We hope all of you and your families are staying safe nowadays. No doubt these are some weird and unprecedented times.

Everyone’s quarantined at home, stores are closed, schools are shut down and events are cancelled. Freeways are empty and any on-going activities have essentially been put on hold. It’s like the world has hit the pause button on life in 2020. After all this is over, it’ll feel as if we finished 2019 and skipped right over to 2021.

So what can we do during this period?

"NOW" IS ABSOLUTELY THE RIGHT TIME

… to take a close look at your spending. Before your eyes gloss over, just hear me out.

I can’t emphasize this enough. This is the perfect time to sit down and assess your expenses. Whether you still have job security, or whether you expect to have a reduction in your income (or have experienced already), adjusting your spending accordingly wherever you can will be important.

Why?

Because we have no idea how long this quarantine will last, and we don’t know what lasting economic repercussions will result from the quarantine, so being able to identify and reduce our unnecessary expenses is one of the best things we can do to protect ourselves right now.

Conveniently, due to the quarantine, we can’t even go out and play. In a sense, this will “force” us to cut down on many of our discretionary (leisure or fun) expenses.

That’s why “now” is such a great time to start tracking our expenses. Taking advantage of this slow period to review your spending activity will highlight what your truly necessary expenses are.

POTENTIAL SAVINGS YOU'RE GETTING FROM THE QUARANTINE

Cancelled vacations and trips - If you had money planned or saved for vacations this year, it’s unfortunate that they will most likely have to be cancelled or postponed. But on the bright side, now you have more money to put into your savings or building an emergency fund. Expenses for trips can quickly add up, from flights, transportation, hotels, AirBnb and dining out. With a pause on trips, you’re potentially saving hundreds of dollars.

No social outings - No going out to Sunday boozy brunches for now. But on the bright side, you’ll be saving on that $30 crab omelette and those bottomless mimosas. Maybe now’s a good time to learn how to make that avocado toast at home 🥑
No grooming - No hair cuts or hair dyeing, no pedicures or manicures, no threading or waxing. Everyone’s gonna be coming out of this quarantine looking rough AF (unless you’re low maintenance and have prepared your whole life for this moment).
Reduced transportation - Since you’re not going out and are most likely working from home these days, you probably aren’t using your car or paying for commuting costs these days. Less driving = less gas expenses. This might also be a great opportunity to call your auto insurance to lower your policy given that you aren’t driving as much.
Review subscription costs - Many of you probably have gym, yoga, boxing or rock climbing memberships. Since you won’t be able to temporarily visit these places, be sure to freeze the monthly payments if you can.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO MAKE A BUDGET

Budgets aren’t for everyone, and you don’t have to make a budget with the idea being to restrict your spending. All I’m saying is you could just track your expenses more closely for a bit. You’ll be surprised that you may notice a trend that you don’t like. For example, maybe you’ll realize you spend $300 a month on eating out.

WAYS TO TRACK YOUR EXPENSES (FREE)

Fortunately there are so many apps out there that can help you track and review your spending. Just to list a few:

Personal Capital
Mint
Google Sheets (or Excel)
It can literally be as simple as writing the expenses down on a piece of paper

WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE?

It wouldn’t hurt to try it for a month and see what happens.

If you’re already doing fine with your spending habits or if you try and decide you don’t care or need to keep up with it, then that’s it. It’s not necessary for everyone.

Personally, I enjoy budgeting because I like to plan and see where all my income and expenses are going to. It gives me a better idea of how much I’m spending on leisure expenses without feeling irresponsible. This way, I am able to live my life intentionally, as opposed to reacting.

This can sound intimidating at first, so feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions with starting. You can simply reply to this email or fill out the contact form on our website. Learning how to save money wherever possible will only be able to help you in the future!