Finance Tips to Follow During This Economic Crisis Caused by Coronavirus

It’s no secret that lots of people are panicking due to the spread of coronavirus. While the panic and fear is blown way out of proportion by the media, the economy is no joke. Small businesses are beginning to struggle, restaurants are offering free delivery to try to stay afloat, people are out of jobs, and the stock market is plummeting. While you can’t control the economy’s effect on you, you can control how you react to it.

Here are some finance tips that everyone should be following now, and things you should think about in the future in case anything like this ever happens again.

1. Don’t watch the stock market

   Watching the stock market is the WORST thing you can do when the market is plummeting. Watching it closely won’t help you in any way. It will only make you more anxious and fearful. It could even cause you to do something really stupid, like sell all of your investments. If you have any stock apps on your phone or follow finance publications, delete the apps and unfollow the accounts. Feeling anxious and seeing this everyday is inevitable if you keep this kind of stuff within reach.

2. Keep buying or buy more

   Us millennials are fortunate that we are nowhere near retirement. The stock market plummeting won’t affect us like it will the older generations. In fact, it is actually an advantage for us. Stocks are the cheapest they’ve been in a long time, meaning we can buy a lot more for the same price. The stock market will only go up in the long-run, leading to larger returns. When I say stocks I don’t mean individual stocks. DO NOT BUY INDIVIDUAL STOCKS. They are way too unpredictable, especially in economical turmoil. Instead, invest your money in a total market index fund like VTSAX. Personally, I’ve increased my 401k contribution to 15% in order to take advantage of the “stock sale”.

3. Maintain an emergency fund

   While this may not be helpful for you now if you are already out of work, it is something to think about for the future. You should ALWAYS have an emergency fund available to you in your savings account during times like these where income is unreliable. Most experts recommend you save 3-6 months worth of living expenses. Having this extra cushion during times of panic will be a huge relief. I recommend starting by saving at least $100 a month or a small portion of each paycheck to a savings account. Set up automatic transfers so you don’t even see the money going out. And no matter what you do, DO NOT SPEND THIS. It is for emergencies only, TRUE emergencies. Not for a spontaneous vacation to the Bahamas with your girls or your dream pair of shoes.

4. Find a freelance skill

   Lots of people are in an unfortunate situation where being quarantined means they cannot work. These kinds of situations express the true importance of having skills you can perform virtually as a way of making money. Learn something new that you are able to charge people for all from the comforts of your home.

I promise, everything will be ok. Be smart about the situation, don’t go to large gatherings, and stay clean! Focus on yourself, don’t panic, and don’t have fear. I plan to use this time to read, spend time with my family, and learn some new things.

If you want to learn more about finance, check out my post Finance Books Every 20-Something Must Read.

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Affording a Designer Bag Right Out of College

So I did a thing. To some people it might not seem like a big deal, but to me it represents all that I've worked for the past 22 years of my life.

I bought a bag that I've been lusting over for months. As someone who has grown up admiring the large fashion houses and the beautiful creations that come from them, buying my very own piece from one of these designers has always been a dream of mine. Models in magazines wearing these designer items were more than just images or cliches to me. They represented something to strive towards. Not because I was a superficial little girl wanting to show off a designer logo but because of the impact these designers have had on the fashion industry and what it means to be able to afford such an item.

Of course not everyone regards a designer bag in the same way. Some people see it as any other bag with a big name and high price tag. Some people see the person wearing it and automatically jump to conclusions about their life and how they got that bag. Other people think it's a ridiculous financial decision. I'm not going to argue with any of these opinions because they are mere opinions, and in some contexts, they are probably 100% valid.

However, to me, my bag will remind me everyday of the long hours of studying I put myself through in high school and college. And not only the countless hours repeating math equations or figuring out lines of code, but the countless resumes and cover letters I've written, hundreds of internships I applied to, and the extracurricular activities I participated in those 8 years. You don't earn nice things by sitting on your butt, cheating off the person next to you, or going out to bars and getting wasted on weekends (unless you're racking up credit card debt or have rich parents, but that's another story). You earn them by waking up at 6am to catch a train into the city, working a full 9-5 day, running to a networking session right after, studying on the train home, tutoring for 2 hours as soon as you walk in your door, and THEN heading off to a meeting for one of your clubs. Yes, this is what most of my weekdays in college looked like. However, it's also not just making the most out of your weekdays but also sacrificing your weekends to work on your own business or attend a weekend-long hackathon in order to broaden your coding skills.

So at the end of the day, why not treat yourself to something you truly earned? When you make sacrifices you deserve to reward yourself for them. I'm excited to tote around my bag knowing that I bought it with my hard-earned money. Unfortunately, lots of people do judge others for making expensive purchases like this. Everyone has different priorities with their money and it's not anyone's place to judge them for it. Sure, it is not a smart decision to purchase an expensive item with a credit card or sacrifice your retirement savings, but you never know the sacrifices someone makes in order to afford a luxury. They could be someone who put in blood, sweat, and tears to earn that money, just like me.

I wanted to write this blog post to show my readers what hard work can earn. Whether you've always wanted to buy a designer bag like myself, or maybe a dream European vacation, you can make it possible by sacrificing some things in the present in order to make for a more enjoyable future. I recently read "12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos" by Jordan B. Peterson and rule number seven discusses how the successful sacrifice in order to succeed in the future. He says, "the successful among us delay gratification. The successful among us bargain with the future". I could not agree with this more. In order to be successful we must give up certain things in the present, like choosing to study for an exam rather than go out to the bars, in order to thrive later on. While having a designer bag does not mean success, it certainly is a byproduct of it. I will continue to give up certain things in my life in order to create a successful future for myself. While sometimes it doesn't always work out, you never know unless you actually try.

Let me know what business, financial, or fashion advice you would like to hear me write more about. Be sure to follow me on Instagram for frequent updates!

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