BETTER / Life
How to be better right now where
Money matters M oney is tight more than ever right now, and it can be hard to know what to do. We listened to what experts were saying to navigate this crazy time.
1. What to do now
If you are in a very unstable financial situation right now, on a recent podcast, financial guru Dave Ramsey advised focusing your finances in this order: 1) Food 2) Lights/Water 3) Mortgage/Rent “Do keep gas in your car. Do look for an interim job...You can make some money to continue to run your home for a period of time.”
2. Avoid these big mistakes
1) Don’t let fear drive your decisions. 2) Don’t take a line of credit on your home or use credit cards to get by. 3) Don’t go to payday loan places. 4) Don’t make purchases to make yourself feel better about this hard time (like buying a new TV or boat when you should be paying off debt). 5) Do not delay payments if you can afford them. Anthony O’Neal, a trusted voice on money matters says, “Don’t take advantage of forbearance plans.” This isn’t loan forgiveness or even deferment, it is just a delay. You could end up paying multiple months at once. Do not cash in your 401k.
3. Be the only one
It’s easy to follow the crowd during a crisis - which may be the wrong way. When he read an article about how someone bought their kid an iPad because they didn’t want their child to be the only one without it, Dr. John Delony, a Ph.D. in psychology, and his friend started saying, “Be the only one.” Thinking if everyone else is living on credit cards, I’m going to be the only one who doesn’t. If everyone else is treating their spouse badly, I’m going to be the only one who doesn’t do that. Over time you’ll reap the benefits by doing what no one else will do. How will you be the only one?
4. Never feel like this again
Photo by HappyAprilBoy/Shutterstock.com
Financial experts all agree that having a $1500 emergency fund put away is key to peace when the unexpected comes. Also, having 3 to 6 months of expenses put away to cover bills and essentials helps us weather the storms. If you haven’t had this cushion then you have probably felt fear in this troubling time. Don’t let that fear be wasted. Decide now to do what you need to do to never feel that financial anxiety again.
www.beingbettermagazine.com / Vol 10 . No 2 . 2020
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