It sounds really dramatic to say there's just ONE WAY to handle a crisis, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say just that. We're looking at very hard times coming up – heck, they've hit many of us already. And I think there's only one way to survive 2023.

Frugality.

We have to make different choices with our money.

Many of us will be forced to do it. We will make different choices because we won't be able to afford to make the same ones we're making right now. We will have to cancel some of our regular expenses and downsize parts of our lives.

Others might be able to squeak by spending as they have been for a little bit longer. We saw this over Christmas. A lot of people put the holiday on credit cards. They bought the same food as traditionally served, epic gifts for the entire family, and decked the halls full on. They wanted "normalcy" and "one more good holiday" for their families. It's not the decision I'd make, but I do understand it. Change is hard. Seeing your children forced to adapt can be painful. Getting a spouse on board can be next to impossible.

One way or the other, 2023 is going to look different for nearly all of us.

What is the projection?

We don't need a crystal ball to know that the outlook for our economy is rather grim.

First, there's inflation. Many experts expect inflation to increase in the coming years due to rising demand and the impact of government stimulus measures. The Federal Reserve predicts that inflation will remain below 2% in the near term, but could rise slightly above 2% in the long term. Of course, anyone who has visited a grocery store recently can attest to the fact that the "official" inflation and the real-life effects are entirely different numbers.