No matter what the crisis is, getting through tough times requires sacrifice, and most times that sacrifice is financial. While you’re staying strong mentally and physically, it’s also important to create a budget that will financially get you through the hard times as well.
From lockdowns to Covid-19 and from unrest in the country to personal issues, there’s always a crisis in one form or another, some worse than others. In this blog, you can find a few tips to help create a barebones budget to get you through the latest disaster affecting your life.
Take Advantage of Budgeting Apps
If you have a cell phone, and most people do, then it’s a good idea to take advantage of the budgeting apps it offers. Sometimes, it’s easier to keep on track with a barebones budget if you have something to help you and keep you on the right course.
Ask Creditors, Financial Institutions, and Other Companies for Help
With this latest crisis, many companies are trying to help their customers out all they can. From a car insurance premium refund to extra time on the water bill with no shut-offs, you need to talk to these companies to see how and if they are willing to help you get through the crisis at hand.
Cut Out Expenditures that Aren’t Necessary
Paring down your budget means that you have to make difficult choices to get the job done. Often what you need to cut isn’t as obvious as you might think. You need to ask yourself, is this expense crucial to my survival? Sure, you want your child to be able to play soccer and you think that having your nails done is essential, but are they really? It’s not going to hurt to pull your child for a season and you can do your own nails at home. The thing is to determine what is important to your daily survival and what isn’t, and though it pains you to cut that expenditure loose until the crisis has passed.
Put a Hold on Subscriptions and Service Contracts
While Netflix, Hulu, and other subscription services are fun to have, and they certainly beat dishing out the money to go to the theater, they aren’t really considered a necessity. Stuff like that and other service contracts can be paused for a certain amount of time. Contact them and put these services on pause, then unpause them after the crisis has passed and you have the money in your budget to afford them.
Reduce Spending on Items You Must Have
From grocery shopping with coupons to buying store brands over name-brand items, there are many ways that you can reduce your spending on items that you can’t do without. You can cut your utility costs by reducing your usage and lowering your transportation expenses by saving on gas. For example, if you can walk to the corner store, why would you waste the gas by driving? There are also quite a few prescription discount cards available to help you save on your prescriptions as well. Put your necessary items under a magnifying glass and you’ll be sure to find ways to save on them if you try.
Creating a bare-bones budget isn’t an easy thing to do and it requires great sacrifice financially. The way to get through it is to know that this too shall pass. The crisis will be over and you’ll be able to get back to living life the way you’re used to. You might even find in the process that there are things you could do without for good and still be happy.