How To Be Smart About Our Money? The Dos

This past year has been a very difficult one for most of us due to the ongoing pandemic. We all know its effects on most people’s finances. Nobody saw it coming.  After having been through it; we need to be smart about our money and prepare ourselves to cover us if a pandemic like this ever happens again.

I wanted to share with you some things that i’m putting in place to make me as financially prepared as possible if we are in a midst of a pandemic once again.

1) Increase Our Savings

If we need to be smart about our money, we need to always have enough savings to cover for at least 6 months. I  cut expenses as much as I can. Building up the savings is very important.

I am preparing for the future by putting money aside in case another pandemic happens in the future. There are many ways to do this. Personally, I have a separate bank account that debits a set amount out of my current account every month automatically. But you could even do it every week. I put an amount that I wouldn’t really notice coming out or that wouldn’t really impact me negatively.

2) Insured myself 

Having myself adequately insured has given me enormous security. Insurance like health, term and nowadays critical illness are a must in every financial portfolio.

Term Insurance is the quickest way to secure your family in case anything happens to you especially if you are the only earning member of the family.

Health Insurance is paramount especially in a pandemic where medical bills can run to up lacs.

Nowadays, unless you have been seriously ill yourself before, I don’t think Critical Illness Cover is something we would necessarily think about.  In order to be financially smart, you should get expert advice on what type of Critical Illness Cover is right for you.

3) Minimise Your Debt

One of the smartest thing we can do to secure ourselves is having no debt at all. But due to circumstances, if you have taken a loan like housing loan or if you have credit card dues; it is best to get out of debt as soon as possible.

4) Increase Your Sources Of Income

It is always a bad idea to put all eggs in a basket. I am working towards setting up more side hustles besides blogging. If you have a hobby, you can always monetise. Having a side business such as running training courses, consulting, crafting, jewellery making, blogging etc. will help you financially as well as mentally.

5) Research Thoroughly Before Making Major Financial Decisions

There are no major financial decisions that need to be made on the spot. In fact, if I feel I am being pressured into making a hasty financial decision, it raises a red flag that the deal might not be as good as it seems.

I feel all worthwhile opportunities will be there for some time. It is better to thoroughly research and make an informed decision then hastily rush into something and regret later.

I believe when you take the time to decide, you have time to consider alternatives, evaluate whether you really need to do this, and probably get some other opinions or information. These are some things I follow before making a big decision—but especially financial decisions.

Conclusion

It’s always a good idea to be prepared for the worst.

We did not see the pandemic coming. Now that we’ve had a year like this however, we can no longer fall back on the excuse that it was unprecedented. We now need to be smart about our money and prepare our finances to cover us if a pandemic like this ever happens again.

Comment below how are you preparing and being smart about your money to prepare incase of another pandemic?