Two of the focuses of my blog are Current Events and Financial Literacy/Money. The Coronavirus/Covid-19 Crisis/Pandemic has created money-related challenges that have never been seen before by Baby Boomers, Generation-Xers and Millennials. As such, many of us need to be creative about how we handle our money. The following contributed post is entitled, Clever Ways You Can Manage Your Money During Covid-19.
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The majority of the country is facing the difficulties that have come with the enforced lockdown due to Covid-19. But, this time also gives us the opportunity to find ways to manage our finances a little better.
Try to make the best of this time to come out the other side more financially strong and enable yourself to have benefits that could last a lifetime.
Make the best of this short time to come out financially stronger and give you benefits that will last a lifetime.
Divide Up a Monthly Budget
It’s important now more than ever to live by a budget, it might seem easier to just plod along, but this is when you find yourself living payday to payday. A great way to divide up your monthly budget is to us the 50/30/20 rule.
50% – Use 50% of your salary for the things that you need, such as food, rent, education, travel, etc.
30%- Ise 30% on the things that you want, such as eating out, non-food shopping, and travel not for work.
20%- Then you should use 20% for safe investments and debts such as savings and any long-standing debts that could affect your credit rating.
You need to carefully analyze what you need and want, but you should also consider cutting down on the things you want if you have substantial debts to pay.
Have A Look At Any Income You May Be Missing Out On
If you’re struggling financially then now is a great time to be looking at any options you have to help increase your income. It might be that you are one of the many people who have lost their main income or have experienced a drop in income and now need some support. There are many government help schemes to help various people, whether you’ve become unemployed, lost self-employed wages, or are a business owner there is something for the majority of people. You could also use this time to look into any money you may be owed from things such as waiting for a payout from an accident claim, it may be possible to use settlement loans as a way to tie you over until the payout, or maybe you’re owed money from a refund of something you have purchased, it’s now time to chase any of these to ensure you’re financially stable.
Have A Look At Unused Memberships
Have a look at the monthly/annual memberships that you are paying for. It could the Gy, a social club or maybe even places like theme parks or zoos. The chances are you’re unable to use these at the moment and it could be a while before things are back to normal and you can utilize them again. This means you could be paying for something that you’re not going to use, which is a waste of valuable income. Cancelling these in the short term could help to top up your income in a much needed time.
You should remember that this difficult time will go away at some point in time. It’s a good idea to use this short time to try and come out financially stronger than you were before, this is going to benefit you in the long-term too, especially if you stick to it. Have you made financial changes due to Covid-19? Please share them in the comments below.
