Late 2019 took the world by complete surprise, with the majority of countries going into an instant national lockdown. The COVID-19 pandemic brought about uncertainty as to what the new normal to our lives would be, and even more than a year later, we are still unsure about what our post-pandemic future holds.
The pandemic affected everything and everybody, and many people are concerned about their lives, not only because of it but also because of the lack of money that pandemic caused. We can now say that chaos occurred, as that feeling of uncertainty was a new feeling to most of us, and we all reacted in different ways, some immediately started buying everything they might need for longer periods, some withdraw all the money in their bank accounts, and some didn’t want to accept the fact that pandemic is real.
In the end, all these actions had, and still have, a vast impact on our finances. The whole world stopped at one moment. Ships weren’t delivering basic necessities, traveling was a thing we used to do, even going to work was changed, as most of us worked from home. With all this info, emphasizing how it all affected our finances is unnecessary, as we are all aware of what’s going on.
Economists believe that the financial implications of the pandemic will be with us for quite some time to come and that we need to learn with them. Luckily, what experts agree with is that a global economic crisis like the one in 2008 is not a possibility, but nonetheless, we can all use some extra money. That is why most people are looking for some new way to get some cash, and here are some ways that all of us can learn to manage our finances better and maybe even learn some long-term saving techniques, which can be useful even when the pandemic is over.
Pool Your Resources
Sadly, many people have lost their jobs due to less movement in the market, and many of them are trying to save any penny. Luxuries such as dining out were the first to go since many people cannot afford them anymore. That resulted in many people moving in with families and friends to make ends meet.
While we all want to care for the people we love, increasing financial responsibilities can put a strain on even the best relationships. Now is the time to be open and honest with our budget and discuss with the people around us how can all of us save some money and contribute to the budget. If you haven’t already done that, you should be pooling all the resources with the members of the household.
Most of the biggest financial problems in families are due to the lack of honesty and communication because many people are avoiding each other and telling the truth about finances. Because of that, it is necessary to sit down and make a budget plan since it may even highlight where you are spending too much without realizing it.
Cut Back on Credit and Insurance
Some insurance companies will offer discounts for those who explain their financial situation, and many can even bundle the policies. That can save us quite a bit on the monthly premiums, and we will only be paying for one account, which can be pretty useful in those times.
If you have extensive coverage on health or car insurance, consider taking out a higher excess to lower the monthly installment. If you are lucky and don’t need to claim, that can save a pretty penny. AffianceFinancial offers financial planning services and a wide range of financial advice to give us peace of mind.
Be Prepared to Sacrifice
If there is ever a time that we can learn to live with less, it is when we have almost nothing. You will be surprised by what you can do with a few odd vegetables and some flour when you are on your last few groceries. In a similar way to how many college students live, we can all adopt the same behaviors.
College students are adapted to live with a small amount of money because they save it for other things like parties and having fun, but in these times when we all need to save some extra money, we can learn a lot from them. That special coffee or slab of chocolate we think that we have to have might just need the boot, and we may drink it at home instead of the bar.
We all want to have nice things to look forward to at the end of the day, but constantly staying in this mindset is only messing with our future. That could also mean staying in a job that we are unhappy with until we can find something better. It is not an easy decision, but in a time when many people are losing their jobs, it is probably a better idea to keep the one we don’t like than to look for the better one and lose even the one we have.
Many financial institutions are willing to work out special payment plans for credit card debt, so consider sending them a letter and ask about their terms. Legally, as long as we are paying something towards an account, we can set up heavily-reduced debit orders. Every cent will count in the long-term, so review all your current policies to have insights into the account balance.
Conclusion
The pandemic is with us for more than a year, and we are trying to adjust and adapt to new conditions and live normal lives as much as possible. It is not an easy task because it changed everything that we are used to and forced us to change many of our habits. There is no way to know if this pandemic will get better or if it will be with us forever, so take the opportunity to review how you can have a hassle-free pandemic starting today.
That will make dealing with the pandemic much easier, and once you learn to save money, that can be a great habit even when the pandemic is over. Once things are back to normal, we can have more money for various activities if we learn how to save during these hard times.
