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The COVID-19 pandemic has brought some difficult lessons to all of us-lessons about preparation, lessons about making wise decisions, lessons about endurance.
In the past year, we have also learned some difficult financial truths. This pandemic has shown us in its clinical and uncompromising way about money that we didn’t necessarily know before.
Don’t let these painful lessons be in vain. Your smartest move is to face these facts-take practical and positive measures to reduce debt, lower bills and protect your future.
Here are the grim financial truths we learned from 2020:
1. There is always an emergency fund
The past year has taught each of us the hard way to have an emergency fund. You never know when you might lose your job or suffer other disasters.
You need a place where you can store your savings safely, but still make money from it. You can get nothing under your mattress or in the safe. A typical savings account will not benefit you much. (Ahem, now 0.06% is nothing.)
But the debit card is called desire Allows you to earn up to 5% cash back and up to 16 times the average interest on funds in your account.
Not too shabby!
Please enter your email address here Get a free Aspiration Spend and Save account. After you confirm your email, securely link your bank account so they can start helping you get extra cash. Your money is FDIC insured, they use military-grade encryption, which is a nerd talk of “it’s completely safe”.
2. Make sure you have life insurance; the rate starts at $5/month
During the COVID-19 pandemic, people’s interest in life insurance surged as more and more Americans realized they might need it. Overall, the number of life insurance policies purchased by Americans in 2020 has increased by about 10% compared to 2019—the largest increase in the past two decades.
Have you ever wondered how your family will live without your income after you leave? How will they pay the bills? Send children to school?
For many people, the demands of social distancing and fear of infection prevent them from going to a doctor for face-to-face examinations.This has led more people to seek test-free life insurance, such as a company named give.
Your application may take a few minutes, starting at just $16 per month. Knowing that your family is cared for and peace of mind is priceless.
If you are under 54 years of age and want to get a quick life insurance quote without a physical exam or even getting up from the couch, Get a free quote from Bestow.
3. Start investing: This application provides you with up to $200 in free stocks
Obviously, from a financial point of view, 2020 is a bad year for many of us. But some people clean up because of investment.
Two examples:
- At the beginning of 2020, the price per share of Amazon’s stock was $1,900. By the end of 2020, it will cost $3,250.
- At the beginning of 2020, the price per share of Tesla’s stock was $96. In the end, it cost $705.
The best time to start investing is one year ago. The second best time to start investing is now.Whether you have $5, $100 or $800 in spare money, you can start investing Robin Hood.
Yes, you may have heard of Robin Hood. Investing beginners and professionals like it because it does not charge commissions, and you can buy and sell stocks for free-no restrictions. In addition, it is very easy to use.
What is the best?When you Download app And fund your account (just a few minutes), Robinhood will deposit a portion of free stocks into your account. However, this is random, so the value of the stock may vary from $2.50 to $200-this will help you build an investment.
4. Track your credit score
In 2020, the pandemic may lower your credit score in several ways:
- You are late for any credit card payment.
- You are using up most or all of your available credit.
- You cannot pay a mortgage or student loan. If you have a federal government-backed mortgage or federal student loan, you can request a delay, but this does not include everyone.
In addition, it is your responsibility to double check and ensure that suspended mortgage and student loan payments are correctly reported in your credit report.
A good way to pay close attention to this is through a free website, such as Sesame Credit, Which will help you monitor your credit. Credit Sesame shows you your credit score, checks your credit report and keeps you informed of any changes. It also shows you how to improve your score.
5. Ask for help-even if you usually don’t
If you find yourself in a particularly scary situation, do something you don’t normally do: raise your hand for help.
Of course, many of us would rather do anything than ask for help, but these are unprecedented times, and now life is a bit out of our control.
For example, if you are struggling to pay a mortgage, please contact your lender. Of course, foreclosures and evictions are currently not allowed, but your account may still be forcibly recovered and you may still face penalties.
You may need to provide evidence that you have been fired or need financial assistance, but it never hurts to ask about your relief options.
The same idea can be applied to any of your other bills-rent, utility bills, cell phone and car payments.
Unless you ask, you won’t know the answer.
6. You should not pay more anything
Since our financial profits are so tight in 2020, not enough of us have taken action to cut our monthly bills. For example, when was the last time you checked car insurance prices?
You should buy your selection every six months or so-it can save you some big money. However, let us be realistic. This may not be the first thing you think of when you wake up. But it doesn’t have to be so.
A website called ensure Make it very easy to compare car insurance prices. All you have to do is enter your zip code and your age, and it will show your choices-even discounts in your area.
Using Insure, people can save an average of $489 a year.
Correct.In just a few minutes, you can earn $500 back in your pocket See your options.
Mike Brasfield ([email protected]) Is the senior writer of The Penny Hoarder.
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