Kaboutjie SA Mommy Blogs by Lynne Huysamen
Whatever your plans were for 2020 it probably did not prepare you for what was to come. Due to COVID-19 many people have lost their jobs, have closed their businesses and have suffered financial loss.
If ever there was a time to tighten your belt and get creative with your finances this is it.
Finance Tips For 2020
Check Your Medical Insurance
While medical insurance is a very big monthly expense make sure that you are able to cover it each month. If you or someone in your family gets COVID-19 or needs medical attention for any other reason it will cost much more in the long term if you don’t have insurance. In addition to that, you may find with public hospitals being overwhelmed you are not able to get any medical assistance.
Update Your Will
There is so much uncertainty in the world at the moment and no-one knows what is going to happen this year. There is no better time to ensure that your will is in order.
Dune Ventures advises to not only include what happens to your assets but to also include guardianship for your children if anything happens to you.
Cut Out All Unnecessary Expenses
Go through your monthly expenses and see what you can cut out. There are very often much more cost effective alternatives to what you currently use.
A good example is DSTV which can get very expensive depending on the package you have. Chances are you also have Netflix, or you can sign up. Netflix is 10% the price of the Premium DSTV cost. Cancel your DSTV and make use of Netflix until you are in a better financial position.
Sell Your Secondhand Goods
This is the perfect time to declutter your home and get rid of anything that you are not making regular use of. You will be surprised how all those items can add up and help to make ends meet in difficult times like these.
Contact Your Creditors
Contact all your creditors and find out if they are offering discount during COVID-19 or if they are offering a payment holiday. If you are unable to meet all your payments let your creditors know and work out a payment plan.
Find Out If You Can Claim Unemployment Or Grant Money
Depending on where you are in the world you may be able to claim unemployment or a grant to help tide you over. Many governments worldwide are offering financial aid.
Learn A New Skill
If you are at home and not earning due to COVID-19 this is the perfect time to learn a new skill. There are many free courses available online and paid courses that won’t set you back too much.
While this may not help you financially immediately you may be able to earn a higher salary when you are able to work again and you may be able to learn a skill that will enable you to earn an income soon that you would not have been able to earn previously. This makes taking a course right now a very good investment.
