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.

Subscribe to my Dear 20-Something Girl newsletter for weekly emails with health tips as well as what I’m reading, listening to, and wearing. A one-stop-shop for resources on becoming the best version of yourself.

Finance Books Every 20-Something Must Read

Finance. It’s a topic many young women do not like to discuss. It either makes them uncomfortable or they just simply aren’t educated enough to converse about it. However, it is something so important to our success and well-being in life. It is a topic we all need to start talking about. In “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” Kiyosaki mentions that poor people are still poor because they refuse to talk about money. Talking about money opens us up to new ideas on how to make, manage, and grow wealth.

I have recently become fascinated by personal finance because of my friend Miki. She has opened me up to so many new ideas and books on the topic. It is so important to have friends who are open about these kinds of things and eager to share all of their knowledge. These are the kinds of friends that will help you grow and prosper. But more on this topic in another post.

I have 4 personal finance books for you that each serve a different purpose but are all so eye-opening and educational. Once you read them you will not be able to stop. Each book opens up a realm of new thoughts and ideas that will help change your outlook on money.

1. A book to change your money mindset

You are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero

This book is for anyone who views money as dirty or thinks they are undeserving of it. It is for those who grew up with a poor understanding of all the things money can do for us. If you think being rich is a bad thing and makes you an evil person, read this book. It will quickly change your negative thoughts about money into positive ones. Each chapter asks you different questions and fits your answers into a mantra that you can repeat to yourself every day. If you have a negative view about money then you will never be able to prosper financially. Before educating yourself on making your situation better, you have to change how you view your situation.

2. A book to change your viewpoint on wealth and how to grow it 

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki

Are you a firm believer that working hard will make you money? Do you think moving up the corporate ladder is the key to your success? This book will explain to you exactly why this is the wrong way to think. If you want to build wealth you need to escape from what Kiyosaki calls the "rat race". He discusses the difference between assets and liabilities and how you need to ensure that your assets are being invested in order to pay for your liabilities. Kiyosaki gave me a whole new thinking process of where my income should be going, opening my mind to the idea of real estate and stock investments. I even enrolled myself in a real estate investment course on Udemy!

3. A book to introduce you to finance for women and why it's important

Money by Chelsea Fagan

This book is perfect for women that love cute graphics and want to make finance fun. It gives you a basic overview on the different aspects of your finances that you should reconsider and review in order to improve your financial situation. It doesn't use big words or fancy terms that you won't understand. The book even interviews successful females about how changing their finances have helped them succeed or how they reshaped the way they viewed money. I loved it because it was an easy read with beautiful pictures that made everything simple to understand.

4. A book that gives you actionable steps to improve your financial situation

I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi

Last, but certainly not least, is the book that is the most actionable and will lead to the biggest change in your financial well-being. If you were to only read one book off this list, this would be the one. Each chapter discusses a different topic and represents a different week in a 6-week plan to improve your financial situation. Sethi makes it easy for everyone to put what they read into action by assigning a chapter a week and ending it with actual steps you can complete. If you listen to everything he tells you to do, you will be in the best financial shape of your life. The topics range from student loans to credit cards to IRAs to budgeting.

Don't just read this blog post and think about all the ways you could use these books to improve your finances. Click one of the links and purchase AT LEAST one of these on Amazon. It only takes one click!

These books will truly help set you in the right direction for your future. If you care about affording that house 5 years down the line, sending your kids to college, or (if you're like me) buying that Chanel handbag you've always lusted over, then read these books. The younger you are the easier it is to set yourself up for a successful financial future. Why wait 10 years from now and stress yourself out trying to fix all of the mistakes you made in your 20s when it could all be smooth sailing from here?

Want to receive a weekly newsletter covering productivity hacks, wellness tips, interesting articles, great reads, and cool events in DC and NYC delivered directly to your inbox? Sign up for my Dear 20-Something Girl newsletter.

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!

Want to receive a weekly newsletter covering productivity hacks, wellness tips, interesting articles, great reads, and cool events in DC and NYC delivered directly to your inbox? Sign up for my Dear 20-Something Girl newsletter.