Have you been caught short with a sudden loss of income? Or even a reduction of income, at least temporarily? Times like this can turn your world upside down. Your priorities become putting food on the table and keeping a roof over your head. It’s hard to think beyond that and you may never have experienced anything like this before. It’s hard to believe but not so long ago, historically, this was how most people lived throughout most of their lives on a daily basis. In the 1800’s this was how many people struggled through life. They lived a very frugal existence without even thinking about it. It’s just what they had to do to survive, but then came industrialization and things began to change. People could feel more secure in their daily lives. The Great Depression brought it all back. Food insecurity and the daily scramble just to survive. Frugal living was once again the norm. There have been a few more lean times, WW II, and a few lesser stock market downfalls that have shaken people’s financial worlds… but with no real lasting effect (on people's behavior), and now this... Most people who came through the Great Depression tended to continue to feel that insecurity and lived the rest of their lives in a frugal manner. Their children were raised in that manner, and learned frugality to some extent. But now we have gotten too far away for it to have any real impact on the way we live now, and we all live a much richer lifestyle than those people of yore. So, this coronavirus situation and the financial repercussions has really come as quite a shock, and is leaving many people at a loss as to how to proceed from here. It all depends on your own personal situation. If you still have a paycheck coming in, then the worst of it is psychological, the fear, and stress of dealing with our new upside down world. But if you can stay calm and just hunker down and get through this it will all be ok in the end. If you have investments you have obviously seen them drop, but don’t panic. Sit tight and they will rise again. That is just how the stock market works If you have experienced loss of income and you don’t have an emergency fund, then just concentrate on your most pressing needs at the moment to get through this. You need a roof over your head (and the recent rent/mortgage freeze will take care of that for the time being) and you need food. If you really can’t afford even that then there are charities and agencies to help you with free food right now. And you can apply for food stamps as well (unemployment too). Beyond that don’t worry about your monthly bills. Contact your loan and credit card companies. They all know the situation and will hopefully defer them for now. The same for any medical bills you are paying. Luckily heat season is over, so that's one less thing to worry about. If you can’t pay your electric bill contact the company. Insurance companies must give you a grace period right now as per the CARE act. That takes care of your monthly bills for the time being. When your stimulus check comes in, prioritize it for the best possible use. If you need it to live on, then put it in your checking account and use it for your most dire immediate needs. If you are not going to need the money for your current emergency situation, then it is a good idea to use it to pay down your debt and/or put it aside for an emergency fund if you don’t have one. Put this in a separate bank account that you don’t ordinarily access, such as setting up an account in an online bank. And finally, now that you are stuck at home, if you never want to feel the bottom drop out from you again (financially), it is a good time to re-examine your spending habits. Take a good look at what you have been spending money on. Write down some savings goals. (Hint: one of them should be to save up an emergency fund.) Is your spending keeping you from your future goals? Are you robbing yourself of financial security and a decent future by giving in to reckless, unnecessary spending today? Do you ever want to find yourself in a scary financial situation like this again? Now is the time, while you have the time, to think about what your priorities are and make a budget to reflect them. Now you have time together at home to discuss your goals and dreams for the future with your loved ones. This could be a turning point in your life. Make the most of a bad situation and turn it around to work for you. You can do it! Wishing you all safety and good health! And a bright Future!
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There is panic all around us. What should we be doing to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe? How long will this last? What supplies do we need? Do we have enough toilet paper? Sometimes we can be blindsided by what life throws at us. The best way to be prepared for the unexpected is to, well, be prepared. In the case of a new disease coming your way, you are in a much better position to deal with it if you have been living a good healthy life up until that point, eating good fresh whole foods, getting proper rest and exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, etc.. If you have been living this way, chances are you have a much better immune system to fight off the infection. But if you have been eating a poor diet, are out of shape and overweight, leading to possible chronic conditions, can you suddenly start living a healthy lifestyle and expect to have the same healthy immunity as the infection invades your community? Obviously you would have had to been building up that immunity and living a healthy lifestyle for quite some time for it to be effective for you now. I guess you are getting the idea of where this is leading to. The way we live our everyday financial lives also has a big impact on how well we are prepared for whatever life may throw our way. Perhaps this coronavirus has directly (or even indirectly) affected your income. Are you financially prepared to weather the storm? Times like this bring home just how important it is to live below your means (when you have means) and constantly be putting money away for the lean times (or that big “lean time” in your future, otherwise known as retirement). If your ordinary life includes having no debt, having a good emergency fund put aside, and saving on a regular basis, then you are much less likely to feel panic and upheaval when you come to a bump in the road. The more “padding” you have the less you will feel those bumps. Things that are a (financial) crisis to the ill prepared are merely blips to those that have the money to deal with them and move on. If you see the sense in this and would like to shift from a living-on-the-edge (paycheck to paycheck) lifestyle there are many actions that you can begin to take to shift to a saving way of life. If you don’t know where to start I have many blogs on various aspects of money saving strategies that you can implement. Right now, while you are likely sequestered at home, might be the best time to finally sit down and take a good look at your financial situation and take control. Here are just a few that you might find particularly helpful: New Year Savings Resolutions Would You Love to Save More Money? Spring Clean Your Finances Strengthen Your Frugal Muscle, Lighten Your Stress Easy Peasy Savings, Make it Automatic Saving Money Every Day The Perks, Pluses, and Payoffs of Prioritizing My Message to Millennials Ready, Set, Goal! Money Saving Grocery tips from your “Auntie” Victoria And if you scroll through the rest of the blogs, you may find some more that apply to your particular situation and needs. If you need further individual help feel free to contact me at (845) 758-0250, or brightfuture2budgt4.gmail.com for a personal appointment. Wishing you all the best for staying healthy now and moving toward a healthy financial future.
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