There was no telling of how grave the economic upheaval that happened during the pandemic was. When businesses closed down, the effect was almost instant; millions of Americans lost their jobs, while a select few managed to keep theirs, and the rest is now history.
It’s gotten to the point where about 60% of the people in the country worry about where they’ll be getting their next paycheck. Businesses have also been trying to make it through this unprecedented, uncertain situation. For some strange reason, it’s also become a time when stocks and business brokers have been busy. A lot of stocks went on low prices due to the economic crash brought about by the pandemic.
That’s just it — people are puzzled as to how they can handle their finances properly. If you’re one of those looking at an uncertain future, then these tips are for you.
Keep an Emergency Fund
A lot of people were caught by surprise with the quarantine closures that they didn’t know where their funds will come from. Emergency funds are perfect for this situation, but it’s either you’ve got one or you haven’t started yet.
If you haven’t, then it’s time that you began to create one. You need to fund it with at least three to six months’ worth of your salary or what is equivalent to your living expenses for those months. Those who had managed to create it ahead of time lived off of these until work came back partially.
There’s no telling what the next pandemic or calamity will be bringing, so it’s better to be prepared with an emergency fund. You can even call it a ‘calamity fund’ if you’d like.
Spend Only on What You Need
Last year, at the onset of the outbreak, there were very few groceries that remained open. The rest managed to bring their services online, and people chose to shop in these online markets. It helped make sure that they wouldn’t have any face-to-face contact with people.
Now, online shopping is still as strong as when the pandemic first broke out. However, some people — those whose work went uninterrupted — might be tempted to buy more with all the savings they’ve got from not going out. As much as possible, control your spending. If you can, you should even put whatever extra money you’ve got into your emergency fund.
Live a Frugal Life
Even if you’ve got quite the means to secure a comfortable life, you should strive to live frugally. While there are vaccines, it would be a while before things get back to normal. In any eventuality, you’ll want to have a little cash stacked away, and a frugal life will help you save more.
The aim is to spend less than what you’re paid. If you already have enough for your emergency fund and you’ve still got some to save, why not consider tucking it away for retirement? It’s even easier to save now when you’re staying at home, and there’s virtually nothing for you to do outside.
The next tips are for when you come back to going out. You never know what criminals might be thinking under the new norm.
Try to Get Paid into Savings Directly
For some people, one bank account is all they need to pay their bills and other expenses. This shouldn’t be the case, according to experts. There should be a separate bank account: one should be for paying bills and expenses and the other should be to keep the money for savings.
Bills are easy to pay, according to them, and wouldn’t be hard to predict (the due date). It’s not such a simple thing with one account, however, and this system is always prone to overspending.
Save for the Essentials First
No matter how much money you get, if it seems to run out always, you should work on keeping a weekly budget or allowance. Experts say that most expenses — be it for food or for going to the gym or the movies — can be calculated on a weekly basis.
This should be the same case for bills too. This system, called ‘drip feeding’, will let you pay your bills and allow you to still have more at the end of the week, experts argue.
There’s no problem with money; it never runs out, and there’s more being printed daily. The problem lies with people and how they handle their accounts. If you have such a problem, you should take a look at how you handle your accounts. Consider these tips to help you trace the source of your troubles and to find a solution.