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Don't Panic, Plan


Wow, finances have really been whacked the last few weeks. People have been laid off or had hours cut and have been hoarding necessities which can result shortages and price gouging. What are we to do?

If you have been working the financial independence plan (eliminating debt, saving, etc.) that we have been teaching for a while, you probably won’t feel the panic like those who live paycheck to paycheck. Regardless, here are a few things to do to help with the money crunch:

  1. Prioritize your bills – we have talked about that in previous blog posts. Now is a good time to revisit that (see Decisions, Decisions from January 16). See who might be offering assistance or a payment-skip, if you’re desperate.
  2. Really reduce your spending (see Do You Know Where You Stand? From January 23).
  3. Reach out to creditors, many have hardship programs. Some can even be restructured.
  4. Stop any automatic payments.
  5. Watch for the price gouging I mentioned. There are 2 sites that show historic price trends for Amazon purchases and can be good references: https://camelcamelcamel.com/ and https://keepa.com/#!.
  6. Make sure that you are getting the exercise and sleep you need. Reach out to friends but keep your social distance. Financial stress can upset your physical and mental health, and just being proactively aware of that can help you stay ahead a of it.


We will get through this!

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