In this day and time, people are now more afraid than ever. With everything that's being shared in the news and over social media, it's almost hard not to be. With viral infections, volatility in the market, schools and businesses shutting down (even if temporarily), and all sorts of other ills, anxiety is at an all-time high. To top it off, we’re having to stay away from many of our loved ones, clients, and others just to keep ourselves and them safe. Who actually ever thinks that they'll live to see or experience a pandemic? Who has ever thought that social distancing would be a part of their life experience? I know I didn't. Fear of the unknown has the anxiety of many going through the roof.
During this time, one of the best things we can do is ensure that we’re managing the things that we can control and make every effort to be certain that we’re managing them well. Throughout this crisis, take the time to look at the things that affect your family and/or businesses’ stability.
Review Your Budget. If you don’t currently have one, create one. (If you need one that’s already formatted, there are many free templates online. They are adjustable.) Be honest with yourself about where you are financially. This is not the time (not that there ever is a time to) to lie to yourself about where you are in this area.
Make the Necessary Adjustments in Your saving, Investing, and Spending Habits. Are you putting enough away into your savings to help you reach your financial goals in the time that you’d like to reach them? If not, what are you going to do about it? Are you investing? If not, why? What changes do you need to make in order to be able to start? If you are, are you monitoring your investment accounts? Are you tracking your spending patterns? If not, why not? How important is your financial future to you? How important is it to others in your home that depend on you?
Examine Your Credit. Is your personal information up to date? What does your credit utilization look like? Are there errors in reporting? If so, have you challenged them? Do you even understand what you’re looking at and how to assess whether you’re doing well or not? Answer truthfully.
Look For (Or Create) Opportunities to Increase Your Income and Reduce Your Debt. Do you have talents or skills that others are looking for that you have yet to share? Have you considered using them to develop another stream of income for you and your loved ones (or your business)? If not, why not? If so, what are ways that you can expand what you’ve already developed? What are some things that you’re wasting money on that you know you could (and maybe should) do without? Are you spending money on a product or service that once met a need but no longer does? Assess and adjust.
Protect Your Assets. When looking at assets, many think first of their home, car, or other things of great interest. Some of those things are assets, indeed. However, the greatest one, the one that is often overlooked is…your ability to earn an income. Should something happen to you and you’re no longer able to provide for your family the way that you have (whether it’s due to illness, injury, or death), how will your household continue to survive successfully? You want to know how? I’m glad you asked. Insurance. Insurance is the solution to that problem. Do you have life insurance? Auto Insurance? Homeowner’s or renter’s insurance? Disability or Long Term Care? If you don’t have any of these or are lacking those of these that you need, I have news for you. You and your household were already in a crisis before this pandemic! If anything were to happen to you, everything that you are currently financing or own is potentially at risk. Imagine your family without you, grieving, and struggling with the thought of losing their home, car, or other necessities. Consider the adjustments your family would have to make in order to make ends meet to compensate for the loss of income. How does that make you feel? Is the livelihood of your home and/or your business worth the risk? What do you value most? What you do (or don’t do) about it says a lot.
We may not be able to control some of the things happening in the world today, but we can control how we handle our own personal responsibilities. People protect whom and what they value. Are you and yours properly protected? Let me help you find out. I am here to serve.