Coronavirus has made a mess of your well-ordered budget. It is almost impossible to prepare for the unexpected because by definition, it is unexpected. If you put back $2,000 in savings, the unexpected might require $4,000. Now what? There are no easy answers.
Part of being responsible is looking ahead to determine what disasters lie in wait. The other part is being flexible enough to change your plans without advanced notice to accommodate those things you didn’t predict. Here’s the truth: None of us are very good at gazing into nonexistent crystal balls. If you are like most people, here are some of the present and near-future realities you didn’t see coming:
Your Need for a Loan
No one expects to have to borrow money. If we are being perfectly honest, we find it a little embarrassing to admit we need more money than we have, and mortifying to ask someone we know for help.
The good news is there are places you can turn for help without embarrassment. Whether it be loan companies in Gonzales, TX. or major firms in the big cities, there is a loan that is right for your needs and budget.
In the before times, you probably would never have considered a loan for anything other than a house or car. Nowadays, you might end up needing a loan just to make next month’s mortgage payment. There is nothing to be ashamed of and you are far from alone. You are not the only one that didn’t see it coming.
Working from Home
If you are like a lot of people, you probably thought working from home was just a scam pedaled as “business opportunities” in the back pages of free newspapers. Suddenly, the only work you can do is work from home. Many of the big tech companies have made working from home a long-term option.
You might be surprised to discover just how challenging it can be to work from home, and just how expensive it can initially be. Sure, you save on commuting. But you have to set up a workable home/office including a desk in a dedicated workspace, a dedicated work computer, some type of camera setup for videoconferencing, and routine office supplies.
Working from home is made even more challenging by the fact that your kids are probably doing school from home. You will not be able to share computing resources with them while they are getting math instruction at the same time you are in a critical sales meeting. While you’re at it, you are also going to want to up your internet connection to an even broader broadband. That basic plan is no longer going to cut it.
Long-term houseguests
You probably didn’t budget for your brother and his wife and kid moving in. But that is the reality for many people since Covid. If you still have a good job, consider yourself one of the lucky ones. There is a good chance you have a close friend or family member who was told in late March to go home and stay home until further notice. Five months later, they still have not received further notice.
If they worked in the movie theater, hair styling, or restaurant business, they have been relying on unemployment benefits. And the good benefits have run out with no renewal in sight.In places like New York, there was rent protections keeping landlords from evicting tenants for being late on their rent. Those protections have also run out.
No one wants to see one of their love ones out on the street. If you are relatively stable, you are going to probably be making arrangements for unexpected houseguests very soon. After all, they would do it for you.
In these uncertain times, the only thing certain is that there will be more uncertainty. Chaos breeds unexpected expenses. This time last year, no one was budgeting for a home office or expecting their kitchen to become a classroom. Oh, and , that long-lost friend who showed up unexpectedly for dinner might end up being there for a while.
