Today we are settling in to our new reality. We are grieving what was and fortifying ourselves for what is to come. This takes time. Give yourself some grace. Take care of your mental health. Take breaks and big deep breaths. And then, when you are ready, take the next right step. In today’s lesson, Pete covers the top 5 expenses you need to cut right this minute.
Expenses You Need to Cut Right Now
There is no getting around it, this is a tough time. And while we all hoped it would only last a few days or at the very most a few weeks, Pete’s prediction is that this is more like a 4-5 month thing. We must protect ourselves. We must prepare for the worst. Today we are tackling extremely concrete ways you can protect your finances and shore up cash. Here are the top 5 things you can cut right now:
Utilities
You may not be in a dire enough situation to cut true utilities, but if things are getting tight you need to evaluate all utility use. Do you need unlimited data on your cell phone right now? If you are staying at home (please stay home) and using WiFi, you don’t need unlimited data. Or you may still be paying for a landline or some other trivial expense that can easily be cut today.
Online Shopping
Yes, ordering something online gives you that much needed dopamine hit, but you have to be careful. We are all coping with hard emotions right now but excessive spending will likely only hurt you in the end.
Subscriptions
We’ve all succumbed to the subscription boom over the last couple of years. Are you getting make-up, razor of the month, beer, books, or something like that delivered to your house every month? It may be time to cut those costs.
Memberships
We are all making hard cuts right now, but the easiest cuts are the ones you physically can’t partake in. You can’t go to the gym, your workout class, or your monthly massage so make sure you cancel those costs for now. You can always pick them back up when we are released back into the wild.
Food
Food is a big topic and one Pete is going to cover in-depth tomorrow in Day 9 — stay tuned!
One question I personally had rolling around in mind while Pete was talking is how all this impacts other businesses. When I cancel this subscription or that membership it impacts those businesses and those jobs. This is an unfortunate reality impacting EVERYONE. As you tighten up your expenses because your hours are reduced you necessarily impact those businesses where you cancel. It’s why the stimulus and expanded business loans matter so much right now.
What Not to Cut
As you take a fine-tooth comb through your expenses these are some expenses that should be off limits until absolutely necessary:
- Life insurance policy
- Retirement contributions
- Prescriptions
If you have the income to cover these, keep it up as long as possible. These are necessary things to keep your financial life afloat long term, if you can make it work.
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