By Ronald Mukasa Ssenkubuge
Here is one of the 2020 memes…‘a young man carrying his belongings waving goodbye to 2020 on his way back to 2019’. Funny! right? And yet a succinct representation of the emotional turmoil of millions. 2020 held so much promise being the start of a new decade and at the time, COVID-19 was still largely a China problem, with the rest of the world set to sail the tide of the new year. Fast forward and here we are, a full-scale global pandemic that for most up till now was a preserve of scenes in a horror movie. The horror lives and the impact has been real.
Lives of loved ones have been cut short, economies have been brought to their knees, travel ground to a halt as one country after another enforced lockdown measures in an effort to stem the spread of this virus. Our world as we know it has indeed changed and the daily reality now does not conform to the aspirations we had as we embarked on the new year. This is what has been branded ‘the new normal’
Into the second half of the year and the uncertainties still linger on with this ‘new normal’. Our financial health is no exception. In fact, it is tempting to elude use of the word ‘health’ in a context that is more akin to survival. I suppose this would be true if it were not for realities like Jeff Bezos adding $13 billion to his net worth in one day. So if you ever wonder what thriving financially in crisis times looks like, this is the pinnacle.
What this screams out is the opportunity in crisis, a truth and reality that more often eludes us because we get absorbed in dealing with the crisis and all its relatives. This drains us physically, mentally, and emotionally and there’s often nothing left to capture and explore opportunities that may even be right before us. Unfortunately the reality of job loss and business failure is all too glaring. This means that tough decisions have to be made to get more out of much less and here are key pointers and actions that will be helpful in weathering what is not only a health pandemic but a financial crisis;
A budget-You can’t escape it!
If budgeting has not been your cup of tea, time is up! It’s now a one income home or following a job loss, there’s actually no stable income anymore and that hustle is no longer on the side, it has now graduated to be the family lifeline. This new reality calls for a new appreciation of your income, which must now be fed into a budget. Budgeting templates are readily available online and it need not be a complex exercise. Get to preparing one, be frugal and disciplined in following it. That January budget might also need to be adjusted. If it is one that was drawn up under pre-Covid circumstances, it is surely one to revise now and align to your new realities and priorities.
More month than money?…time to scale back
It is amazing how much of that grocery list you can live without or how there are actually cheaper options. Do not be tempted to maintain your lifestyle. Do you know that if you do not eat out for the rest of the year, you will not die? Thankfully some lockdown measures by design have already chocked some expenditures and it would be prudent to see the blessing here in regard to your financial health. Strikeout that holiday trip after all the months you have spent holed up together is somewhat of a vacation. Evaluate what you are spending on and see what you can eliminate or cut back so that you can hold on to more of your money. This is critical to enabling your reduced income to stretch longer.
Companies Rise or Fall on How Well They Renew Their LeadersTime for a new hustle/gig
You have started budgeting, restructured your expenditure, hopefully, now you see a good fit for your income. This means that you have aligned the month to income, that’s a positive step. It is even possible that you might have some left over, give thanks to God! Now because you don’t want to remain in survival mode, it’s time to build or consolidate that hustle whatever it is; a micro-business, an online gig (even an online DJ), tailoring, neighborhood stall or duuka, writing etcetera. Whatever opportunity, talent, or skill you have, match it to a need possibly to your immediate community or embrace an entire online market. This crisis has accelerated everything digital. The last couple of months have seen tremendous digital and online growth and those who are harnessing opportunities in this space are emerging as real winners. Case in point is Zoom stock that has risen from $67 in Jan 2020 to an all-time high of $ 275.87 on 10 Jul 2020 so imagine the joy of Zoom shareholders. Your guess is as good as mine. What is key here is to explore your opportunities and get to work…
For a time such as this….SAVINGS!
Do you remember those constant talks and messages about savings? I suppose for some of us, they all came rushing back like a debt collector on the hunt. These are the times savings are made for. That emergency fund is designed for a time such as this…even that piggy bank takes center stage. Many have found a lifeline in this. In fact, they have kept afloat on account of a savings pot. This crisis should magnify the value of savings and set us on a journey to growing some. Savings are the financial pill for uncertainty. We don’t know when the next crisis will be but we must be asking ourselves whether it will find us better prepared. The time to start saving is NOW! There are lots of products and platforms to help us on this journey, begin to look out for some of these.
Wrapping this up
It is tough, that’s not in dispute. However far more important than this is that you have a life to live. You being here means that God’s business with you right here on earth is not done. The world goes on and so should you! Jeff Bezos is not a lone ranger, many more are reaping out of this crisis at different levels. That tells us something, that we are not defeated, that we can all take actions that can help us not only keep afloat but also reinvent ourselves and emerge out of this better and not crushed.
Let’s hope! Let’s Live! Let’s thrive!
