Quarantine expressed as an equation of confinement means we’re going to be spending a massive number of hours indoors, at home or on an endless office-home loop. It also brings a harsh social distancing quota; meeting family and friends will be kept to a bare minimum, if at all. Forget about the large gatherings typical of concerts or stadiums. This means more time in our hands, but how about money in our pockets?
Businesses have been hard hit at home in the US and worldwide. You will be facing hard times and, hopefully not, but maybe even unemployment, financial stagnation or bankruptcy.
These financial planning tips are meant to help you come up with ideas to start lowering costs at home/the office, making money, and preferably both.
Lower Costs/Save Money Tips
- Prioritize Bills. Layer and select critical bills: which need to be paid immediately and which ones can wait? Remember that many, many… really, man private and public companies are reformatting their billing schemes. Some providers are offering assistance —the author personally reached out to Adobe and got a 3-month reprieve— while others are allowing consumers to skip payments altogether for the duration of the quarantine—airlines, for example, are either debiting your card or issuing vouchers for advance travel expense. Contact utilities, student loan entities and any of your direct-debit payment providers now!
- Car Insurance Cashback. Be sure to reach out to your car insurance company and update your mileage forecast. If this has any bearing on the final price of your premium, you should be able to arrange some form of cashback or lower premium fees.
- Credit Card Relief. At this time, some cards are offering hardship programs which may enable users some extra time of non-payment. Check out this link to see which banks are willing to help out in this time of need and how. It’s a live page, so it gets updated often.
- Online Resources Galore. Go online and benefit from the many resources available, for example: unemployment benefits have loosened access; the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps with grocery expenditure; the loans of the SBA’s Coronavirus Disaster Relief Lending Program might be a peach; etc.
Make Money Tips
- Referral Time. It is high noon for your company to up the referral ante! As a prime example, here at Inreact, we have established a $100 payment for every referral closed.
- Up Your Digital Game. This is a win-win situation as the world will be significantly more digital and virtual when we come out at the end of this. If you were already half way there, a small investment to reach the finish line might make the difference and allow your business to continue functioning entirely online.
- Work from Home. Now that you may be possibly making your home a home office, find work-from-home opportunities that suit your new schedule and disposition. Surveys, consumer group studies, coding and many other freelance jobs are waiting.
- Get Paid to Shop & Deliver. For others that is… typically groceries. Inquire with InstaCart, PostMates or any of your local restaurants.
- Lyft/Uber Up. You’ve used the service. Care to find out how it works from the other side? Time to rethink your many car-derived expenses with a twist!
Sources:
https://www.nylag.org/coronavirusfinancialplanning/
https://www.wrmf.com/work-send-you-home-heres-how-to-make-extra-cash-during-quarantine/
