Today I am sharing 3 Tips for Financial Survival During a Pandemic that may help y'all. Hopefully it's not too late.
3 Tips for Financial Survival During a Pandemic
I don't know about you but since this whole pandemic thing started, I've noticed that the price of food has steadily increased. It seems as if I'm almost spending double of what I used to. Even at Aldi, I used to spend $30 at the most. Now I'm spending $50 or $60.
It's been hard for many as a lot of people have lost their jobs while others are essential employees and must work. While many will argue that the ones that did lose their jobs were making a ton of money, some of those have still not gone back to their regular jobs and the unemployment has run out. We are trying to help some families this holiday with our Giving Christmas Away Event.
My son and daughter in law are two of those people. Living in Central Florida, my son was a bartender and my daughter in law a server. The places where they worked have not reopened and no one knows for sure when they will or if they will.
With that being said, no matter if you are on a fixed income like we are, or laid off with no end in sight, hopefully you did put that one and only stimulus check to good use. (Buying a new TV was NOT good use!)
So today I am sharing 3 Tips for Financial Survival During a Pandemic. Hopefully it's not too late.
Grocery Pickup
I have been using Walmart's grocery pickup since I broke my ankle in 2017. I placed the order online and my husband would go pick it up. Not only is safer because you aren't dealing with people, but in my case it saves me money.
How? Whenever my husband goes shopping with me, I tend to spend a whole lot more. No kidding!
Seriously though, even if he isn't with me, I have a tendency to see something and get it. Which makes my grocery expense more than I intended to spend.
With grocery pickup, I plan out my meals for the week, choose a time for pickup, place my order and I'm done until I have to pick it up usually the next day. Boy, that was easy!
Pay Down Debt
This is something I've always wanted to do. But never did! Probably because I've been doing it wrong. There are actually two ways to do it. Recently I found Pigly.com. They have an Accelerated Debt Repayment Calculator.
You can either use the Snowball debt rollover method which lists your smallest debts first. Or the Debt avalanche method which lists your highest interest rates first.
I prefer the Snowball debt rollover method because I love seeing progress. It makes me feel like I'm getting somewhere.
What I also like is that they have all kinds of payment calculators too. Whenever we are looking to purchase a vehicle, I like to calculate my payments ahead of time. Dealers can be real shysters. They always ask well what do you want your payment to be?
And then once you tell them, they'll get you the loan around that amount. You might be paying that amount for 7 years, but they'll get you the payment amount you want.
Did you know that dealers make money off the loans? Yup! The finance guy does. The sad part is that I just learned that last year. I always wondered why we never qualified for "0" interest loan when they were advertised and our credit score was around 800.
Well that's why. The bank or loan company will come back with "0" but the finance guy ups it so he can make money. So if you use the auto payment calculator on Pigly.com, you can figure out how much of a payment you want at what interest rate and for how long. It's smart to go in prepared!
Cut Back on Non Necessities
Sometimes that can be easier said than done. However, this go round, it actually was pretty easy. Since everything was closed and we were safe distancing, we stopped eating out.
You know how I said I thought the price of food was higher since this all began? Well, the grocery bill might have gone up a little, however, the dining out bill went way down.
Before the grocery bill was 40% of our food budget and dining out was 60% (we like to eat out...don't judge lol) now it's 80% groceries and 20% dining out. And that 20% is just for the past month. From March to the beginning of August, we did not eat out at all. Not even delivery or take out. I was too scared.
So while the total food bill was $500 a month for both groceries and dining out, it is now around $400 for both. Which allows me to put that extra $100 towards my credit card debt. 😊
That Starbuck's coffee every morning sure can add up!
In Conclusion
So whether you are financially ok during this pandemic and just need some money tips, or looking for tips for financial survival, I hope these tips help you.
What tips do you have for financial survival during this pandemic?
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