Managing finances in times of pandemic
2020 has been a challenging year for all of us. It will be remembered as the year of the pandemic. Historically, it happens every 100 years. It is so unfortunate that we have experienced it during our time.
Most people didn’t expect it to come so fast. Even countries with major superpowers are caught off guard and totally unprepared for the havoc wrought by this pandemic. They too are struggling to contain the effect.
Millions have lost their jobs. Savings dried up, unemployment numbers skyrocketed. Many people do not have savings to spare. Global economies plunge into recession. Debts accumulate to continue supporting people.
In good times, we usually get a recommendation to have at least 6 months of spending in savings and an emergency fund. In investing, we were also advised to diversify, not to put all our eggs in one basket.
However, this is inadequate during the pandemic. Who would have thought it would last more than a year? Who would have thought it would ground all flights, put millions of people unemployed and quarantine most people leaving all businesses in survival mode? Eventually, most of those businesses end up going out of business to further cut their losses.
For those without health insurance who were hospitalized due to the virus, you have another issue to worry about. They may survive the pandemic, but they walked away with thousands of hospital bills. During this time, we appreciate the types of insurance we can use to protect ourselves in a scenario like this.
Governments around the world reacted by providing aid to their people. But they did not plan to give aid for several months either. Those impoverished countries can only do so little for their citizens. People are left to fend for themselves and survive the pandemic.
On the other hand, the rich get richer. They are the ones with a large amount of cash at their disposal. While ordinary people sell their assets at a loss to finance their daily needs, it is the wealthy who buy them all for a profit. During the sunny days, they are the ones who save for the rainy days ahead. Your attitude comes in handy during this time.
The vaccine will arrive soon to end the economic havoc that this pandemic has brought us. While we’re still waiting, we still have to worry about our expenses to make sure our savings last until the end. Evaluate all of your current source of income, assets, and other things of value. Make sure you have managed them correctly.
