Category Archives: Wellness

10-Step (Financial) Survival Guide During The Pandemic

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Despite having a list of over 50 topics that I’d like to cover in this blog (ranging from “the 4% rule of retirement” to “love and friendship”), I feel drawn these days to talk about just one.  As I sit here, not having left my home for three weeks for much beyond a walk and a grocery store visit, it’s impossible to ignore the impact that this coronavirus has had on the day-to-day routine.  After all, when was the last time it was so difficult to buy Purell, toilet paper, or even rice (perhaps the most plentiful food in existence).  Let’s not even talk about the hour-long lines at the grocery stores that wrap around the isles. 

The impact of COVID-19 is very real and the future remains uncertain.  We should be as prepared for this to end in 12 days, as we are prepared 12 weeks, or even 12 months.

I won’t attempt to provide health or social guidance (you can find the latest from the CDC here). Rather, let’s take a moment to ensure we’re as prepared as we possibly can be for the financial impact of the virus.

Here’s TheCentsei’s 10-step financial survival guide during a pandemic:

1)  Do Not Panic – Take Control

A sudden risk of loss of income, coupled with increasing economic uncertainty for the future can be very traumatic.  These factors – intensified by the news cycle – can often give way to fear, panic, or dismay.  Society will indeed change in some ways, and that uncertainty is scary.

First and foremost, know that none of this is your fault and that you do have the strength to improve your situation.  Stress is a natural feeling, but you can mitigate it by taking actions to manage things that are in your control.  Revisiting your budget, applying for a job, calling a lender, eliminating a recurring expense, planning a meal, getting some exercise, or finishing an overdue task are all ways you can exert some control over your financial situation.  If you’re feeling a moment of stress, consider reacting by taking just 5 minutes to do something productive to counteract it.

As for everything we can’t control, we can find ways to manager our reaction.  There is an abundance of research indicating that mindfulness can a helpful way to cope.  There are several free podcasts and apps to help.  To get started, Headspace is a mindfulness and meditation app that has free content during the outbreak. The sessions are brief and the approach is relatable.

As a society, we will heal.  As individuals, we will remain in control of our destiny.

2)  Review Your Possible Government Benefits

Here in the United States, the federal government recently announced the CARES Act, a plan to give most people and businesses some much-needed relief during the onset of the virus.  The core of the bill from an individual’s perspective is a one-time $1,200 payment to help every adult making less than $75,000, with an additional $500 per child.  Also, unemployment benefits are boosted by $600 per week.  The bill also offers small businesses the opportunity for a forgivable “loan” to be used to keep employees on payroll.  Finally, all payments of principal and interest for certain federal student loans are suspended, and federally backed mortgages (most are this way) must grant loan modifications, without penalty, if the borrower has a request for financial hardship.  Many states are offering additional programs, as are other countries outside the U.S.  Take advantage of these!

The government certainly wants you to spend your stimulus check, and if you have absolute essentials that aren’t going to get paid, of course you should devote money to that first.  However, I strongly encourage you to build up your emergency fund as soon as possible, whether you receive a government payment or not.  Even if your job currently feels safe, the truth is that you never know when you’ll need it.

3)  Revise Your Budget

If you don’t have a budget, what better time to create one than when you’re stuck at home.  If you do have a budget, consider creating a version that fit your expectations during stay-at-home recommendations or quarantine.  For example, our budget is going to have changes like (a) Gasoline down 80% since we aren’t driving, (b) groceries up 50% because we are eating three meals a day at home, (c) restaurants down 75% since we aren’t eating out, (d) utilities up 33% since we are at home Mon-Fri during the day now, (e) gym expense down 100%, and (f) toilet paper usage up 200% – just kidding… or am I?!  Your budget should have similar adjustments, maybe for childcare, healthcare, or entertainment, depending on your situation.  Knowing where all your money is going can offer a huge sense of relief for those who might normally get a feeling of dread thinking about the future.

4)  Update Your Resume And References

At least 3% of Americans have already lost their jobs, and some estimates say that another 10-15% more could lose their jobs in a worse-case scenario.  Get a leg up on your next job search by updating your resume and calling your references today.  Having everything in order could save you a day or even a week if you were to lose your job and be the difference between landing the next job that much sooner.  Even if you keep your job, you might be able to leverage the updated resume for future opportunities. On a similar note, consider how you might generate some alternative sources of income as well.

5)  Maintain Your Physical Health

Sheltering at home for extended periods of time will require changes to your health habits.  Shopping with a grocery list, scheduling meals (and snacks), taking a daily walk/run, building a new exercise routing, drinking plenty of water, and washing your hands are all new routines that you will have to incorporate into your day to maintain your health.  Make sure you and your children’s vaccinations are up to date as well.

6)  Contact Your Creditors

If the virus is having a significant impact on your ability to pay your loans, you may be entitled to assistance.  Your debt probably won’t be forgiven, but you may be entitled to waived late fees, “interest only” payments for one or more months, a loan extension, or a similar offering from your lender.  Your financial institution probably won’t give this to you automatically, so take the time to give them a call.  NerdWallet recently posted an article outlining what to do with many national banks, and smaller locals banks often have similar programs.  In the U.S., federal student loans will automatically receive a six month forbearance starting March 13th and ending September 30th, meaning no payments are due and no interest will accrue (part of the CARES Act).  Log into your student loan account to make sure they didn’t make a mistake.  These programs generally do not affect your credit history, though confirm with the lender to be sure.  Finally, your landlord, utility companies, medical billers, and other “creditors” may be willing to work with you and come up with a plan.

7)  Stay Remotely Connected To Loved Ones

With little more than an internet connection, you can stay in touch with your family and friends.  Services like Zoom, GoToMeeting, FaceTime, Skype, WhatsApp, Houseparty, and Discord all offer video calls with other people using the app, and all are available on either a laptop, tablet, or smartphone.  Virtually all are free to use, though some offer a premium version for a fee.  I’ve used all seven over the last three weeks and would recommend any.  If you want to have some fun while you’re at it, you can play a board game, enjoy some appetizers and wine, or even watch Netflix with your friends remotely.

8)  Limit Media Consumption; Disconnect From Social Media

Limit your daily media consumption and stick to reputable sources only.  No Wonkette.  No InfoWars.  No talking heads.  NPR’s “Up First” podcast is the best in this regard that I could find: factual and not emotional.  I also recommend disconnecting from social media entirely, as I did five months ago without a single regret.  You will never improve your life as a result of social media use.  As a quick side story, we had a relative recently call us in a panic because they read… on Facebook… that China created the virus to start a biological world war.  We then reminded them that the virus started in China, killing hundreds of Chinese citizens before spreading to other countries, so it made no sense that China would be trying to use it as a weapon.  It is critical to avoid this misinformation.

9)  Stay Properly Insured

Now, more than ever, it’s important to verify you are properly insured against possible losses.  Review your exact coverage limits and terms to confirm they are in line with your needs.  Avoid being overinsured or underinsured.  My rule of thumb is that you should always have insurance on important things that you could not afford to pay for or replace in cash.  Health insurance?  Absolutely.  Home insurance?  Yes!  Auto liability insurance?  Always.  Auto collision?  Only if your car is still worth more than one month’s gross pay.  Renter’s insurance?  Maybe, if you own legitimately expensive things that would be costly to replace.  Term life insurance?  Let’s talk about this one in another article, but generally yes if you have young children or a non-working spouse.  Whole life insurance?  Generally, no.  Cell phone insurance?  No.  Insurance on your $30 gadget?  Heck no!

10)  Don’t Overreact To Changes In The Market

We all know the maxim for investing: buy low, sell high.  Yet, when we see our investments in free fall, human instinct tells us to sell.  Don’t fall into this trap and try to remember a few things. 

– First: “Time in the market always beats timing the market,” so stick to your weekly or monthly retirement contributions if you can.  It remains true that the longer your investments stay in the market, the more value they will gain over time, on average.

– Second: The stock market reflects far more irrational emotions than it does actual economic productivity, such as fear (when stock prices go down) and excitement (when stock prices go up). 

– Third: You can’t lose money unless you bought at the peak a few weeks ago and sold at the bottom.  Especially if you’re retired or close to retirement, do not panic and sell off everything now, after it’s lost so much value.  Trust that your long-term strategy will work.

Invest steadily and consistently, in line with your risk tolerance.  A bad year should not alter your behavior.  You should always invest for the long-term, with an emphasis on low-cost mutual funds and EFT’s rather than individual stocks.  There has never been a 20-year period in our lifetimes where the market has lost value. 

Please consider commenting below (I will write back!) and sharing this or any article with your loved ones.  Stay healthy and stay safe!

100 Money Hacks (that take 5 minutes or less) – Part 4: Health and Wellness

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As I was preparing this article, the fourth installment in our series of money tips, I was listening to a new TED Talk in the background on why it’s so hard to make healthy decisions.  Sometimes, the problem lies in a lack of nutritional education. More commonly, however, we know what we are supposed to do – eat fruits and vegetables, exercise regularly, sleep 7-8 hours per day, stop smoking and drinking, etc. – yet we fall short in nearly all of these areas.

Similarly, some people prescribe poor financial behavior to “not knowing better” and believe education alone can solve our money problems. However, far too often, we do know the right financial behaviors but cannot translate that knowledge into action.

We’ll talk about habits from a variety of perspectives throughout this blog, but it’s valuable to acknowledge that your brain is biologically programmed to act the way you have in the past. That’s why habits can feel like they are so hard to change.

Fear not. It is entirely possible to build new habits that override these predispositions.  What once were your bad habits can be transformed to good habits, one step at a time.

The connection between a healthy body and a healthy wallet is indisputable.  Just a few simple adjustments could begin to improve your life for the better in just 5 minutes.

Make today a day where you do make a change.

Part 1: Budgeting

Part 2: Increasing Income

Part 3: Spending Less

Part 4: Health and Wellness

Part 5: Everything Else!

1) Take the first step towards breaking a bad habit. A bad can take months to break, but you can take the first step today. Always wanted to quit smoking? Throw out every cigarette currently in your house and car. Start exercising? Go for a quick walk, even if it’s just 5 minutes. Stop impulse shopping? Remove a trigger (app, bookmark, e-mail list, auto-login, physical mailing) that results in your shopping. Repeat these every day and watch the bad habit start to disappear.

2) Reinforce a good habit. Research suggests that while we may never truly “break” a habit, we can replace a bad habit with a good one. Positive reinforcement like this is scientifically proven to improve not only your children’s behavior, but also your own, much better than punishment. Psychologists call these “feedback loops,” and you can use them to your advantage. Create your own positive feedback loops, and measure, compare, adjust, and reward them to keep the good habits strong. For example, are you normally good about drinking enough water but worried that the tempting new Starbucks next door could hurt your motivation? Measure. Compare. Adjust. Reward. Get an appropriate sized bottle for the day marked with 8 lines for each hour (measure). Check the clock every hour and compare where you are at on your bottle (compare). If you’re a little behind, take a minute to get to the marker (adjust). When you’ve finished your bottle, treat yourself to a quick break (reward).

3) Schedule a doctor’s appointment. If you’ve been putting off a medical issue – whether it’s as routine as a physical or a significant as a growth or pain – schedule that appointment today. According to the CDC, chronic diseases that are avoidable through preventive care services account for 75 percent of the nation’s healthcare spending and lower economic output in the US by $260 billion dollars a year. In other words, the nominal cost of the appointment will more than pay for itself financially, not even including the intangible benefits of improving your health or avoiding a disaster. On a personal note, a relative of mine put off a colonoscopy for a few years longer than recommended, and they found cancer when he finally had the exam. Please, please do not put this off.

4) Design a realistic exercise schedule for the month. The financial benefits of exercise, not to mention the health ones, are profound. The easiest way to get into exercising regularly is to build it into your routine and stick with it until it becomes a habit. It takes very little time to design a schedule for the entire month. Two years ago, I started walking for 30 minutes every day during lunch. It was hard at first, but now I genuinely look forward to it every day. After that became routine, I started going to the gym with Lady Centsei once or twice per week, which helped keep me accountable. And I hate exercising! If you don’t know where to start, start with even a few minutes per week and build from there. You do have the time if you prioritize, and it’s best to start small. “Plan your routine… until it becomes routine!”

5) Pack your lunch. Packing your own lunch is healthier, faster, and cheaper than going out every day. This one may not even take 5 minutes if you just plan to double or triple a weekly dinner recipe and store the leftovers in lunch-size containers. You’ll save at least $5 per day, which could be $150,000 in retirement and take years off your working life.

6) Talk to your partner or spouse about finances. Financial issues and lack of communication are two of the leading causes of problems for spouses and partners. You can address both at once by having a quick weekly or monthly sit down to check on your finances. Plan your budget, discuss your goals, track your spending, listen to concerns, and talk through mistakes. Avoid the temptation to make it competition and realize that your relationship is a partnership, the most important one in your life. Think about things as “we” and “ours” and you will be successful. You might think this will be stressful or awkward, but not nearly as stressful as fighting about money! Make it fun with a glass of wine, some fancy charts (well, *I* think that’s fun), some positive partner reinforcement… and maybe another glass of wine if things are rough!

7) Remove a physical temptation. We all have things that tempt us towards bad or unhealthy behavior. That candy jar at your desk; that sweet cable TV package; that rewards credit card; that pack of cigarettes; that secret junk food shelf; that expansive alcohol shelf; that phone number of a toxic “friend” or ex. Free yourself and get rid of it today.

8) Delete a time-wasting app or distraction… permanently. Similar to the above. Quick story: A few years back, I downloaded 2048, a simple but highly-addictive puzzle game about numbers. It was love at first swipe. I logged almost 50 hours in the three months that it was on my phone before I fully realized its impact on my time. After less than a week of very mild separation anxiety, I was completely over it and never even regretted not getting that 16384 square (so close!). How much time to you spend on “that” app on your phone or tablet? Too much. Replace it with a better habit.

9) Take a walk. Taking a 5-minute walk a few times per day is an excellent way to reduce stress, regain focus, and get exercise. I try to walk 5 minutes every hour during the work day and find it great for my productivity (and step goal).

10) Brush and floss your teeth. Only 70% of people brush twice a day. Less than 30% of people floss every day, and 8% never floss. The financial impact is real. Don’t put it off. Those who don’t brush twice per day? 33% increased risk of tooth decay (read: thousands of dollars in dentist bills). Those who don’t floss? 40% increase risk of gum disease (linked to heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and premature births). The reason your “gums hurt” when you floss is because you don’t floss, and bacteria has taken over your mouth. Mouthwash is not a substitute. It might hurt the first time, but it will improve in less than a week.

11) Close one (or all) of your social media accounts. Unless you use social media exclusively to follow your favorite bloggers (or for work), permanently deleting your social media accounts is the way to go. According to Statista, people spend 153 minutes (over 2.5 hours) per day on social media. And that number is increasing over time. You could accomplish everything on this list in a week (and likely be able to retire 10+ years earlier) if you replace social media time with time spent doing things on these lists to improve your financial and physical health. Social media’s effect on your wallet is compounded not only by the wasted time but also the constant advertisements and poor social cues. Other than TheCentsei Twitter account (which I limit to a few minutes per week), I recently uninstalled all social media apps, deleted the bookmarks in my browsers, turned off the auto-sign in, and disabled all e-mail notifications. I truly haven’t missed it for a second. Free yourself.

12) Drink more water. The health benefits are truly countless, but those who drink enough water snack less, burn more calories, and have significantly lower medical costs. The best option in most parts of the U.S. is tap water, which is 2,000x cheaper than bottled water and 5,000-10,000x cheaper than juice, soda, or alcohol – not to mention the health benefits. Bottoms up!

13) Do a 5-minute exercise. The benefits between “a little exercise” vs “no exercise” are many times greater than “tons of exercise” vs “a little exercise.” It doesn’t really matter what either, if you’re doing your best. You do have 5 minutes per day. With time, maybe that 5 minutes becomes 30, and your life can be transformed. One study showed that older people who exercise 30 minutes per day 5 days per week save an average of $2,500 in heart disease related expenses alone. That’s like getting paid over $20 per hour to exercise! Whether you’re on your own, with a friend, or in a class, the best exercise is the kind you do.

14) Meditate. One of the greatest life-changing habits I developed in the last few years was that of doing a few minutes of guided meditation before bed. I fall asleep faster, wake up more rested, and keep my stress tangibly lower. Better still, the apps and YouTube videos to get you started are free.

15) Go to the library. The day I rediscovered libraries was a happy one indeed. Physical books, audio books, music, movies, and museum/event passes are available for free. Don’t miss out. I feel so much better about going to the library than buying junk that I’ll maybe use once, so the impact on wellness is very real too.

16) Contact or join a volunteer program. There are few downsides to filling your time with meaningful work. Nonetheless, there’s also truth in the Avenue Q lyrics that “when you help others, you can’t help helping yourself!” Tongue-and-cheek aside, building your social network and your skill sets through volunteerism, while at the same time improving your community, is a genuine win-win.

17) Call, text, e-mail, or write a note to someone you care about. While this may not seem like a money-saver, the fact remains that friendships are essential for your long-term happiness, and maintaining adult friendships takes serious work. Real friends, not social media friends or followers. A study of 300,000 people showed that people with strong social ties outlive those with the weakest by 22%, regardless of age or health status. Stay in touch with your past professional contacts as well; most people find a job with assistance from someone in their network.

18) Make a low-cost gift for a loved one. Give your labor or craftsmanship, all while improving your connection to people you care about. If you like to draw, sew, write, craft, repair, babysit, tinker, or brew, consider including a homemade gift or the gift of your time in place of something costly. It will mean more to the other person too.

19) Declutter. Just a few minutes of decluttering per week is priceless for your mental health but also produces tangible savings. You avoid replacements costs when know what you have, where it is, and what condition it’s in. You also avoid paying for storage space, additions to your house, and cleaning expenses.

20) Practice a new language. 5 minutes a few times per day can be enough to master a new language. Download a free app or find a language buddy to help – both can help great a positive feedback loop! In addition to just being a great skill and improving your overall emotional health, a Columbia University study showed that being multilingual had a positive effect on earnings (specifically for Spanish/English bilingualism in the United States).