PLAN TO FAIL - DON'T FAIL TO PLAN !!!

The COVID-19, or coronavirus, has left all of us in an unprecedented situation with unknown threats, the fear of financial instability, and with the uncertainty of an unknown and scary near future.

Government grants are in place but they are very limited and very late. This is a wake up call for all of us. Save when we can, have contingency plans in place, and learn that we cannot be always dependent of others generosity.

The fear of not being able to make our payments, damage our credit history, considering having to give up on certain items and above all, having to adjust to changes in our lives that we’re not comfortable with, hoping to stay healthy and being able to continue fighting, can have a serious impact on our mental health.

Evaluate your financial situation and your back up plans. Make a list of “what ifs”.

Can you pay your mortgage, car loan, credit cards, your memberships, are you able to still save money, do you have savings you can access? What happens if you can’t work? What stays behind, who is going to help you?

These are all questions you should be asking.

COVID-19 is a clear and scary example that things are not always under our control.

When you need to sell something but you can’t because there are no buyers. When you need to quit an unsafe job, but your boss won’t lay you off and you won’t qualify for unemployment benefits or government grants. When everything is a lot more expensive and your budget can’t afford it.

This is not a tv show. This is reality. You can’t just quit when you don’t want to play anymore. You need to make it through this. Survival mode needs to kick in!! Plan to fail. Don’t fail to plan!! For your own sake and for the sake of your loved ones. Nobody is invincible.

This is all too gloomy? Nope. It’s reality. It’s what we have and it’s what we must deal with. Don’t hide behind the idea that you have an essential job (if you do). Rather: You have an essential You !! And you may have one or more essential someone who depend on you !!

If you can, don’t wait for better days. There are things you can still do. Act now.

• If you can’t eliminate some debts, see if you can rearrange them.
• Only make minimum payments and keep as much cash aside as you can.
• Add them on to your mortgage.
• See which ones allow you to skip payments and if you do that, how much will it cost, and if it’s beneficial to you, or does it leave it in a worse situation.
• Do not destroy your credit. A negligence of a few months will take you many years to repair.
• Who is dependent on you? How will they be if you can’t support them?
• See what insurances you have through your work or benefit plans. Make a list.
• Consider applying for a life insurance or critical illness plan. Doing this is not planning on getting sick or on dying – it’s planning on the survival of others who depend on you.