The global pandemic that is Coronavirus has affected lives in many ways. Unfortunately the disease has taken far too many lives and there are lessons to learn from that for governments and health services across the world. Similarly, there are financial lessons to take from the situation. What Covid 19 money lessons can we learn? Let’s take a look.
Nothing Is Certain
One of the first lessons we should take from this crisis is that nothing is certain. If we rewind just a few months, everything seemed fantastic. More people than ever seemed to be getting into work. Investments looked to be going the right way. Personally my business was going really well and I was coasting along happily taking on new business and expanding my empire. Suddenly an event happened which was a spanner in the works. No, a massive broom handle in the spokes of the wheel and everything went wrong. Jobs were lost overnight. Global markets started dropping. Speaking personally again, my clients stopped trading, I lost work, the business I spent 8 years building changed in an instant. Maybe we were all a bit too confident? Perhaps we should have seen it coming. The foundations we built our finances on were perhaps not what they should have been. Covid 19 showed, very quickly and very brutally, that nothing is certain.
Jump Into Different Streams
As if Thanos himself clicked his fingers, jobs were lost overnight. People in employment, even those who had been with the same company for decades, were suddenly facing the prospect of not having a job anymore. There has perhaps never been a more glaring illustration of the importance of side hustles. Adding another revenue stream to your income to perhaps save for a life event or help you with your monthly bills can help so much in times of normality. When we’re thrown into unusual circumstances like this, that side gig can help support you. The more revenue streams you have the less likely you are to lose them all in one go. If you are a crafter with an Etsy shop, you might be surviving on the money made by that now, instead of seeing it as an extra to your income. If you’re a photographer, selling a print or two can help put food on the table. Look forward and see where you can add extra revenue streams to your life.
Find Financial Margin
There has been a lot of talk about emergency funds being able to help you out during these situations. We’re not all able to save into an emergency fund though. Just like we all can’t save for retirement or make mortgage over-payments to reduce our debt. The conversation about this and reasoning behind it is great in theory but unrealistic for many. In order to work towards and achieve these things, we must find financial margin. If you spend all the money you earn every month you’ll never be able to save for retirement. If you increase your monthly spending when you get a pay rise, you’ll never be able to save into an emergency fund. Cut back your spending and avoid living from pay-cheque to pay-cheque. You’ll soon be able to build a savings pot which can be used for a rainy day. It’s raining right now and it could certainly help you out! This is one of the most important Covid 19 money lessons.
Be Generous
Through some of the most difficult times, we pull together. It’s in our genetic makeup. It’s part of our human nature. We support one another, we show love and want to spread happiness. We’ve seen amazing generosity from millions upon millions of pounds raised for the NHS charities to communities working together to feed those in need. People have stepped up and volunteered time, taken on new roles, supported their friends, family and even strangers. Bags of essentials have been dropped off on doorsteps of elderly and vulnerable. People sharing Amazon wishlists on social media, buying things for one another. Folk are leaving out snacks for delivery drivers and postal workers. We’re clapping together one a week. We’re not only being generous with our cash, we’re being generous with our time too. I hope this continues afterwards as generosity breeds generosity.
There are many lessons we can take from this and I hope the future we move into after Coronavirus will be a new normal. Not a return to what we were used to previously. We can all learn not only Covid 19 money lessons, but life lessons too. The people we have become we should continue to be.
