5 Finance Tips From Saxton Associates For Surviving The Lockdown

Many families have been hit hard with the National COVID-19 lockdown that was implemented by the government.

It has forced many of us to look at our income and expenses as there isn’t much income in our households at the moment. There are a few things you can do to make the pressure easier on yourself and your family.

1. Plan and Prepare

Plan out your meal plan working on an average of a 14 day cycle. This will help you budget as well as cut down on your need to visit the shops for essentials. Don’t forget to add a few sweets for those special days where the sweet tooth is calling. The most important thing would be to make sure that your meal plan is budget friendly.

2. Create an ICE (In case of Emergency) file

An ICE file is very important and should be kept with your will and living will. When you pass on or fall very ill there will be an online trace that your family will not be able to access. Your ICE file will elevate this issue for them. List all your online platforms, subscriptions, user names, passwords and pins.

Be sure to add all important documents to this file including your marriage certificate, property deeds, a certified copy of your ID, maintenance plan and so forth.

3. Restructure your Finances

Saxton Associates advises that it is important in this time to have a closer look at your finances and restructure where possible. Cut all unnecessary expenses out of your budget. If you are struggling to restructure your budget by yourself there are companies that you able to contact to assist with this, do some research to find out who is available and make sure you choose a company that is very helpful with any questions you might have.

4. Take advantage of COVID-19 relief options

The lockdown has caused a lot of financial pressure. A lot of companies are offering Covid-19 relief. Take advantage of these offerings. Some banks are offering payment breaks on loans; just take note of the small print when taking advantage of this option.

5. In house entertainment

Entertainment in the home is very important during this time, especially since your work load may have decreased.  Just evaluate your subscriptions, cancel expensive subscriptions and perhaps stream from your internet connection. Everything is online these days so no need to have a subscription to TV channels that rarely get used. Start playing board games, read those books you have wanted to read for the longest time and yet haven’t gotten to it because life was too busy. Keep the kids busy with imaginative play, arts and crafts, puzzles and so on. Kids do not need expensive toys to be happy, quality time with their parents are all they want.

Conclusion

In conclusion restructure your budget, look at unnecessary expenses you may have and remove them.

Spend quality time with the family.

Planning is very important in these hard times, have a plan and put it in place as soon as possible.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help or advice.