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No one saw the Coronavirus (or the COVID-19) coming. It has already had a large impact on the lives of people, businesses around the world, and the global economy. The best thing we could possibly do is stay indoors to not only stay safe, but also to bring an end to this deadly disease.
However, even when you are indoors, you are still paying for your rent, bills, utilities, insurance and loans. Not everyone has the privilege of getting paid while being at home. Depending on your situation, you need to adjust how you manage your finances during these uncertain times.
We do not know what will happen tomorrow. There could be a complete lockdown for two or three weeks. You need to be financially prepared for such a situation. Here is what you can do:
1. Pause Your Memberships
The health and fitness club you go to is probably closed by now and your membership is most likely put on hold due to the Coronavirus situation. If it is not, ask the club if you could freeze your membership until everything is back to normal.
Similarly, if there are any other clubs or organizations that you are a member of, you need to take steps to put a hold to your membership.
You need to take these steps not only to stay safe and to stay away from the crowd, but also to save every dollar that you can. You need to save as much as you can for the upcoming months.
2. Cancel Your Subscriptions
Netflix, YouTube TV, Spotify, SirusXM – all of these are examples of subscriptions you should take a break from.
While I do understand that you need these for entertainment if you are staying at home all day for a couple of weeks or so during the Coronavirus outbreak, it is also important to save money if you do not have a constant guaranteed flow of income.
A useful app that lets you identify and cancel your subscriptions is Truebill. Truebill automatically identifies all the recurring payments you make for subscriptions.
Many people have active subscriptions that they do not even know about. You can cancel these subscriptions yourself from the Truebill app or have Truebill (premium service) cancel it for you.
Tip: Truebill is an all-in-one finance app. Click here to learn how you can take control of your financial life by only using the Truebill app.
3. Manage Your Finances
Managing finances means controlling money by analyzing income and expenses, tracking bills, and creating and following through a budget. There is so much uncertainty around due to the Coronavirus. This make money management even more important.
Managing your finances would allow you to understand more about your financial situation.
Emma is an excellent money management app that allows you to manage your finances better and make smarter decisions about your money. With Emma, you can track fees banks have charged you, set a budget, track your bills, see exactly where your money is going, and more.
Emma’s user interface is simple and straightforward. It tells you all about your financial information on the dashboard after you open the app. To get started, you would have to connect your bank accounts with Emma so that it can pull your financial information.
Emma is free to download and use. So now that you are home, take this time and opportunity to get started with your new digital financial advocate, Emma!
4. Lower Your Bills
As mentioned above, putting a hold on your memberships and subscriptions is something that is necessary to do to cut down on your expenses in these uncertain times. However, there are more ways you can reduce your expenses. You can do this by lowering your bills.
One way to lower your bills is to turn off lights and heat when not in use. Another way is to use the services of a bill negotiation company to help you get your bills lowered.
Truebill can help you lower your bills, including phone, internet, wireless, home security, cable and many other bills.
Truebill can lower your bills by negotiating with your service provider. If the negotiations are successful, Truebill would charge you a 40% fee of whatever they end up saving you. So 60% of the amount they save you are for you to keep. You don’t pay a fee if they don’t save you any money.
Tip: Here are 7 companies that can help you lower your phone, internet, wireless, cable, home security, satellite TV, satellite radio, utility, software subscription and many other types of bills.
5. Pay The Minimum Amount For Your Debt
You may have made purchases using your credit card this month. You might also have the habit of paying off your credit card in full. While this is definitely the right thing to do in a perfectly healthy economy, you should make some adjustments due the Coronavirus situation now.
When you receive your credit card statement, read through it and look for the minimum amount that is due. Pay off only the minimum amount for now. This is because your first priority should be to build an emergency fund that can let you survive for at least six months without getting paid through work.
We just do not know what is going to happen in the very near future. Businesses have closed down for a couple of weeks, but this closure could extend further. Similarly, a complete lockdown is also a very real possibility.
For these reasons, it is necessary to build that emergency fund and save as much as possible.
6. Find Ways To Make Money From Home
If you are not getting paid by your employer while staying at home, then you need to look for ways you can make money from home. The last thing you want is to find yourself completely out of money during this ongoing Coronavirus situation. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to start making money from home.
With print-on-demand business platforms such as Printful and Printify, you can make money selling customized products globally from your home without ever having to hold any inventory. Here are 16 print-on-demand platforms you can choose from.
You can create online courses of your own and teach them to people of all ages. You may have some skills that others do not have. You can share your knowledge and your ideas with others by creating courses on Udemy or Skillshare. Whenever a student enrolls in your course, you get paid.
7. Stop Spending Unnecessarily
It’s time to stop spending your money on things that are not really necessary, such as furniture, clothes, etc.
You might feel like ordering your food from a restaurant while you are at home. Avoid this urge and cook food at your home. This can save you a lot of money during this Coronavirus outbreak. You can use this money next time to get more groceries.
If you are bored at home, you might feel like shopping online. Avoid any unnecessary purchases and buy only the things that you really need to get through the next few weeks. If you are hellbent on shopping online, then you might as well save some money by shopping through Rakuten. You can even shop for free on Amazon.
As you may know, this is the best time to buy stocks as the stock market is down. You might want to spend your money on buying some stocks. However, before you make that decision, make sure that you have enough money for yourself for at least the next 6 months.
Tip: Here are 15 things you may be spending your money on unnecessarily.
8. Start Putting Aside Some Money As Savings
Your first priority should be you and your family. You should make sure that your and your family’s needs are met first. Then you should set aside some money as savings.
You grow financially when you save for the long-term. Saving for the long-term is necessary to make sure that your future is secure, especially in situations like the Coronavirus pandemic.
With the technology available today, saving is easier than ever. You no longer need a financial adviser to guide you through this process. Today, saving is literally as simple as a few taps on your phone.
Wealthsimple offers a high-interest savings account. They are currently offering a 1.40% interest rate on your savings in Canada (1.10% in the United States), which is higher than what the big banks offer.
There are no fees associated with opening a savings account on Wealthsimple. You do not pay a fee for transfers, withdrawals, or having a low balance. Wealthsimple makes it really easy to save money. Start saving with Wealthsimple today!
Now that you know about the financial steps you need to take during the COVID-19 pandemic, check out 7 ways you can make money from home during this Coronavirus outbreak.
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Awesome post! It will help out a ton of people.
Thank you!