To say we are in different times now than when I started thinking about launching a personal finance blog would be an enormous understatement. By now, you are acutely aware of the COVID-19 pandemic spreading across the globe. My family was certainly affected. We were under a self-quarantine since we went skiing at a Keystone Resort in Colorado, and now we have a ‘Stay-at-home’ order for the state of Colorado extending until April 11, 2020. For all of you reading this, I hope you and your families are healthy and make it through this together as a stronger family.
On Thursday, March 26, 2020, the weekly unemployment numbers were released: 3,283,000 people lost their jobs in a week. This is 14 times larger than the week of March 19 when 232,500 people lost their jobs, and over 4.7 times larger than the largest one week claim in history, in October 1982. Nearly 3.3 million people lost their jobs last week, and we are likely to see many more job losses as the ‘shelter-in-place’ and ‘stay-at-home’ orders continue to grow.
Were you and your family prepared to lose your jobs and income due to something completely out of your control? An event like this is incredibly unfortunate and devastating for many: emotionally, health wise, and financially. The data leading up to an event like this show that it will be a financially devastating blow to millions of American households. Do you have an emergency fund that you can use to weather this storm? A 2018 study showed that nearly 40% of American adults would be unable to cover a $400 emergency expense without borrowing the money, whether it was to add debt through a credit card, borrow from family or friend, or use a personal loan or line of credit. How, after 9 years of economic expansion, are so many people unable to cover a relatively small expense? Simply put, there are very few, if any, education requirements for personal finance. We don’t teach future generations about how to use money, whether it is spending, debt, or saving.
I hope you and your family are able to weather this storm, but many of you may be in a tough financial position right now. My question for you is: will you keep the same spending, saving, and debt habits that put you in this position or are you going to make a change so you don’t face the difficulties you are now experiencing? And if you are weathering the storm well, how can you shore up your finances going forward?
Too many people experience anxiety and stress when it comes to handling finances. I want to change this. I want to help people move towards financial freedom. The main goal of starting Rat Race Off Ramp is to provide tools, discussions, and education to help you take control of your finances, get out of debt, and build your financial stability towards savings, retirement and financial freedom.
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