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If you have been laid off, furloughed, or terminated from your job, do not take it personally. You are not alone; millions of other people are a similar situation. Immediately file for unemployment benefits, but also make sure your employer has some kind of emergency plan to maintain important benefits like health insurance for you and your family even if you are not working.
If you and your household are running short of food, contact your local food bank to aid in getting food for yourself and your family. Contact local charity organizations and ask for help. Seek help among your extended family and your social media contacts. Do not be too proud to ask for help now when you need it. If you receive a loan from other family members, friend, or neighbors, create a paper record, such as an IOU, to avoid arguments and confusion when the pandemic is over.
What Can I Do About Mortgages and Loan Payments?
A loan for a house or automobile is a legal contract and you are required to pay back in full over the specified period. Banks and credit unions are the business of renting money, not owning and managing real property like a car or house. Given the nature of this pandemic, there are millions of other people besides you that are struggling to pay their mortgages and loans. These lending institutions don’t want you to default on your loans, they really don’t want you to abandon your house or your car to them.
If you having trouble making payments, contact your lenders and negotiate new payment schedules that meet your ability to pay. After all, you need a house to live in and a car to drive to work. Be careful, lenders might be willing to delay payments by telling you the owed interest will continue to accumulated, possibly with a lump sum payment due after the end of the pandemic. While these institutions don’t want your house or car, they do want every last cent of their money WITH INTEREST.
You and your family are suffering from this pandemic and will probably feel the economic damage for years to come. These institutions want to be made full by you paying off the loan and all accumulated interest. Don’t you think these big rich financial institutions should share in the pain this pandemic has caused? Negotiate very, very hard about suspending the accumulation of interest during this pandemic.
This time the consumer is in charge. While it would painful, you could always walk away from your house or your car and let the lending institutions have it back after this is over. If you and millions of others do the same, these big financial institutions will have much greater losses then if they just give you and others a reasonable break on accumulating interest during this crisis.
Consider the fact that you can now buy some new cars with 0% interest for up to seven years. Your current lender should take note if they don’t want to be stuck with your house or your current car.
The US Stock Market Is at An All-Time Low, Should I Invest My Stimulus Money in Stocks?
If you do not have sufficient savings to pay for all your household expenses for the next 6-12 months months, you can’t afford to use your stimulus money to invest in the stock market at this time. It is just as risky as buying a lottery ticket. Don’t buy lottery tickets with your stimulus check either. Ration the stimulus money to pay for necessities to keep you and your family alive.
Tapping Retirement Savings
Do not access your retirement accounts unless absolutely necessary. Use all of your available savings and cost-cutting measures before accessing your retirement accounts for cash. Generally, this money will need to be repaid in the future if your contributions were made with pre-tax dollars. If it is not repaid you will still owe federal and states taxes on the withdrawn amount even if the penalty for early withdrawal is waived. And, with a depleted retirement account you are likely to have a lower standard of living when you finally retire. The economic effects of this pandemic will continue to haunt you even in retirement.
If you and your household are running short of food, contact your local food bank to aid in getting food for yourself and your family. Contact local charity organizations and ask for help. Seek help among your extended family and your social media contacts. Do not be too proud to ask for help now when you need it. If you receive a loan from other family members, friend, or neighbors, create a paper record, such as an IOU, to avoid arguments and confusion when the pandemic is over.
What Can I Do About Mortgages and Loan Payments?
A loan for a house or automobile is a legal contract and you are required to pay back in full over the specified period. Banks and credit unions are the business of renting money, not owning and managing real property like a car or house. Given the nature of this pandemic, there are millions of other people besides you that are struggling to pay their mortgages and loans. These lending institutions don’t want you to default on your loans, they really don’t want you to abandon your house or your car to them.
If you having trouble making payments, contact your lenders and negotiate new payment schedules that meet your ability to pay. After all, you need a house to live in and a car to drive to work. Be careful, lenders might be willing to delay payments by telling you the owed interest will continue to accumulated, possibly with a lump sum payment due after the end of the pandemic. While these institutions don’t want your house or car, they do want every last cent of their money WITH INTEREST.
You and your family are suffering from this pandemic and will probably feel the economic damage for years to come. These institutions want to be made full by you paying off the loan and all accumulated interest. Don’t you think these big rich financial institutions should share in the pain this pandemic has caused? Negotiate very, very hard about suspending the accumulation of interest during this pandemic.
This time the consumer is in charge. While it would painful, you could always walk away from your house or your car and let the lending institutions have it back after this is over. If you and millions of others do the same, these big financial institutions will have much greater losses then if they just give you and others a reasonable break on accumulating interest during this crisis.
Consider the fact that you can now buy some new cars with 0% interest for up to seven years. Your current lender should take note if they don’t want to be stuck with your house or your current car.
The US Stock Market Is at An All-Time Low, Should I Invest My Stimulus Money in Stocks?
If you do not have sufficient savings to pay for all your household expenses for the next 6-12 months months, you can’t afford to use your stimulus money to invest in the stock market at this time. It is just as risky as buying a lottery ticket. Don’t buy lottery tickets with your stimulus check either. Ration the stimulus money to pay for necessities to keep you and your family alive.
Tapping Retirement Savings
Do not access your retirement accounts unless absolutely necessary. Use all of your available savings and cost-cutting measures before accessing your retirement accounts for cash. Generally, this money will need to be repaid in the future if your contributions were made with pre-tax dollars. If it is not repaid you will still owe federal and states taxes on the withdrawn amount even if the penalty for early withdrawal is waived. And, with a depleted retirement account you are likely to have a lower standard of living when you finally retire. The economic effects of this pandemic will continue to haunt you even in retirement.