Money Tips Network

Right now, many office workers all around the world are working from home. Many of them are doing more or less the exact same tasks that they would have been doing at work, with a few changes. They’re figuring out how to actually be productive in a home environment rather than in an office. They’re conducting a lot of meetings using video conferencing, conference calls and so on. They’re losing some elements of office camaraderie, like water cooler talk.

As we look forward from here, however, the big question on the minds of many is how all of this will change office work going forward, when stay-at-home restrictions and gathering rules are lifted. Will this period cause any lasting changes in how many of us work?

Many of us are at home riding out the days of a stay-at-home order. If we’re lucky, we’re working from home; if not, we might be receiving unemployment and waiting for an opportunity to get back to work.

In any case, it’s in the best interest of a lot of us to find ways to cut back on our spending, even under the restriction of staying at home. The less we can spend right now, the better, because the future is uncertain.

Here are some excellent strategies for saving money while under a stay at home order.

Remember, you’re naturally saving money by not going out and doing minimal shopping.

Almost everyone is spending less money right now than they did before a stay at home order began in their area. Simply put, a lot of businesses that might otherwise gobble up our dollars and cents simply aren’t open right now, and our own personal choices and restrictions might be keeping us from patronizing those that are open.

Over the coming weeks and months, most Americans will receive a stimulus check from the federal government. This check is intended to help people struggling financially as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, either to directly make ends meet or to shore up their finances for difficult times to come. The payments should arrive in the next month or two, though the legislation states that the IRS has until the end of 2020 to make sure that the payments reach everyone. Most people will receive the money via direct deposit, provided that they have direct deposit information on file with the IRS in order to submit or receive payments on their income taxes.

Let’s dig into the details of the stimulus check by first addressing the two biggest questions most people have and following that with smart ideas on how to use that stimulus money for maximum financial benefit.

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. Getting nothing done
2. Unemployed but okay; what’s next?
3. Emergency fund or debt repayment?
4. Buying a house right now?
5. Retire now?
6. Summer vacation plans
7. Keeping kids off of screens
8. Unemployed and scared
9. Grocery run strategy

“In the rush to return to normal, use this time to consider which parts of normal are worth rushing back to.” – Dave Hollis

There’s no question that we are in the midst of an exceptional moment, not only in our lives but in history. For each and every one of us, the sense of “normal” has been disrupted in some significant way. For some, that disruption might mean a loss of a loved one or a serious illness. For others, it might mean an abrupt job loss or an abrupt change in working conditions. For many, it means an abrupt shift to spending lots of time at home and/or a sudden turn toward homeschooling. For almost all of us, it means a loss of services we’ve become used to and a loss of social interaction.

As absolutely painful and challenging as all of these changes are, it does provide a unique opportunity in our adult lives to actually sit back and assess the state of our lives.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Government has announced a $2 trillion stimulus package, set to include economic impact payments sent directly to Americans. But not everyone will be able to access these funds as quickly and easily as others.

The sharing economy has become common practice in recent years, with third-party services and apps popping up left and right to help those looking to make extra cash connect with those looking to rent. The range of things that can be brought into the sharing economy is never-ending. In fact, it’s not unusual to see consumers renting out their homes, bikes, cars, camping equipment, boats and other unique services to complete strangers online.

However, all this sharing comes with some unique challenges and risks that consumers don’t often consider before listing their items or services. Below, we break down what you need to know about the sharing economy, its pros and cons, and all the options you have available to start participating in this new consumer-to-consumer business model.

The novel coronavirus is impacting all aspects of our daily lives, from social distancing to unemployment, as people around the world try to figure out their “new normal” and their finances along with it. In the midst of financial uncertainty due to COVID-19, you may be considering filing for bankruptcy.

From June 30, 2018 to June 30, 2019, there were nearly 500,000 Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings in America, which was significantly less following the Great Recession. From 2009-2012, there were over 1 million Chapter 7 filings.

Rohan Pavuluri, CEO and co-founder of Upsolve, said filings have declined extensively since the market crash of 2008, but he expects them to increase due to pandemic-driven unemployment. And he would know – Upsolve is an online platform that helps people navigate the intricacies of bankruptcy paperwork for free, similar to TurboTax but for bankruptcy filings.

A number of people have asked what our family has been up to during social distancing, particularly what frugal projects we’ve taken on and what we’ve done to pass the time and stay sane.

Our big focus at home has been to use this as an opportunity to “reset” a lot of things in our lives. We’ve been looking at our habits, our hobbies, how we connect and relate with others, how we use technology and thinking a lot about those things.

We’ve engaged in a number of frugal projects around the house as well and tried to do everything possible to keep our spirits up, avoid spending unneeded money, and keep ourselves safe.

Over the last several days, I’ve been keeping a list of things we’ve done that have been different than our normal routines before social distancing — frugal projects and little lifestyle changes and free entertainment and the like. Here are 24 such things we’ve been doing.