MONEYSMARTLIFE.ORG EMPOWERING SUSTAINABLE FINANCIAL WELL-BEING IN WORKING CLASS FAMILIES

the MoneySmartLife.org Lifestyle blog

Empowering sustainable financial well-being for working class families
Picture
  • Home
  • Take Control Tuesday
  • Blog Money Smart Lifestyle Moments Blog
  • About us
  • Money can be Funny Gallery
  • Trusted Advisor Sign-up
  • Discover Your Money Personality Game
  • Other Blogs and Voices
    • How Much Does It Cost You To Work
    • Detroit Praise Network Blog
    • Better Money Habits

3/22/2020

7 MoneySmartLife Tasks to do during the COVID-19 Social Distancing

0 Comments

Read Now
 
Social distancing Picture
 The coronavirus mitigation protocols have forced many people to stay indoors. Here are some tasks you can do to improve your financial situation during this time. These tasks are not for the financially desperate or food insecure. Instead, it is for those that have a level of sustainability at the beginning of the COVID-19 protocols. (Checkout 10 MoneySmartLife Coronavirus Strategies in a previous post on this site.) Here are the 7:

1. Work on that business plan. No longer will you have to serve your greedy corporate overlords. There will be opportunities after the coronavirus economic carnage is over for new businesses. Do the work on your plan now that you claimed you never had the time to do. Get serious about your dreams. Put them on paper.

2. Increase your cash on hand and limit your trips to ATMs. Money is always good to have available, especially during times of economic dislocation.
  • Make a point to wear gloves when using keypads at checkout, ATMs, and gas stations.
  • Disinfect your credit and debit cards after any external use.

3. Move money to more secure liquid accounts. From certificates of deposit to a savings account or from a brokerage money market fund to an FDIC insured one. Interest rates are low across the board right now. So safety may be a more critical consideration than an incremental higher interest rate at this time.

4. Take your insurance game to the next level. 
  • Shop all your insurances, car, homeowners or renters, life, and disability. Here’s one of those things you claim you never have the time to do. You should it do now. It may take a while to do them all, but insurance comparison shopping is almost always worth the effort for reducing premiums or improving coverage.
  • Do a video inventory of your stuff for property insurance claims. It is worth the effort. And you have the time now.
  • Understand your medical coverages, deductibles, and copays, if any. What impact will the coronavirus have on your Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA) contributions or withdrawals? Can you use your HSA or FSA for COVID-19 prevention expenditures?

5. Organize your financial records. 
  • Go digital with appliance, gadget, gear, and device manuals, warranties, and receipts. Search for the manual on Google then add to it your online storage for easy access. Scan receipts and warranties for upload also.
  • Have a shred-fest. Get a shredder and destroy all those piles of documents and envelopes you have accumulated. Go through each one you have. When you have one in your hand, make a decision. Either digitize it or destroy it. Reduce your financial clutter. You’ll feel better, and your money will be easier to manage.

​6. Spend time daily, increasing your financial intelligence. Make a concerted effort to learn more about your money and the best ways to handle it.
  • A deep dive into MoneySmartLife.org website might be an excellent place to start. May I self-servingly suggest that you also like and subscribe to our YouTube and Facebook platforms. We provide consistent value-added content across our network designed to empower sustainable financial well-being for working-class families.
  • You also should spend some time on the cable business channels, Bloomberg, CNBC, FoxBusiness, or PBS. Listen and become more familiar with financial terminology. Watching can also increase your capacity to understand the economic fundamentals that impact your money. It can help you make better-informed decisions.
  • Add some business programing to your viewing rotation. You don’t have to binge-watch them. To some, it may have to be an acquired taste. But acquire it, and you will be glad you did.

7. Relax, don’t panic. There is no need to hoard items or cash out your 401(k). Things will be rough for a while, no doubt. But it will settle down. When it does, many opportunities will abound for those prepared to seize them.

​Make the best of this stay-in period for yourself, your family, and money by implementing the above ideas. You might not be able to do them all, but you can do some.

Share

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

Details

    Archives

    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    November 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017

    Notify me of new blog posts

    Categories

    All
    Borrowing
    COVID 19
    COVID-19
    Credit
    Debt
    Financial Capability
    Financial Well Being
    First Time Home Buyer
    Max Income
    Protecting
    Savings
    Spending
    Taxes

    join money smart lifers

    RSS Feed

    Mansa Musa Trusted Advisor First time home buyer

    Author

    Mansa Musa is a homeownership counselor and homebuyer educator. He is currently the Principal at MoneySmartLife.org. He blogs and speaks on subjects of financial well-being and financial capability. Helping working class families live a sustainable MoneySmartLife through pragmatic solutions and behavior changes.

Picture
MoneySmartLife.org YouTube Channel
Money Smart Lifestyle Moments Blogs

    Subscribe Today!

Submit

Contact Us

Necessary Disclaimers 

  • MoneySmartLife.org and its affiliates do not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction. 
  • The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual; either in the past or future. 
  • This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner.” MoneySmartLife.org states that they’re using this material as part of their “efforts to advance understanding of issues of “financial well-being” and that they believe that this constitutes a “fair use” of the material in accordance with title 17 U.S.C. Section 107. ​
  • Home
  • Take Control Tuesday
  • Blog Money Smart Lifestyle Moments Blog
  • About us
  • Money can be Funny Gallery
  • Trusted Advisor Sign-up
  • Discover Your Money Personality Game
  • Other Blogs and Voices
    • How Much Does It Cost You To Work
    • Detroit Praise Network Blog
    • Better Money Habits