Corona Virus Archives

What Do You Do With Your Money, When There’s A Pandemic?

How does money flow in a pandemic? What are people spending money on right now?

People are certainly buying food, whether they are making it themselves or getting takeout delivered. People are also buying new furniture and tools to create a home office, as many of us are now facing a new transition into remote work. We are also spending more money on streaming services, in-app purchases in mobile games, and some of us who are more daring are trying their hand at purchasing stocks.

Who’s to say that any one purchase, being made by anyone right now, is a smart or poor decision? No one has ever gone through something like this in their lifetimes. Perhaps saving is the best course of action right now, but a lot of us have never built the habit to save their money. Expected a new behavior to stick right now is hopeful at best.

Even if money falls from the sky, if we somehow hypothetically get $1,200 deposited directly into our bank accounts—I’m not sure what people would do with that money. Some of us will invest it, some of us will pay off debt, some will save and others will buy essential goods.

And some of us will waste on whatever it is we will judge as wasteful once all of this is over. Yet, maybe that new character in Brawl Stars helped someone cope with their stress. Who knows?

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What Will We Tell Our Children?

You’re creating a narrative

How did we respond when the virus started in Wuhan, China? How did we prepare once it spread?

Depending on your country of residence at the time, each answer will be different. Some of us ignored the problem until it was too late. Others will say that their government overreacted and although people are safe, there were unknown effects on the economy that we didn’t see coming.

Regardless of what will happen, we will all share one common answer. We continued to live.

Things changed after the virus, but that didn’t stop us from living our lives in the pursuit of happiness. The little details of how we continued our lives will also matter because our children will want to know. It’s important to keep this in mind as we go throughout our new routines—some of which may end up becoming permanent.

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Without Flexibility Most Plans Fail

Can you find the opportunities?

When flights are canceled, travel bans are declared, and all of the toilet paper has been claimed—how prepared are you to change your plans? Things may seem stressful and that’s because they actually are. Yet, you are sharing this experience with the rest of the word.

Other people are struggling and because of that, you can find solace in the fact that you can connect with others who are experiencing similar problems. Now is the time to reach out and connect, with family, friends, and strangers.

If you’re forced to stay home, take advantage of it. Redecorate the house, play board games with your kids, and start up a new hobby. There is an abundance of opportunity during these trying times. The hard part is figuring out what these opportunities are.

I was planning on traveling to South Africa to wait out the spread of the virus but, now I have to stay in SouthEast Asia. Instead of staying sad, I’ve decided to take advantage of my situation and start reaching out to hotels in the area to gain extra work.

I’m going to use this moment to try and get new clients, that’s the approach I’ve decided to take. What is something you can do right now to make this moment better?

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What Are The Risks Involved?

Our strategies for risk management are tested at every moment

There are always unforeseen risks in any decision we make. The decision to commute outside during a global pandemic is one example. We also take risks when we sit down to eat at a new restaurant, when we invest in assets, and when we put our faith in our friends and family to always be there for us.

People create systems for risk management once they are given full autonomy over their lives, around the same time when they are able to move out of their homes and make a name for themselves.

We can (and should) consciously create these systems to make decisions faster and with less effort. Trusting our instincts is important yet, not having clear guidelines to follow can lead to unnecessary mistakes in life. Creating simple rules such as not going outside after 10:00PM to save money or not swimming in open waters due to a lack of training can help to mitigate risk.

Every decision has known and unknown risks

Risks don’t only relate to your health or wealth, they can also relate to your reputation. The risk we take when accepting a job we’re not qualified for so, that we can advance in our career is a common example. We also take a risk whenever we post something on social media, whether we are aware of this risk or not is another matter.

Perhaps the most vital aspect of risk management is considering when to not take any risks. There will always be unknown risks in every decision we make.

I tend to only make a decision after taking into account at least three potential risks. If you make a decision and think that there aren’t any risks involved, you haven’t thought about it enough. Consider the decision one more time. What are the risks involved?

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