Financially Surviving the Pandemic

We’re living through an unprecedented period in human history. At the start of this year, the majority of us were living our lives as usual – sticking to our standard day to day routines, commuting, working, heading to the gym, meeting friends and family, going to the cinema or theatre, booking holidays, getting gig and festival tickets… the list goes on. But over the past couple of months, the rapid spread of coronavirus has resulted in a global pandemic which has seen countries around the world implement lockdown and social distancing measures that confine the majority of us to our own homes, only leaving for essentials like food and medication. While it’s important that we all do our utmost to keep ourselves to ourselves and slow the spread of the virus, it’s also important that we stay afloat financially. Most people have experienced some sort of reduction to their income and many have lost their work altogether. Here are just a few things you can do to manage your finances well during this difficult time!

Find Out What You’re Entitled To

Governments around the world are aware that the economy is in crisis and are consequently offering different forms of help to their citizens. Some are giving out stimulus checks. Some are furloughing employed staff. Some are offering grants to self-employed individuals. The list goes on. Look on your government website to find out what help you’re entitled to and claim what you can. This will help to replace at least some of your lost earnings and can help you out for a while. Just make sure to be wary of scams. Only get your information from verified government sites.

Sell Non-Essentials

Not many people are buying anything other than essentials right now. But it could be worth trying to sell some non essentials that you don’t mind letting go of. Selling online is the preferred method here, as it’s best to limit your face to face contact with others. The extra money you can make from this could be the difference between paying a bill or not paying a bill. If you don’t have anything to sell but have something you’re willing to temporarily hand out for some money, you may want to consider a high-end pawn shop who can give you a collateral based loan – money which you leave something of value for. If you don’t pay the money back, the item is kept by the pawnbroker. If you pay the money back, you can have your belongings back. This is a simple way to cover some outgoings for the time being.

Consider Alternative Work

Work is relatively scarce right now, but there are available jobs out there. Just keep a strict eye on job sites. These jobs could be one off freelance projects, remote contracted roles or essential work, such as stacking shelves in the supermarket or picking fruit. Sure, what you find might not be what you’re used to. But see it as a temporary means to a pretty important end – being able to get by without falling into debt!

These are just a few suggestions. But hopefully, they’ll help you to get by when it comes to making your way through this pandemic without facing financial ruin!

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