I don’t know about you, but COVID really put me through a loop. It surprised me to find out that I was holding over 80 percent of my contracts in the travel sector which crumbled in a matter of weeks.
For a contract worker, it’s not great. But at least I still had something to hold on to. There were people that lost jobs and were unable to get a new one. Some couldn’t pay their bills, they weren’t able to float their mortgage.
And that doesn’t even touch on the issue of being confined to your home, only talking to friends and family through a computer screen or on the telephone.
Many of us are in precarious financial situations right now. And while COVID is still going on, it’s time to start figuring out how to get financially back on track. While I’m no expert, here’s what I’m doing:
Take Stock Of Your Current Situation
This is the first step to any financial planning situation, but it’s also the step that most people are afraid to start with. However, if you don’t know your current financial state then it’ll be impossible to start planning your way out of it.
That means you need to take into account how much you save and how much you spend—on everything. Whether they’re expenses, vices, or takeout dishes, it all counts. And make sure you have every source of income included.
Once you’re done, you’ll know how much money you need to make. Sure, you can cut back on spending but it’s a lot easier to add more than spend less.
Figure Out Where You Need to Be
Everyone has things they want to do in the future, goals they want to meet. And, as much as we don’t want to think about it, money is going to play a gigantic role in that. So, it’s important for us to figure out what financially our goals mean. Once we have done this, it gives us something concrete to work towards, perhaps making use of a professional comprehensive financial planning service to help us get there without having to make any drastic changes or sacrifices to our current lifestyle.
If you want to pack up and move to Mexico, you’ll need to consider your financial situation. If you want to move from the 14th floor into the penthouse, you’ll need money for that. If you want to write the next great American novel, you guessed it, you’ll need money for that.
When it comes to getting your financial state in order, you need to take the time to consider what money you’ll need for your goals.
Decide How You’ll Get The Money
Once you know how much you have and how much you need for your daily life, then add in your future goals, it’s time to figure out how you’ll get the money.
There is a lot of things that you can do to get that money, it’s about what you want to do, what you’re willing to do, and how much time you’re willing to put towards it.
At the end of the day, you might be financially strapped right this second but if you start to think about small steps towards securing a more financially sound situation then you can really make an impact.
How are you figuring out your financial situation? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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Tae started out as a journalist before following the money into the corporate world. But it turns out that the grass isn’t always greener and now you can find her spending most of her time writing about all the things she loves. Namely, money, travel and business with a hefty dose of self-deprecating humor. She is a podcast fanatic, blogging aficionado and loves to find new ways to turn passions into cold hard cash!