Assess Your Current Situation—And Remember the Long-Term View
As the COVID-19 pandemic creates uncertainty on several fronts for individuals and businesses, Certified B Corporation HoneyBee is providing some information on how to put yourself in the best financial situation—for now and the long term.
Before anything else, remember that grocery stores and pharmacies aren’t closing. You’re not getting evicted. Take stock of what you have in your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer. Take stock of your prescription and non-prescription medications. To ease any anxiety, make a list of what you have and what you’d like to pick up.
Then, consider adding a few financially minded tasks to your to-do list.
Don’t Constantly Check Accounts
If you’re invested for the long term, avoid looking at your 401(k), 403(b), IRA, or other investment accounts right now. Remember that a loss in portfolio value is not a real loss until you crystalize it by selling off your investments. Do yourself a favor and ignore all the hubbub about what’s happening in the markets on a minute-by-minute basis and focus on that long-term strategy.
Take Stock of Your Situation
Knowledge is power. Understand where you are with your finances by doing a simple exercise to determine your net worth. One option is this simple-to-use net worth calculator.
Build Knowledge and Check Your Credit
Pick up a personal finance book, listen to a personal finance podcast or YouTube channel, and bulk up your knowledge of how to manage your money and save for the future. Some of our favorites include David Bach, Canna Campbell, Bola Sokunbi, Michelle Singletary, Farnoosh Torabi, Liz Weston, and Dave Ramsey.
Because credit fraud tends to increase in times of crisis, access a free credit report.
Review Bills and Monthly Commitments
The pandemic has affected everyone. It won’t be a secret that some people are having trouble making ends meet right now. Check for any official communication from your landlord, your utilities, or your credit card companies—email, social media accounts, websites. Maybe they’re pre-emptively offering to put rent payments on pause or lower monthly bills. If not, call them and ask.
Take Time to Recharge
A lot of companies are offering free content: meditations, online yoga, or workshops for learning new skills. Take some time to do something that matters to you.
If you have other financial questions, email HoneyBee and look for answers in a future post.
B the Change gathers and shares the voices from within the movement of people using business as a force for good and the community of Certified B Corporations. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the nonprofit B Lab.
5 Personal Finance Tips in Uncertain Times was originally published in B The Change on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
