COVID-19: Handling Income Changes During Uncertain Times
The coronavirus pandemic has had a negative impact on everyone’s finances. With businesses in all industries slowing operations and/or shutting their doors temporarily, millions of Americans are without a reliable income to sustain a living. Though there are safeguards provided by the government to try to help families make it through these trying times, taking steps to prepare yourself financially is still advised.
Do you know how you’ll survive over the next 30, 60, 90, or more days? Do you have the financial means to afford the bare necessities your family needs to live? By developing a revised financial plan, you can answer these questions more efficiently.
Assess Current Income
The first step would be to review your current income. What has changed about your financial status? Did you shift from a two-income household to one? Have all income earners in the household lost their jobs and had to apply for unemployment? In some cases, your income may have increased. This is especially true if you’re an essential worker who has been asked to take on extra shifts. Whatever changes have occurred, you want to get an accurate account of your monthly income.
Review Expenses
Now that you know how much income you presently have, determine whether it is enough to cover your current monthly expenses. If the answer is no, you’ll need to reduce or eliminate certain expenses to sustain a living over the next few months. Obviously, paying for things like housing, utilities, and groceries are a must. If you are still commuting to and from work, you’ll also want to continue making any car payments, insurance, and repairs costs. Anything else is secondary. Eliminate things like gym memberships, dining out, monthly subscriptions, and splurging or non-essential shopping.
Find Ways to Save
There are some monthly expenses you can’t get around because they’re essential to your survival. For these expenses, it is best to find ways to save as much as you can. For example, when shopping for groceries, you can use coupons, shop store brands, or buy in bulk. To save on your energy bills, you should keep lights off during the day, unplug devices that are not in use, and decrease your use of large appliances that drain energy (i.e. air conditioner, oven, dryer, etc.).
Check Your Savings
Hopefully, after eliminating unnecessary expenses and finding ways to save on things you need, you have enough income to support your family during these uncertain times. If that is not the case, you can then turn to your savings account. How much money do you presently have tucked away that can be used to cover things you need? If you have quite a bit saved up, you can use this to supplement the income you’re not receiving at the moment. If you don’t have much in savings, but you have a full-time job, you use online installment loans to help you cover unexpected emergencies that might come up.
Look Into Earning Opportunities
The coronavirus has taught people a lot in just a few short weeks. For example, you should never put all your eggs in one basket. Having more than one source of income can essentially ease tensions during uncertain times. Though unemployment rates in the US continue to climb as a result of the pandemic, there are still plenty of opportunities to make money. Whether you decide to become an essential worker like a truck driver, food delivery service, or retail clerk or you look for ways to make money online, you could easily boost your monthly income and fill in any gaps.
Hold On to What You Can
The last bit of advice for handling income changes during the pandemic is to hold on to whatever you can. Whether it’s $5 or $100 extra, if you don’t need it for necessary expenses, you should put it up to use later. Now, is not the time for emotional shopping or panic buying. Unfortunately, no one has any idea how long this pandemic will impact the nation or how bad the impact will be. Should additional changes to your income happen down the line, at least you have a little something to fall back on.
As local and federal governments go to great lengths to try and preserve American lives in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, many people are likely to be financially impacted. During these uncertain times, it is, therefore, essential to be smart with your finances. If you’re dealing with significant changes to your financial status, the above-mentioned recommendations can be used to provide for your family and provide peace of mind.
