We’ve been bored in the house for about two months now, and while states are starting to open back up in an effort to start recovering the economy – many people are still choosing the keep their behinds on their couches instead of being out in these Corona streets.
The longer people stay at home and keep their pocketbooks closed, the longer it’s going to take for the local and national economies to recover from the impact of COVID-19. We could continue to see record breaking unemployment while businesses close under the pressure. It’s important that, even if we have not yet been completely financially affected by the pandemic, we make sure that we’re properly managing our finances
Today I’ll be covering a few things that you can be doing to help ease the burden of the pandemic on your finances.
Cancel subscriptions.
I’m going to say this and I mean it in the most supportive manner possible: you probably don’t need all those streaming services. *runs away* Consider dropping the streaming service that you use the least. If you have little ones, they may revolt if you cut out Disney+ so maybe not that one, sis!
Additionally, cut back on any other subscriptions that you’re currently paying for that aren’t priorities right now. Go ahead and cancel DashPass if you aren’t ordering from DoorDash during the pandemic anyway. Cancel Just Fab and Shoedazzle, because you don’t need new shoes to sit around the house, friend. No. No, you don’t.
Go through your PayPal and Apple subscriptions and see what annual subscriptions are about to hit and make sure you cancel them before it’s too late.
Downgrade your services.
Call your cell phone provider, your insurance company, and your cable service to see if you can downgrade your services
If you’re still spending most of your time at home, you might be able to get away with cutting down on your data plan and just using WiFi at home.
If you aren’t going anywhere, see if reducing the mileage driven on your vehicle will reduce your premiums. If you REALLY aren’t going anywhere, see if you can downgrade all the way down to storage only insurance. (Is this something all insurance companies do or just mine?)
If you don’t really need all those channels – call Comcast and tell them to cut you down to a cheaper service, please and thank you.
Reach out to your creditors.
If you’re proactive about reaching out to your creditors now to adjust your payment terms, they may be more willing to work with you than if you just ignore them or wait until your bills are super behind. They may actually already have plans in place such as allowing you to defer payments, waive late fees, and reduce interest to provide relief to their customers during this time.
Switch out your groceries & keep meals simple.
I know that a lot of us are brand loyal when it comes to groceries – but now might be the time to try to generic brand of cereal or at least the cheaper bread.
Staying out of the grocery store helps me save money. I use Walmart Grocery to order my groceries online and pick them up (click here to save $10 on your first order). That way I’m not roaming the aisles throwing every random thing into my cart, because that’s DEFINITELY a thing that happens.
When cooking for the family, try to stick with recipes that don’t require a whole lot of seasonings/spices that you won’t use very often. These recipes can get expensive, and you won’t really get the bang for your buck for those ingredients if you only use them once.
I’ve also found the hard way that this is not the time to be experimenting with trying new dishes. I’ve thrown away so much food during this pandemic trying to play Master Chef Kesha… just take it from me and stick to the basics so you’re not wasting money on food that you won’t even like.
Build up savings.
This might seem a bit counterintuitive as you might be thinking – how the heezy am I supposed to be saving money at a time like this?!
You may not necessarily have been financially impacted by the Coronavirus – yet. However, I encourage you to still take advantage of the few tips that I’ve shared here. As you’re finding room in your budget by cutting back on certain expenses, add that additional money to your savings so that you can be in a good position if the time ever does come when you need it.
Outfit Deets
When I saw this dress on Fashion to Figure Closet I had to have it immediately. I have a similar dress from Lane Bryant in leopard print, so why not tiger print?? Animal print is ALWAYS on-trend.
I quickly added the dress to my closet, marked it as a priority, and prayed that they would send it to me in the next box… AND THEY DID. My favorite things about this dress:
– the buttons DON’T GAPE! If you follow me on Instagram you know I’m ALWAYS complaining about this!
– the buttons are functional ALL THE WAY DOWN. I’m already imagining this dress doubling as a duster.
– it’s a very lightweight dress, so I think it could stand up well in these Georgia summer streets.
Drawback – no pockets. I found myself trying to put my hands in my pockets all day.
I went to my orthodontic appointment in this outfit and the tech said I was cute. When I told her I felt like Carole Baskins she just chuckled. I don’t think she got the reference. LMAO!
(PS: Yes, I bought the dress. I know. It was practically free after the discount. You’ll see this dress often.)
