The pandemic left almost everybody with a lot of uncertainty right now. The anxiety that’s related to the virus itself and the effects on the economy is rising.
With many businesses closing and individuals losing their jobs, you might find yourself stressing on your finances. Many countries are now in recession, and the stock market continues to drop in values. You might ask yourself, how can you secure your family’s future and yours now that the present is filled with uncertainty?
Taking care of yourself during a health crisis is not only limited to making your body healthy. But you also need to check on your finances. With the current economic state, you should make adjustments to your lifestyle and secure your future. Gone are the days of impulsive shopping at the end of a stressful day. It would be best if you also thought twice about buying take-out food in most days of the week. Managing your money during this time is essential because you don’t know what’ll happen in the future.
To secure your money during this crisis, there are easy money hacks you can follow, including the following:
- Check Your Available Resources
The pandemic left many people unemployed after businesses started to close during the lockdown periods. Also, many businesses are in debt and may not open soon, even when countries or states start to open their economies.
With that, many programs were developed and are being offered to help those in need to stay physically, mentally, and financially healthy. If you’re one of those experiencing a significant income gap due to this crisis, here are several programs and resources you can use:
- Unemployment benefits provided by the government
- National and local service providers that provide financial assistance
- Banks and lenders offering consumers who are affected by the crisis
- Military relief societies offering loans for affected service members
- School districts providing free meals for children
You can find more programs around your community or city. To save on money, you can make the most out of what they’re offering. These institutions also post their offerings on social media or have a website. You can also ask your local government agencies regarding relief programs that are available for you.
- Make Changes On Your Spending Habit
To make the most of your finances, it’s only natural to change your spending habits. In this current crisis, you can expect some businesses offering their services and products at a lower price. This is because lesser people are spending due to the rise of unemployment, and people are avoiding the outdoors. Also, to help the business sector, many governments announced different incentives, including VAT cuts, and discounts for businesses that offer take-out services.
If you’re fortunate to still have work or have found a way to earn an income in this current pandemic, it’s important to support businesses to revive the economy. However, this doesn’t mean that you spend too much on supplies and utilities.
After making the most out of the resources around you, you must adjust your spending habits to allocate funds for other important aspects, like insurance, retirement, and emergency funds. Take the opportunity to buy items on sale and stock on food rather than buying take-out or food delivery every night. It would also help if you fought the urge to buy unnecessary items. Stick to a strict budget every week or month and avoid making unnecessary purchases to offset your budget.
Here are some things to help you create a budget plan and stick to your budget:
- Calculate Your Income and Expenses: Your budget is considered your goals for a certain period. To stick to your budget, evaluate your income and your expenses. Make a list of your weekly or monthly expenses and base your budgeting on it.
Take note that there are fixed expenses such as mortgage or loan payments and retirement contributions. There are also variable expenses, like food and other utilities. Including your income is critical since it should cover all essential expenses for the month.
If you have some money left, you can place the money for investment or use it for entertainment. Allocating funds for entertainment is essential for your mental health.
- Spend Wisely: There are simple ways to spend wisely. For example, it’s more economical to purchase goods online. When you order items, you won’t have to go out of the house, avoiding paying for transportation costs. Many stores are also offering free delivery services.
When you shop for groceries, it’s also beneficial to compare brands. Purchasing branded items are more costly than generic ones. More expensive doesn’t mean better quality all the time. To save on money, try to consider if you can purchase generic brands for some items.
- Plan Your Meals: Planning your meals helps you stick to your grocery budget. By now, it’s expected that you have an idea of the pricing of food items and other essential supplies.
Having a meal plan helps you focus on the items you only need, so you don’t spend too much on unnecessary items.
- Practice A Minimalist Lifestyle: To begin with your minimal lifestyle, you have to identify your needs and wants. Reducing the things you want and sticking to necessities will reduce your spending. Focusing on what you need also keeps yourself on track.
Aside from that, a minimalist lifestyle involves cutting back on clutter or waste. Buying items in individual plastic bottles produces more waste and is more costly because you pay additional for the packaging. Consider buying in bulk where you only get one whole jug or large containers. You can even reuse the container and refill it instantly. By reusing containers, you save a whole lot because you’ll no longer have to pay for packaging. 
- Start Building Your Emergency Fund
Now that you have identified available resources to help you with supplies or services, you can evaluate your budget and start building your emergency fund.
Many experts believe that the priority in a financial crisis is to start saving up for your future. Take note that an emergency fund is not your savings or investments. Your emergency fund can be used in the event you lose your job and don’t find a new one immediately, or there are health emergencies you need to address at once.
A good emergency fund helps you cover at least six months of your daily expenses. In times of economic crisis, it’s wise to save up so you’re covered for a whole year.
It might be tempting to invest money now that the market has a low value. Prioritizing your emergency fund would mean that you won’t have too much money placed on investments. Although it’s a good practice, make sure you evaluate your current needs and check on your budget so you can safely place a percentage of your income to a volatile market.
- Continue Paying Retirement or Life Insurance Contributions If You Can
After securing your emergency fund, you have to continue paying for your retirement contribution or life insurance premiums if you can. There are many known benefits of life insurance, so you should continue working on them to secure your future.
Your retirement or life insurance contributions are considered as long-term investments as it has a chance to grow its value over time, which is more beneficial compared to constantly monitoring the stock market performance. It’s recommended to allocate up to 15% of your budget for payments.
- Manage Your Debt
If the money is tight, you cannot expect to meet all of your financial obligations. There will be times that you need to borrow money to pay for utilities and even debt.
Many banks and lenders offer payment holidays on mortgages and credit card debt. However, these are a temporary source of a break for many of its borrowers. Interest still builds up during this break, and when payments begin again, interests can become higher than before. So, if you plan to borrow money, make sure that you take this information into account and consider other options.
If you can, avoid borrowing money from lenders or banks. If you have existing loans or debts, you can contact your creditors and ask for assistance.
Aside from payment holidays, some creditors offer programs to help stop evictions and foreclosure of properties. This also goes the same for other loans, like student loans, personal loans, and vehicle loans. Creditors help reconstruct your payment terms and offer reduced payments and fees if they see that you’re affected by the economic crisis.
Summary
Almost all countries are affected by the current pandemic. This pandemic economic crisis took a toll on many businesses and individuals. A lot lost their jobs and many are in debt. You might find people getting evicted from their homes in the news because they can’t pay rent. The government and other organizations can only do so much to help people manage their lives during this trying time. This is the reason why it’s important to wisely manage what you currently have.
If you stick to your budget plan, managing your finances is easy. You shouldn’t forget to prepare for your future and continue to make retirement payments if you can. Lastly, don’t forget to reward yourself a little bit with the extra money you save from budgeting. Maintaining good physical and mental health is also essential for your survival in this crisis.
