The monthly “Did you know…” provided by the Health and Wellness 
Ministry
The coronavirus pandemic has brought the importance of financial hygiene and wellness to the forefront, regardless of age and financial status. Some groups are more vulnerable than others to be affected by the pandemic, but financial hygiene measures are pertinent to all groups.
An article “Coronavirus: Three budget friendly ways to improve your financial hygiene” proposes three steps to improve your financial hygiene:
- Assess your current financial health, then make a plan to improve it
- Organize your digital (or paper) assets in a “just in case” file
- Designate a financial executor
These measures make it easy for your family to manage your finances in case of death or becoming incapacitated. It also makes less probable that somebody might steal your identity after death or disability. The article provides detailed information on how to accomplish the steps.
Older individuals with a fixed income have been less impacted financially as a whole. Millennials, minorities and the poor have borne the greatest financial impact because, among other things, loss of employment and greater student debt. People of color have been more affected by the coronavirus with black Americans making about a third of US coronavirus deaths. Financial stress is compounded by cost of health care and end-of-life costs affecting the survivors. Moreover, many Americans do not have secure housing nor enough savings to be able to weather this crisis. But, no matter your present situation, there may be room for improvement.
The article “10 Bad Money Habits That Are Robbing You Blind” gives pointers on how to get your financial life on track or improve financial health. For those that are having trouble covering basic expenses and burdened by debt, the article “How to Pay Rent When you can’t Afford It” may be helpful. Further advice/guidance on which bills to pay first may be found at consumerfinance.org. More details about the content of this article may be found in the original references which would, in turn, lead to other related articles.
Since we are all restricted to our homes, we might use the opportunity to become better prepared for emergencies.
References:
- “Coronavirus: Three budget friendly ways to improve four financial hygiene” by Meredith Hoffman from Bankrate.
- “Here’s why the Covid-19 economy is devastating to millennials” a video by Fox News
- “10 Bad Money Habits That Are Robbing You Blind” by MSN at msn.com.
- “How to Pay Rent When You Can’t Afford it at msn.com.
- “consumerfinance.org” for advice/guidance on which bills to pay first.