Outside of the government updates there are a number of areas which you might like to consider personally. One of these is your household budget and whether that requires reviewing in light of the recent updates.
The second is the way you might find yourself working over the next couple of weeks – we’ve prepared a brief list of resources to help transition.
If one of the worst case scenarios has hit and you have lost work or income, or know of someone who has, here are some resources for:
Budget
If there was ever a time to look at your household budget, it’s now. While we are optimistic that we’ll come out this the other side ok, there’s no doubt that the disruptions that are occurring within our economy will be felt to some extent by all.
With all the uncertainty when it comes to investments, job security and your health, you can find it harder to keep your head above water when it comes to bills and expenses.
Budgeting Tips to Keep You in the Clear
Work out your essential costs
How much do you need for food, shelter and transport?
Make a list of the items that are non-negotiable like mortgage, rent, medication & food and make sure these are always covered. You can even take it further and list all of your outgoings from most essential to least making it easy to cut expenses should you need to.
Resist the urge to always take the convenient option; Especially if self isolated, convenient options like getting every meal delivered or spending hours picking up bargains on eBay can add up!
Rotate subscriptions
No one can watch Netflix, Stan, Foxtel, Amazon Prime, Disney+ & AppleTV all at once. Pick a subscription, watch everything you want, then switch. If you are really frugal, you can even make the most of the free trial periods on each and not pay a thing!
Watch the credit card
If you incorporate a credit card in your budgeting, it may be wise to pay as you go by transferring amounts set aside to keep the credit card in check. So if you do your food shop, transfer the amount straight onto the credit card. It will be difficult to catch up if you have had a period with no income.
Upskill
Have you been talking about a career change or pursuing a promotion? Now is a great time to upskill via study. It may not reap instant rewards, but it will make life a lot easier in the future.
Sell, sell, sell!
After a while of isolation you will likely start cleaning and decluttering. After a good disinfecting, a lot of household items can be sold. With technology as it is, you can even arrange for people to collect it from your door with no contact and transfer money instantly.
Reduce the temptation to shop online while working from home
Do your research before you buy and wait a day to make a decision. Then wait another 24 hours before checking out to make sure you still want the item – this will test your patience, memory and determine whether you really need the item.
Budgeting Help
If you need help with budgeting, we have a program that we can provide for you, simply ask your adviser or get in contact with our offices. One of the few upsides of a lock down means that you may be less inclined to spend money, so reducing the impulse to take up more online shopping will be key.
Working From Home
Economist Nick Bloom says that for a lot of us it can be difficult to be creative and productive when we work from. The emotional feeling of isolation kicks in, not long after the physical isolation and this can have an impact on our mental health which then dwindles down into our work.
Bloom says the reason for this impact is usually due to the tasks that we work on – creative tasks in particular, usually involve team work and collaboration. Data entry and phone call (e.g bookings/orders) naturally requires less collaboration and can be less affected by working from home.
Tips To Stay Creative And Productive At Home
Working From Home As A Parent
Australian tech company, Atlassian, has some great resources on how to work from home as a parent. As we write this not all schools have closed (and they might not), but the trend continues to roll out across the world. Even if it doesn’t occur in Australia, school holidays are coming up soon…
