Category Archives: planning

You Do Know It’s Winter, Right?

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I spent my holidays in my hometown, hanging out with family, and a few good friends, as well as taking some much-needed time just being away by myself. It was a nice few weeks that I’m blessed to be able to take advantage of, given my profession, and not having to return to the office until January. I had planned to stay in town until January 7. 

When the weather forecast called for snow back home, I chuckled a bit. After all, this was Nashville, and we seldom saw any snow before February, IF we were to get any at all. And in fairness to the local meteorologists, they indicated that it wouldn’t stick, or hang around because of how warm the temperatures had been for several days prior. And by warm, I mean holiday temperatures in the 60s.

Several friends were surprised to look outside that Sunday night to see the light dusting of snow. It really came. But just as predicted, it didn’t stick around for long. Things ran “normal” that Monday morning.

That same day, however, those same meteorologists began talking more seriously about a new system. A snow event that would hit on January 6 and was predicated to stick and stay since the temperatures had dropped and would continue dropping throughout the week.

So I began to monitor the situation, which was also being talked about by the national weather people. It was no longer that Nashville may get snow; but everyone seemed 100 percent certain that it would get several inches of snow, including the surrounding counties along the route I would need to drive home.

So I had to make a decision. I could stick to my original plan of staying where I was for two more days, and driving back on January 7, the day after a predicted snow. Or I could change my plans, give up the additional vacation days, and return home a day ahead of the snow.

I chose to drive back on January 5. 

Before I left for my 450+ mile drive back, I placed a curbside order with a local grocery store to pick up once I returned. I knew that by the time I got back, I’d need more gas, so I planned to fill up

By the time I arrived back in Tennessee, the local forecasters were more certain that not only would we get the snow, but that it wouldn’t be like Sunday’s event, which was pretty to see, but made no real impact. The projected snow for would be a few inches, which for a southern city is significant since there are fewer salt trucks to handle the interstates, and hardly anyone with snow tires for side roads, or snow shovels for sidewalks and driveways. It’s just not a necessary thing in the south.

But having groceries, a working flashlight, an alternate heat source, if possible, and extra water put aside in case the pipes freeze, were necessities. While snow doesn’t find its way into many southern states on a regular basis, Tennessee is known to have a few freezing rain and ice events this time of year. 

The next morning I admit that I was a little disappointed when I awoke to cold temperatures, but not even a dusting of the white stuff. But the meteorologists weren’t backing away from their forecast. So I decided to take a long, hot bath, brewed some coffee, and then made sure my tea kettle and water pitchers were both filled.

Just an hour later I went to the window expecting to still see clear streets and green grass, as I had earlier in the morning. But just like that, there was a blanket of snow on the ground. And checking both the local and national weather services, they had adjusted the predicted snowfall from 1-2 inches to predicting up to 3-4.

This would make a great Christmas card shot!

In reality, many places throughout middle Tennessee, including where I live, received 6-8 inches of accumulated snow, followed by a drop in temperatures into the teens that night, and the single digits the following night.

Footprints tell the story

I was, of course, happy to have followed my instinct to change my travel plans and return early; pick up groceries and fill my gas tank.  It still makes me roll my eyes reading social media posts from people showing up at grocery stores during or even after inclement weather, complaining about the empty shelves – regular milk, favorite bread, snacks and other treats already picked over. What humors me is some people’s audacity to be mad at other people who prepared in advance for the storm, and did their shopping. Whether they “need” that extra loaf of bread or gallon of milk is their business; it’s their household. But with so many 24-hour stores, it’s hard for me to sympathize with most other people who don’t make the effort to plan for themselves; especially when the forecast gives a full week’s notice about the coming weather.

Cancelled entertainment events, school and workplace closings and hazardous driving conditions are more reasons to make a habit of preparing for disruptions in your regular routine. And food is just one of those things. Planning ahead for possible power outages or water disruption, or simply preparing for how you’ll spend your time if you end up shut in your house for multiple days, are all important things to consider.

Keep phones, computers, tablets, and other devices fully charged. Be sure to check batteries in all flashlights. Fill up extra pitchers with water, keep blankets handy, and gather candles and matches. You may end up needing none of these preparations. Or you might find yourself in a situation wishing you had done them.

Snow is pretty to look at, play in, take pictures of. But driving in it, especially in the south? Not so much! 

Even as I write this, the national forecast is for another snow storm that’s currently moving across the midwest, with eyes once again on parts of the south, including my area. The question for today is, how many people who found themselves unprepared for last week’s snow and freezing temperatures, are making plans now to get ahead of this weekend’s prediction of the same?

Don’t be that person.

Are You Prepared for Another New Year?

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“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and getting the same result, but expecting a different one!”

While scholars don’t agree on who actually to attribute this quote to — or even the verbatim wording of it — the meaning is still the same. 

Many times, we repeat the same things; doing things the same way, over and over, and then get disappointed when we continue to get the same, undesirable results. It can be hard, and even challenging to admit that what we’re doing isn’t working. And then it’s not always easy to make the kind of changes necessary to get back on track.

Every year, typically sometime between New Year’s Eve and early January, many people look back on the year that is gone, evaluate what they’ve accomplished and where they feel they fell short; and then vow to make changes to achieve more of their goals or keep more of their resolutions in the new year.

Eat better. Sleep more. Worry less. Exercise regularly. Read a good book. Stay in touch with old friends. Spend quality time with family. Work towards that promotion. Save for that first home; that next home — maybe even your dream home. There’s always a mental and most of the time, also a physical list of things we set our sights on — wanting to do better with the good; and do less of the bad.

Forming healthy habits is a good thing.  Surrounding yourself with close friends, having a positive daily routine, and living your life in the best possible way physically, financially, and spiritually are all excellent attributes of a healthy lifestyle. But when something happens to disrupt one or more of these things, it isn’t wise to continue going through life as if nothing’s changed.

Life is full of unexpected surprises and unplanned stops in the middle of places you never imagined ending up. How do you adjust to these new circumstances; things that weren’t a part of your life plans?

If you’ve been through a divorce or the loss a spouse, you know what it’s like to suddenly find yourself adjusting to having only one income; cancelling travel plans; contemplating how and with whom you’ll spend the holidays, and other changes suddenly thrust on you.

Perhaps your spouse carried you on their insurance, and now you’re having to pay for your own, along with the mortgage, and that new car that at the time seemed like a good idea. Maybe you’re among the hundreds of thousands of people who lost their jobs during the Coronavirus pandemic. The unemployment check didn’t cover all of your expenses, and you still haven’t found another job that pays the same wages you had before. Or the doctor called to confirm your worst fears of a medical diagnosis. Your high school son just told you his girlfriend is pregnant, or your college daughter just announced she no longer believes in the God who she was raised knowing.

While we can’t control many of the circumstances that may happen to us, we can control elements of how we prepare to take on those events when they do happen. Being prepared for life’s unexpected turns means being willing to create a plan now, so that you are where you need to be, have what you need to have, or are on your way to accomplishing steps to help you when a crisis enters your life.

I’m not suggesting that the impact of what may happen in life can be softened if there’s a good plan in place; as if planning keeps us from experiencing the pain of a broken relationship, the grief of the loss of a loved one, the agony of an unproductive job search, and many other things that come along.

But planning may help prepare one to make the most out of the new life’s circumstance — adjusting to their new normal; even if “normal” is for now, and not necessarily forever.

So what do I mean by that?

Start by outlining a Preparation Plan that lists life-changing things that could happen, and how you would be able to deal with them. Everyone’s list will be different and will depend largely on where you are in life. A mom of three young children may need to focus on her kid’s safety, well-being and their future. Whereas a single career woman may be more concerned about her financial stability (in the absence of a spouse’s income) in the event of a job loss. A retired empty-nester may need to be more concerned about living on a fixed income and the markets’ impact on their retirement.

People who live in cold-weather regions, the kind of places that are also prone to lots of snow, would be foolish to live as though they’ll never need a snow shovel, working flashlights and/or candles, and maybe even an alternate heat source. And who would move to Minneapolis in January, packing only their July Miami Beach outfits?

So what can you do now? Here are some of the things you might want to consider for your Preparation Plan, and implementing.

  • Make saving money each month a regular practice, so that you have a savings and an emergency fund. Create it, and don’t spend it.
  • Manage or eliminate your debt. This will also help you have more to save or invest.
  • Spend within or below your means. {See above}
  • Keep your resume updated, and never stop networking within your industry.
  • Make out a will and have an estate plan so that your spouse/children/parents don’t have to spend time in probate if you pass.
  • Take out a life insurance policy (and make sure your spouse has one) that covers your funeral costs so that your family doesn’t go in debt to pay for it.
  • Encourage your parents and single adult children to also have life insurance. Don’t assume they’re covered at work.
  • If you’re married, make sure you are involved with all of the business part of the marriage — know where all of the paperwork is and what insurance companies, banks, investment firms, social security, etc. you need to contact, should your spouse pass away or leaves.
  • If you’re single, create a document and leave with a very trusted family member or friend, that outlines all of the necessary contact information (your primary care doctor, workplace supervisor, banking information, mortgage or rental information, utility companies, and anyone else family may need to contact, should you become medically or psychologically incapacitated and unable to keep up with bill payments and other important transactions due to being in a hospital.

This is not a doomsday list, but rather a reality check. No one is promised another day or hour. If we could see into the future we’d avoid all of the pitfalls — choose an alternate route to work to avoid the accident; become more serious about our fitness and nutrition to avoid getting that health-related medical call; turn down that first date with the wrong person who would later leave and break our heart. We can’t see into the future anymore than we can change the past. But in the present, we can prepare for outcomes to better help us be able to survive; smart planning for whatever happens next.

To Spend or Not to Spend? Is that Really the Question?

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By now, most of the people who are going to get the $1,200 COVID-19 stimulus check, and who had direct deposit, have received it already. And those waiting on the paper check should get theirs in coming weeks.

So the question I’ve seen from a lot of people on social media is what they should do with their check. It’s been interesting, but not completely surprising to hear how some people are talking about spending their money; from taking a vacation to throwing themselves a huge party, or going out on the town, once the social distancing orders are lifted.

But there are many people where that question never crossed their minds. The thought of using that money for anything other than life’s necessities, isn’t a luxury for them. They are past-due on their rent or mortgage; have a car payment coming up; are dreading their next utility bill, and just trying to keep food on the table for their kids. 

I’m one of the lucky ones because I’m fortunate enough to still have my job, with a monthly paycheck that covers all of my bills. So I put my check into my savings account to continue solidifying my emergency funds.  I realize there are many people who can’t do that. But then there are others who won’t do that. 

I recently read a Facebook post from a woman who asked if she should use the money to pay off one of her credit cards, or if she should save the money. She went on to give additional information including the fact that she did not already have a savings account, her hours at work had recently been cut, and her boss said they would re-evaluate the future in a couple of months. After reading the additional information, I was honestly dumbfounded as to why she even needed to ask the question about whether or not she should save the money. I mean, why on earth would you spend money (even to pay off a credit card) when you’re already working fewer hours, and you’ve been put on notice that things might change again — loss of even more hours or possibly the job itself?

I do understand someone’s desire to pay have debt. But a little common sense should also come in to play. First, she admitted that she had no savings, then so she has nothing to fall back on in case of an emergency. That’s never a good place to be in. It’s actually one of the reasons many people continue to have rotating debt — something minor comes up (say a flat tire) but the person has no emergency funds, so they use a credit card; oftentimes paying hundreds of dollars more than what the item cost by the time they pay it off. If they had put money aside, they could have purchased the tires with cash.

Second, she had already experienced a cut in numbers of hours at work; which means she’s making less money now than she was a few months ago. How can anyone even be contemplating what to do with their money when they see the economic impact of COVID-19 and the Stay at Home orders across the country. And in these uncertain times, pay cuts aren’t just happening to hourly employees. My former workplace (I’ve been gone for over 10 years) had an across the board pay cut to all salaried employees making over a certain amount. Had I still been working there, I would have fallen into that cut off and therefore, have experienced a 5-10% pay cut. Even if the cuts are temporary, they still impact you in the moment, and for however long they last. I’ve often said that it doesn’t matter how much money you make, if you’re living right up to the amount of your paycheck (or over it), then even a small change can quickly turn into something worse .

And third, she’d also already noted that her company had indicated other actions may be taken at a later time. The nature of those actions, I’m sure, might include another pay cut, or layoffs, as we’re seeing around the country. That should have been enough for anyone to heed the yellow flag and proceed with caution. What good is it to pay off a credit card, in lieu of saving money, only to lose your job, and end up having to run your card back up again to pay bills, with no income. Few people realize that even payouts for unemployment benefits are far below what someone’s monthly income would normally have been.

So what’s this all about? 

In the U.S. most stimulus plans are designed to get money into citizens’ hands, so that they can in turn go spend and help jump start the economy. In this case, the economy was doing fine, until the U.S. found itself a little behind in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The US went from barely a dozen cases at the end of February to several hundreds of thousands of cases just four weeks later. Somewhere in the middle of all of that, sporting events stopped, music tours were rescheduled, festivals and business conferences cancelled; students were sent home for online learning, “non-essential” businesses were closed, people stopped flying, and social distancing prevented even small coffee shops, restaurants, and boutique retail from remaining open. As of mid-April, there are almost 750,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S., and over 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment.

This is not normal. And we may not see normal for many months to come; if ever. So we need to stop treating our finances as if we have any guarantees for what happens next. Not that we ever did.

So, to spend or not to spend?

Given the uncertainty of our future life without a vaccine for this virus happening before 2021 — with or without lifted stay at home orders — it doesn’t seem plausible that the economy and American life, in general, will return to the pre-Coronavirus, pre-March time period. So any level of careless spending, even spending for something that might otherwise seem sensible (i.e. paying off credit card debt) to me seems to be a little risky in this environment.

There are people waiting for their unemployment check today who may have had a very different view of those benefits when they had a job and never thought they would need it. Small business owners may never be able to reopen their businesses. Live events may be sidelined for another year. And some entrepreneurs and contract workers are visiting their local food banks for the first in their lives.

It’s our new normal. Even if it is temporary. And adjusting your life to your new normal will require some work, planning, and discipline. But it can be accomplished.

If you’re one of the fortunate ones who still has a paycheck, then why not try to accomplish both things — continue paying off your credit card, while at the same time, open up a savings account and start putting money away. I would go one step further. Look at your spending habits and see if there are other ways you might be able to save money. Ask yourself, are there things you can give up for a few months — cable television, movie and/or music streaming services, Amazon prime, etc.? Can you put off replacing that sofa, do you really need those new shoes, are you still ordering out more than you’re cooking in? 

And what about your grocery bill? Are you utilizing coupons and reward programs, making a shopping list in advance, and resisting those impulse purchase buys that can raise your grocery bill by 5, 10, 15 or more dollars that you weren’t expecting to spend?

There are lots of ways and places where most of us can save money, if we try. If you haven’t taken this area of your life seriously in the past, now might be a good time to create new habits to get through what might be ahead now, or even what could happen later, regardless of a virus.

 

How the Last Recession Prepared Me for the One that’s Coming

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It’s been a while since I’ve had the time to check in. To say that this Spring has been among the strangest, and one of the most unexpected time in our lives, would be an understatement.

It’s been about eight years since I started this blog; just a few years after being forced to adjust my life to a new normal. Like so many people who are dealing with that today, the recession of 12 years sent the economy tanking, the housing market tumbling, small businesses closing, and corporations downsizing. Massive layoffs, unemployment, company bankruptcies, house foreclosures, and lots of uncertainty. And even as we slowly came out of it, thousands of people remained underemployed for years after; having to learn how to live with their new career and smaller salaries.

Millennials graduated into a shaky economy, where they struggled to find jobs, or accepted ones far less than the salary they expected their college degrees to help secure. Some of their Baby Boomer parents never found new employment (ageism), while many Generation Xers had to transition into positions far less than their expertise, prior experience, and career positions had previously demanded. We were all in this together; trying to figure things out, move forward, stabilize the economy, and get back to as close to normal as possible. 

And we did. We succeeded.

It was painful, and a lot of what was, would never be again. But the economy came back. Jobs came back. New small businesses emerged. Entrepreneurship grew. We survived.

But here we are again. This time dealing with something much bigger than the loss of a job or home. We’re being thrust into a new normal where we must deal with that and the ever increasing, globally impacted, loss of life in this pandemic they call COVID-19.

There is an old saying that Handsight’s 20/20. But I think Foresight can be as well; especially when you start to see familiar signs; warning bells.

One of the things my four years in the last recession taught me was the importance of planning and preparation.

Planning is creating a type of road map that outlines what you will do in an emergency, or when you see a catastrophe (natural or financial) heading your way. It’s what children learn in school from the fire department when they ask every to create a fire escape plan at home. In Public Relations, we call them crisis management plans which outlines what a company or organization should do in the event of a crisis. If they follow the plan, it usually helps them get through the crisis without stumbling and causing more harm.

Preparation is putting into action your plan, and collecting the resources needed. If the forecast is for a foot of snow in a place that barely receives an inch, then ask yourself, what do you need to do if you end up being “snowed in,” schools out, and you know you will be unable to get to work due to road conditions? A prepared person would probably grab the folders and files they need from their office so they can work from home; encourage their kids to bring their books home from school that day; and by all means, stop at the grocery store to pick up any items they have on the monthly shopping list, that they weren’t planning to do for another week. At home, someone preparing for a major snow storm might also take the time to check the batteries in their flashlights, pull out their candles or secondary light sources, and make sure all of the important devices are fully charged.

It’s too late to check for batteries once your power goes out. Or to realize your pantry is mostly empty, after the roads have closed. And yes, if you only have one pack of toilet paper in a house of four people, you should probably be mindful to pick up another one “just in case.”

About 10 million people applied for unemployment benefits, in the wake of the Coronavirus related layoffs, business closings, cancelled public events, and a volatile stock market. While a number of companies have instituted pay cuts to keep their employees. Rent, mortgages, groceries, medicines, utilities, and other bills are coming due, with many people lacking the funds to cover them.

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According to Bankrate’s Financial Security Index, nearly three in 10 (28 percent) U.S. adults have no emergency savings. One in four have a rainy day fund, but not enough money to cover three months’ worth of living expenses.

Sadly, there are a lot of Americans, literally working paycheck to paycheck, with no room in the month for emergencies or unexpected hits to their finances. This is a particularly difficult time for millions of people. But for many others; especially those who have always had a steady income, your habits, your lifestyle, and planning, or lack of planning, does still matter. What you have today doesn’t guarantee your tomorrow.

I’ve watched an industry I thought was invincible, screech to a grinding halt. And related companies institute pay cuts across the company. 

So what can you do now if you’re one of the people whose rainy day funds are not sufficient to cover you in the event you’re next to lose your job?

  • Stop spending frivolously.
  • Start saving immediately.
  • If you’re not already a coupon user, start shopping with them now.
  • Utilize rewards programs for groceries and gas to get extra savings.
  • If you don’t need it, don’t buy it!
  • Even as you desire to support local restaurants, limit how often you’re eating out.
  • Go through your bank statements searching for automatic withdraws, and stop the ones you don’t need/use. If your gym is closed right now, are they still charging you a monthly fee?
  • Get rid of duplicate services (do you really need both Hulu and Amazon movies; Spotify and Apple Music?). 

If you do not have a personal financial crisis plan, consider developing one now.

If the last recession taught us anything, it’s that what may have taken only months to get in to, took the majority of people and various industries years to climb back out. How are you preparing yourself now for the long-term?

 

 

Stop Stressing and Be More Confident with Your Life in 2020!

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New Year’s Day, and I can’t believe it took me most of the day just to get the drawers and cabinets in my bathroom cleaned out and organized. Sure, I took a few texting and email breaks, and spent over an hour on the phone catching up with one of my BFFs! But I still did not expect it to take so long. Nor did I anticipate how much junk – outdated, expired, and almost empty containers of junk that was just shoved in the back of my cabinets and drawers.

I know I’m not the only one. I also know that one of the reasons people like me, and most likely you, put off taking on the chore of cleaning and organizing our homes, and even our lives, is because it all just seems so overwhelming.  This time of year often makes it even more daunting. So many “experts” on morning talk shows, columnists in newspapers, magazine articles, all talking about the many things we should be doing – personally and professionally — in order to be a “better person” and have a better year.

woman-lifting-two-dumbells-on-both-hands-in-front-of-mirror-1886487Get physically fit. Get healthier. Get financially secure. Get the house cleaned and organized. Travel more. Read the Bible in a year. Join a book club. Plant an organic garden. Raise chickens. And on and on and on. I mean who wouldn’t feel overwhelmed a bit; and confused about where to get started, and how to make most of it happen?!

When my sister shared a social media post titled 30 Challenges for 30 Days, asking me to join her in it, I replied within a split second — “NOPE!” The subtext of the headline noted: “That Will Make You a Better Person.” That extra message probably set me off more than the title. I don’t need to compete with someone, trying to accomplish so many things at the same time, all within some arbitrary time period, to prove I’m a better person! And I think that’s the trap we often fall into every year.

I am definitely a believer in doing things to make your life, your family, your home, and yourself better. But what those things are will be different for each person. And the priority of what’s most important to you now, versus what can wait, will differ. I mean I love pulling open my top bathroom drawer now and seeing how neat everything looks. I love finding what I need on sight; not having to shuffle a bunch of junk around, or getting ready to use some medical or cosmetic cream, only to find out that it expired six months earlier. But maybe your drawers are already organized the way you want them.

I decided early on that rather than trying to take a lot of things on at once, as if it wouldgold-ipad-beside-stylus-768473 even be possible to complete all of the things I need to do, while shopping better, eating better, working out every day, going to bed on time, and getting my budget in order, etc. etc. – you know the drill – I would instead choose tiny projects, like the bathroom cabinets, and just work on it until it was done (no pressured time limits) before moving on to the next one.

So, in preparing for and thinking about my life in 2020, I broke things down into four major areas:

  1. Personal Life
  2. Home Life
  3. Financial Life
  4. Professional Life

It feels much better to think about changes and improvements I can make to FOUR areas in my life, rather than trying to work on 30 or 40 different things at the same time! Obviously, each one of the areas have subparts to them. But keeping my focus on the big picture helps me to plan better on how to attack something in each one.

For the next few weeks, I’m going to be sharing some of the things I’ve done, and how I’m choosing to tackle them in my own life, project by project – baby steps to success. Some may be things you’re already doing, or there might be some things that inspire you to try to accomplish. Other things may be of no interest to you whatsoever. But the cool thing about a new year, and our efforts to make a new start, is that we each should start with looking at our own lives, and apply only those things that impact you directly. If it’s not something that’s at the top of your list; don’t do it.

By the way, on day two of the new year, I spent time tackling the desk in my bedroom. It’s not an “office” desk, where I do work. It’s a desk that I use to write notes, letters, journal, read, and occasionally, work on my blog. The problem was, like an unused piece of exercise equipment, my desk had become the place to toss things I didn’t want to deal with, file away; a convenient landing site for whatever! Getting through all of the desk drawers and cleaning off the top of the desk really made my day. No one’s going to see it except for me. But that’s the whole reason I did it. For me! And that should be your motivation as well.

What will make you and your life easier, happier, and more convenient? Go for it!