With unemployment claims skyrocketing to over 35 million, the death toll passing 100K and talks of a potential Depression, it’s natural to be concerned about your financial future. Furloughs, firings and foreclosures may come faster than government assistance.
There are short-term measures you can take to increase your chances of post-pandemic success. Many people are either still figuring out their workday or feeling less busy in this remote environment. If that describes you, this is a chance to pursue the financial self-care projects you’ve put off.
Personal Finance for Times of Crisis
Step 1-Conduct a scavenger hunt for your money Budgeting is impossible to stick with. Instead, try this. Find two weeks in your calendar before the phrase “social distancing” described your new, least favorite hobby. Look at the calendar and pick two days at random. Re-trace your financial steps for those two days noting where you stopped on the way to work and on the way home? Jot down every purchase with an emoji [depicting how you feel about the choice]. Make sure to capture everything you bought at those places and on-line over the course of the day.
Review the list. For each item, answer two questions for your Emojis. Is this expense recurring? Is this expense really essential? BE HONEST WITH YOUR EMOJIS. Even without a full blown budget, knowledge is power. Saying, “I know I spend a lot of money on X”, is different from understanding if X = $20, $500, or $2000. You may learn that every two months, you are spending the equivalent of a year of grad school, a deluxe vacation, or a new ride on coffee, clubs or companions.
It may be worth it to you but ignorance is not bliss. It’s bankruptcy.
Uh, Will, is there an app for this? But, but, the scavenger hunt….ok, Fine. Yes, there are apps to assist you. No endorsements but here are a few to check out that have good reports: Mint, Digit, Nerd Wallet, Truebill
Step 2-Get your affairs in order The sudden prospect of death or serious illness can be immobilizing but to some, it’s a reminder of those to-do list items that you heard about from HR or your doctor. Do them. You’ve been given a second chance. Complete a health care proxy. It should take you less than an hour. Do a living will. Check with grandparents, parents and older siblings to see if they have their wills, healthcare proxies, and financial matters are in order. Reality is, If you’re the one who will be left, you’re going to have to clean up the mess. COVID-19 is a great gateway to these conversations because WE ALL are feeling a little more mortal so it’s not just having THAT conversation with mom. Download copies of the above documents by state
Additional FREE COVID-19 health resources are Coping Help: Coronavirus Sanity Guide College & Beyond: Coronavirus Life Hacks and for the basics, here’s the CDC’s primer:
Step 3-Use your skills for real Lots of people with the same expenses as you that will pay next to nothing this month. Why is that? They asked and you didn’t. When there is a global pandemic, everyone knows the challenges because we’re facing them together. Use your finely-honed skills to negotiate skipped monthly rent payments, student loan forgiveness, extensions on utility bills or negotiate low-cost lines of credit. Calm down, I can see you shaking. Let’s go through some of your questions.
But Will, what if they say no? If they say no, you are no worse off financially than you were before the call. Remember that they are incentivized to say “yes to reasonable requests”. They want to KEEP you as a customer. You’re willing to pay but times are tough right now so you need a little leeway.
I don’t use phones to …..talk to people. Where do I start? Start with RESEARCH. It’s very possible the answers are sitting in your email in-box already. Over the last three weeks, our household received almost 100 emails from banks, hospitals, airlines, hotels, local eateries, Amazon, credit card makers, vendors and other companies all anxious to express that they are aware of our hardships, share our pain and want me to know that THEY’RE HERE TO HELP.
Maybe you skipped it or your eyes glazed over once you saw the logo. Let’s try something different. Read them. Click on links. Since they don’t want to talk to you either because all their non-essential staff is home bound, they may describe how to take advantage of these resources on their websites or in automated messages without you even having to talk to a live human being.
What do I say to them? If you must speak to someone. Assume you’re on the same team. Three quick keys: A-Most customer service folks work from scripts so give them something to work with. Be specific. Don’t ask for general relief. Say can you waive one month of my cable bill? Can you forgive the debt on my current mortgage payment? Is it possible that I could get extra time to pay till September since I lost half my income? B-Refer to text. If they sent you something that you read that said they’d help, mention it. I received your email that you understood what your customers are facing. I’m an adjunct and my class was canceled when it went remote and my mom has surgery scheduled for next week so I am watching my two younger brothers instead of working 30 hours a week remotely. I am eligible to receive $1200 from the federal government but none of those checks have arrived to people as yet. Are there programs or services your company is offering that I might be eligible for? C-Practice with a friend—Do sone test runs with a friend or start with less essential vendors so you can normalize the exchange and become more comfortable in framing your language. Don’t try one approach and give up. Suggest alternatives and you might land on the magic words that open the key to a “YES”.
That’s good, Will but my rent and other bills are due this week. I don’t see a check in my mailbox from the Treasury Department. Is there any other help available? We know it will take some time to get $1 billion of checks out the door to millions of Americans. Yes, while there’s no federal payment holiday, but you do have some options. The Housing & Urban Development [HUD] Agency supported forbidding all evictions from federal housing units for the time being. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) created the new Keep America Connected program to tell internet service providers and others NOT to disconnect folks. You still need to open your bills and contact providers even if the phone is busy or the website goes down for awhile.
If you need information on unemployment, most of that is done by state. You can visit Career One Stop, your State Unemployment Office or Benefits.gov to see EVERY benefit available to you by category.
You’re be a skilled communicator. Prove it. Don’t accept your fate. Make your case.
Step 4-Don’t leave money on the table—TAX REFUNDS–Collect money that’s yours by filing your taxes if you have a tax refund coming. If you’ve moved in the last year, it’s even more important since the federal government will be using tax data from 2018 or 2019 to send out the Relief checks Congress approved in the $2 trillion package that President Trump signed. If they can’t find you, they won’t pay you. Do the math and determine if a tax-free $1200 is worth more than you would pay/lose by filing taxes. If the math is in your favor, file ASAP.
NICHE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES—Many black coaches have become leaders in the online debate tutoring movement. Maybe you’re already working with a handful of middle school and high school students across the country. Now, there are schools in districts across that very same country that are teaching remotely but starved for content. Many districts haven’t implemented their online learning programs as yet stymied by government red tape.
Pick four friends you trust as coaches and form a consortium. Identify four schools to contact to offer your services [maybe it’s your former high school or middle school or the school one of your clients attend or their parent works at]. If each of you have been doing this work for three year on average, your new consortium has over 12 years of experience in online debate & speech education which may make a PTA or principal swoon. Complete your plan quickly. There’s a market but speed is critical to access it. Use one of your existing websites [if none of you have access to websites, there’s a bigger problem] or create a low-cost one on Word Press. Invest in it so it looks professional. Post pricing models [double the hourly rate charged by your most successful partner], professional awards and highlights, attractive photos and comments from your clients. You now have a business model and a brand new source of supplemental income. And as soon as you get your first two clients, you may be able to get a contract with an entire local school district and make more money than before the virus hit.
JOB LISTINGS—Don’t forget the easy steps. ABAP Job Alerts posted across our social media are a good resource for promising job postings specific to argumentation professionals. Visit ABAP’s Facebook page.
Step 5-Remember how you feel now and do better I’m so proud that you have your 3-6 month Emergency Fund. Wait, no I’m not because you probably don’t. You’re not alone. According to a 2019 survey from Bankrate. Only 2 in 5 U.S. adults have enough emergency savings to pay an unexpected $1,000 expense.
Saving money is tough. Give yourself a leg-up. Create a pop-up message on your phone, in your game controller and in your laptop that reminds you in VIVID terms how horrible and stressed you feel right this second. Mention how important it is to remember this and take steps to start an emergency fund. Two benefits arise from this process. It lets you rant and let it out now but also will give you a little extra push later.
A better way to succeed is make savings automatic. Arrange an automated monthly transfer of a set amount [$10, $50 or $200] into a designated savings account. Those funds can grow and be available for emergencies without lots of extra budgeting work from you.
Trust your skills and you’ll get through this as well. Each day is a new chance for us to figure this world out. If you have other life hacks or subjects you’d like ABAP to address, please leave a comment below.
If you’re not a Black Argument Professional but have need of these skill sets, let ABAP know ASAP so we can identify the individuals or organizations that can support your needs best.
Be safe. Be healthy.
Mr. Will Baker is the Chief Information Officer for BCA LLC in Dallas. He serves as the BCA consultant to the ABAP Executive Director and Board on visioning & human capital management. Will heads the NYU Global Debate Fund, housed in the Business & Society Program of the NYU Leonard N. Stern School of Business. As a leading authority on debate training, strategy & operations, he’s one of the top corporate and nonprofit debate consultants in NYC.
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