Welcome to another week of Monday Night Finance, the best roundup of personal finance articles published regularly on Monday nights! Check out these three great recent articles.
17 Smart Money Tips for Uncertain Times
March 2020 was one of the most tumultuous months in recent American history. At the beginning of the month there was news about the coronavirus, but most of the news focused on how the virus was affecting foreign countries. Within a couple of weeks, state governments had closed all non-essential businesses and enacted “stay at home” orders to reduce the spread of the virus within the US. As a result, weekly unemployment claims have skyrocketed to the largest numbers ever recorded. All of this fear, uncertainty, and destruction has made many Americans look at their finances. But what should you do if you want to improve your financial situation but don’t know how?
Not only is our health at stake, the stock market and housing market are both under threat. Many are feeling uncertain about their income and even their job security. If there is any time to practice frugality, the time is now. ~Jo from More Money Tips
In this article, Jo from More Money Tips gives a list of 17 different money tips you can use right now. These tips can help you reduce spending, find extra savings and help you prepare for an uncertain future. Many of the money tips deal with reducing and improving food spending. This is smart since you probably can’t change your rent or mortgage today, but you can change your grocery bill the next time you go to the grocery store. Some of the tips involve eating healthy foods instead of prepackaged and branded “fun foods”. Not only will these save you money, but they are also better for you. For even more tips, check out the article.
How I Tripled My Salary in 5 years
Earning more money is a key part of building a secure financial situation. While many people want to earn more money, there is a difference between wanting to earn more money and actually achieving it. If you feel stuck in your current job and aren’t sure how to grow your salary, reading about other people’s journeys can help you figure out your next step. In this article, Shelley from Beyond Pennies shares her journey of how she tripled her salary in only five years.
I never said no to more responsibility, even when a pay raise was not offered at the time. It almost always pays off later when you can add new skills to your resume. ~Shelley from Beyond Pennies
Shelley started off as a staff accountant making less than $43,000 per year and is now a director making $135,000 per year. Shelley highlighted several of her keys to success. Her number one tip is to never say “no” to more responsibility, even if it doesn’t result in an increase in pay. Shelley describes a situation where she was asked to take on payroll responsibilities in one of her jobs. While she didn’t receive an immediate increase in pay, she quickly proved herself in her new role and within 6 months was making a lot more money. Other tips include switching jobs every 2-4 years. This allows you an opportunity to negotiate a new salary and also potentially advance to jobs with more responsibility and/or pay.
How We’re Physical Distancing During the COVID-19 Pandemic
It seems like nothing has entered our North American lexicon faster than the words “social distancing” or its synonym “physical distancing”. Within weeks we went from living our normal lives where we would gossip with coworkers at the water cooler to having to physical distance ourselves from everyone outside of our household. The transition to physical distancing has affected everyone differently. In this article, personal finance blogger Chrissy from Eat, Sleep, Breathe FI shares her story about how the physical distancing requirements have affected her family.
It hasn’t been easy following these strict physical distancing measures. We miss our family, friends, and normal activities. But we know this is necessary and it’s how we can do our part. Fortunately, we’ve also learned that physical distancing doesn’t have to be lonely and boring! ~Chrissy from Eat Sleep Breathe FI
This article is full of resources that explain the importance of physical distancing in reducing the spread of the coronavirus. Furthermore, it also clearly states the guidelines of what is and isn’t physical distancing. Finally, Chrissy shares her family’s personal story of how they are physical distancing. Chrissy already cancelled her trip to Japan, but since then, has had to cancel a trip to Vancouver island, cancelled a family get together, and also cancelled sleepovers they had planned for their kids. Instead, they’ve been working on taking their dog Mika for extra walks and doing extra training with her in their yard. They’re also doing lazy indoor activities such as puzzles and building Legos. If you’re looking for things to do on your own quarantine, check out Chrissy’s post.