16 Real People Affected By the Coronavirus Give Their Best Financial Advice
16 Real People Affected By the Coronavirus Give Their Best Financial Advice
Learn how you can get through the pandemic. By Erica Corbin July 17, 2020
The coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has taken over the world. As of March 30, 2020, there were more than 770,000 cases and nearly 37,000 deaths reported worldwide. It has affected the young and old alike and turned daily life in nearly every country into a surreal nightmare.
From a financial point of view alone, it’s an extremely uncertain and stressful time. Millions of people are unable to work and yet still must pay rent, car payments, student loan debt and more. Buying groceries and other essentials has become a challenge for many, too, and not just because there isn’t enough toilet paper to go around. However, this doesn’t mean there aren’t ways of getting through this pandemic. GOBankingRates spoke with 16 people around the world who have been affected by the coronavirus, from job losses to life-threatening health concerns, and asked them for their best financial advice. Learn what you can do to manage your money during the outbreak.
1. They Nearly Got Stranded Abroad and Had To Buy an Emergency Flight Home
Nicole Diaz and her husband were in Ireland celebrating her 30th birthday when the coronavirus really started taking over. In the days leading up to their trip, more and more tours had been postponed and the country’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, which drew 500,000 people last year, was canceled.
They had been in the country for less than 48 hours when they learned that they needed to fly home to California immediately. “We had to buy an emergency flight back to the U.S. once we saw that Ireland got added to the travel ban list,” Diaz said. “We ended up shelling out a little over $2,000 on the emergency flight back to Los Angeles.” Fortunately, they were able to get home and enter self-isolation immediately.
Advice: Save 20% of Your Paycheck
“If I could give others advice, it would be to make sure you always have a cushion for emergencies like this,” Diaz said. “Thankfully, we had that cushion. I’ve been making it a habit to put at least 20% of my paycheck away toward savings and so this extra money helped us a lot.”
Diaz recognizes that this is easier said than done when you’re living paycheck to paycheck. However, there are ways to save 20% more of your paycheck without even trying.
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