Remember that holiday spending is a common budget buster. Reign in the family’s gift expectations this year. Keep it simple. Draw names for a Secret Santa gift exchange. Since my immediate family is spread among four cities, my son set up a group account on www.drawnames.com.
Ordinarily it would sound ridiculous, but also think about your spending needs for household supplies. No one has forgotten the crazy run on toilet paper and disinfectant products. Keep your pantry stocked with enough to get you through at least a few weeks of crazy part two. (“Supply chain disruption” is a new household phrase).
On the income side of the household ledger, there are still a lot of people who are unemployed or under-employed. As a last resort, review your access to retirement accounts. Penalty taxes for “early” withdrawals can be avoided under certain circumstances, such as qualifying age or health-related factors. If 2020 was your target retirement year, consider postponing the brass ring for a few more quarters.
Not only did the stock market not crash after the presidential election, it actually hit a new high. The rise is probably a combination of relief from uncertainty and the introduction of a COVID vaccine in the near future. If you need to raise cash from your portfolio, for spending needs or to seed an emergency reserve account, take some market profits off the table now. Market downturns are often swift and unpredictable.
“Currently during the pandemic, 84 percent of Americans say that they are facing financial struggles and hardships,” said Nancy Brooks, executive director of Louisville’s National Alliance on Mental Illness. With depression and anxiety rising across the country, know your health insurance plan’s benefits for mental health – use them.
Even in the midst of uncertainty and struggle, we still have much to be thankful for. Take a moment this week to take a deep breath and give thanks.
This article was originally published in the Knoxville News Sentinel on November 19, 2020
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