If you are one of the millions of Americans out of work due to the coronavirus pandemic, the harsh reality of losing paychecks can be overwhelming. If your family is struggling with the loss of all or part of its monthly income, here are some steps you can take that might help you stay afloat during this unprecedented crisis.<\/p>\n
Most states have revised and expanded unemployment-benefits coverage for employees affected by coronavirus-related layoffs, furloughs, shutdowns and work-hour reductions. Visit your state\u2019s unemployment insurance website for any online, expedited claims-filing process available.<\/p>\n
List all of your monthly expenses in order of necessity. Next, calculate your household\u2019s monthly income. If your family\u2019s income is not enough to cover essential expenses such as food, housing and utilities, you may need to take measures to reduce expenses.<\/p>\n
Cancel your home phone, cable, online or printed subscriptions and membership services. Reduce your cellphone plan to only basic phone, text and data needs.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t hesitate to contact your credit card issuers, mortgage holders and landlords and ask if you can work out a payment plan. Many mortgage providers are offering forbearance options, and lenders are telling customers they will not report late or missed payments to credit agencies during the pandemic.<\/p>\n
If possible, continue to make minimum credit card payments. But if it comes down to making a payment or keeping food in the fridge, simply forgo payments until you are back on your feet. Be sure to contact your credit card company or lender and ask them to waive any fees during the crisis.<\/p>\n
As a very last resort, you may need to temporarily reduce or stop your ongoing\u00a0contributions to your retirement and\/or college savings plan accounts and\/or take advantage of currently relaxed loan and withdrawal restrictions for employer-sponsored retirement plans. If you feel you must disrupt your savings strategies, please contact us first and we\u2019ll make a plan to help replenish your accounts when things return to normal.<\/p>\n
Making extreme changes during\u00a0this extraordinary crisis won’t be easy, but remember that this will not last forever and we\u2019ll\u00a0get through it together. Making temporary sacrifices today could help you stay above water until this terrible storm passes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you are one of the millions of Americans out of work due to the coronavirus pandemic, the harsh reality of losing paychecks can be overwhelming. If your family is<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"page-template\/template-standard-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n