset. You can use coupons, plan your shopping better, and avoid temptations, but even with this, won't make much of a difference if you don't get in the right attitude.

Helpful Resources: Being Happy This is an awesome website that offers tips for learning how to be happy with what you have. It is a great article that explains how being happy with what you have can mean financial health and security. Thriving During Recession This is a great site for learning about how you can thrive during a recession. It offers tips for what to buy during recession, and what to be content with until the recession is over. Find Happiness With What You Have This is a blog that asks the question of how you can be happy with what you have when you have so little. The blog then offers information about what you can do to find happiness, posted by others. Understanding Hard Times This is an awesome article for understanding hard times, what causes them to happen, and what you can do to thrive during hard times. So, if you can be happy with where you are at, chances are you won't have trouble with the results of economic depression. Thriving During Recession This is a blog that discusses nine unconventional ways to thrive during a recession. It is full of ridiculous suggestions for thriving, such as extortion, blackmail, and stealing. Instead of these options, consider being happy with what you have. Recession Proof This is an interesting article about becoming recession proof so you can thrive during a poor economy. It offers information on avoiding bankruptcy, handling bank failure, and of course keeping your job. Being Content This link takes you to a religious view on how to be content and how being content can help you to stay financially stable in economic tough times, or during a recession. It is a great article with links to further information like how to be frugal and more. Financially Stablehttp://iwouldliketoknow.com/?a=52 This is a great article that discusses tips for things like how to be content with what you have, and how being content can help you be more financially stable, and help you thrive during hard times. Build Wealth This is a great look at how you can build wealth during an economic recession. It offers a look at how to invest, when to spend and when not to, and it offers information on how being happy with what you have and saving can help you thrive. Managing Cash Flow This is a great article about managing your cash flow during a recession. It offers tips for thriving during a poor economy, and it is geared toward businesses, and what they can do to thrive during recession.

Once you learn to curb spending, and have the right approach to your money, it is time to start saving. Saving is the first step to thriving, and unless you learn to be happy with what you have, you will never have any money left over to save. People have the tendency to fill their wants as much as they can, this usually results in empty bank accounts at the end of the month. Even when they increase their income, they do not always have money left to save because their wants increase right with it. The key to thriving, especially when times are tight is to increase income, and decrease wants, or in other words, be happy with what you have so you have money left over at the end of the month to save, invest, etc.

Most people's financial mindset is something like this: get paid, pay bills, buy things they need, spend rest of money on stuff they want, save what is left at end of month. A thrive, not survive, mindset is get paid, set savings aside, pay bills, buy necessities, save anything else that is left.

Ok, now that you know the basics of thriving, not just surviving hard times, and building wealth, let's look at the nitty gritty of how to be happy with what you have:

First and foremost, you have to avoid the things that trigger discontent, or wanting in you. If you feel discontent with your wardrobe every time you go clothing shopping, quit going clothing shopping. If you hang out with people who are better off than you, and it makes you want things you can't afford, cut back on how much you hang out with them, or hang out in places that will remind you less of your differences, such as at a movie, etc. instead of at their huge house. If you want to learn to be happy with what you have, stop looking at ads, television commercials, etc. It is like the kid who wants all the new gadgets at Christmas even if they have no clue how to work them, because they saw them on television. The same kid might be just as happy with a ball. So, don't go in the store if it triggers discontentment, don't watch the show, etc. Instead, find other ways to fill your time, and learn to enjoy the things you have.

Learning to enjoy the things you have is the second tip for being happy where you are so you want less. This can be hard in the beginning, so try the following: If that new movie comes out you are dying to see, first rewatch the ones you already own. If a new book comes out you think you have to buy, first scan your bookshelf to see if you have anything on it you have not yet read. If you absolutely must have new shoes, wear all the shoes you already own at least once first. Usually with some time, and a reminder of how much you already have, your desire will lessen, and that "need" becomes much clearer as a want, and something you can learn to live without, and happily.

Next, a great way to be happy with what you have is to be blissfully unaware. The person who feels like they have it all should not be reminded that they don't. So, when you can help it, don't remind yourself of, or dwell on things you don't have, instead focus on what you do have. For example, the person who has an urge to get a new CD can often squelch that urge by opening up their already vast collection and recognizing how many they already own. So, next time you feel an urge for something, no matter what it is, it helps to look around your home and take inventory of what you have. You can reorganize a closet when you want clothes so you get a good sense of just how many things you already have. You can clean your kitchen when you want new dishes, so you realize what you have is working fine. Often, changing your focus from what you do not have to what you do will rid you of the urge to spend.

Honestly, being happy with what you have is far easier if you shop less. You have less chances of seeing what you do not have. So, don't go shopping unless you really need something, and then only go to that store, and only get that thing. A prime example of failing at this is the person who goes to the grocery store for a loaf of bread and a dozen eggs and leaves with cookies, hair product, soda, and carrots too boot. If all you need is a loaf of bread and a carton of eggs, then take just enough cash to cover it, and get just that.

Next, recognize that practice makes perfect. If you absolutely love to eat out and see every new movie as soon as it hits the theaters, cutting back on it can be hard, and being frugal is not going to be easy, but after a while, it gets easier. You soon start to appreciate the savings you find in making your own meals, and waiting for the movie to come out on DVD. The longer you do it, the easier it gets. If you want to learn to be happy with what you have so you have the ability to thrive despite the economic condition, you have to start somewhere.

Set rules for yourself. Having guidelines can make practicing frugality, and becoming content with what you have easier. A crafter, for example, may love to buy the new paper line, or fabric line each time it comes out. However, if they set a rule that they cannot purchase the new line until they have used the ones they have already bought, the will soon find they have plenty to meet their needs. After a while, having the new line each time it comes out won't seem as important. So, decide that you won't buy something until you use every bit that you already have. You won't buy a new project to start until you complete the ones you are working on. Scrapbookers are a prime example of this. They could spend hundreds of dollars on stickers, papers, embellishments, etc. and have drawers full of stuff they will never use. They are not alone. Have you ever bought more make-up, video games, or anything else before you used what you already have. When the economy is tight, and you are trying to learn to be happy with what you have, it is important to start using what you have.

Contentment during tough times, or any time, results in having more in the long run. If you can be happy in your situation, instead of always looking to get more, you will have more to use when you need something later. You will have savings for emergencies, and for getting you through tough times. Using your old washer and dryer, and having 1200 to pay bills when the breadwinner loses their job is going to feel a lot better than having no money for bills but a brand new washing machine. Get in that mindset, and you will thrive, not just survive, tough times.