Rebuilding Your Financial Wellness During the COVID-19 Pandemic has been a challenge to many people all over the United States. It appears as if the United States is falling into a vortex of prosperity and bubbles. There are many factors that contribute to the current crisis. Many economic pundits have blamed it on too much saving, too little spending and also too many regulations that have increased overhead and made it difficult for smaller businesses to stay afloat. Regardless of these theories, the basic premise of a healthy economy is tied to financial well being.
Health is wealth. The United States is currently working out of the debt crisis that we experienced over the last two decades. Much of this debt was accumulated through excessive borrowing and poor money management decisions. As more businesses fail, the number of bankruptcies will rise. This means that the government must find a way to increase jobs, invest in infrastructure improvements and provide relief to businesses and consumers alike.
Rebuilding your financial well being during the crisis is essential. The current state of our economy is not conducive to healthy growth. One only has to look around to see that the unemployment rate is above 10%. Another alarming statistic is the increasing number of credit card debt. The average American now carries about $10,000 in credit card debt.
Health is wealth. If the government does not provide the infrastructure to help create jobs and provide adequate health care, the crisis will continue to grow and get worse. With more people entering the crisis with high blood pressure, heart problems and other health related issues, it is easy to see how this problem could be much bigger than initially believed. In fact, the number of uninsured Americans is now nearly 20% higher than it was in 2021. Many who have lost their jobs are not sure what to do next.
Rebuilding your financial health during this time of financial crisis requires a change in lifestyle. The type of job you have will affect the level of stress you can handle. If you are currently working in an office environment, you may need to adjust your work pace and workload to fit the increased pace and workload associated with helping the economy recover. You may also want to consider changing jobs if you are stuck in a position where your job is physically or emotionally draining. For example, if you are employed as a counselor in a nursing home, you are likely to experience long work hours and frequent breaks just to meet deadlines.
Counseling is another key element to your recovery. During this time, you will likely benefit from additional education and training on how to handle this crisis. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have introduced new guidelines for housing counseling services. These guidelines were designed to help the public better understand the value of credit counseling and to ensure that housing counseling agencies are following best practices to provide the best service possible to their clients. For instance, many housing counseling agencies require that their counselors have obtained a three-year degree from an accredited university or school. Those who fail to meet these stringent criteria may not receive full credit for their services.
Credit counseling services have many benefits. By using the counseling services you can reduce the amount of interest you pay on your high rate credit cards. You can also stop making payments on your credit cards and make a single payment to the counseling agency. Many credit counselors will negotiate with your creditors to reduce your interest rates and to eliminate up to 50% of your credit card debt. This can give you considerable savings in a short period of time.
Another important strategy for rebuilding your financial wellness during the crisis is to make sure that you keep a proper balance in your budget. It is important to understand all your available spending so that you know how much money you need to set aside each month for living expenses. The time of this writing is not the time to go into debt for savings sake only. Savings should be built now for when the economy turns around again. Rebuilding your financial wellness during the ingenuity crisis begins with understanding your priorities and setting aside money each month in order to meet your family’s needs.