Money in the New Normal

Phew - deep breaths…..

Like many of you, I’m still in shock and have self-quarantined with my kids at home. They are old enough I don’t have to home school but for those of you with small children - I commend you! Or if you are living alone- setup virtual cocktails or coffees.  I’ve done a few and they’ve been lifesavers!  I’ve been bombarded with client calls and am doing multiple virtual workshops. Here are a few key action item tips to deal with your personal finances in the new normal. It will help you feel a little more in control. 

1) My Favorite Articles. NY Times has done a phenomenal job with their money articles. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/business/coronavirus-401k-contributions.html

https://www.nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-money-advice.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/upshot/stock-market-selloffs.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article

2) Don’t Panic Sell.

Do not sell your investments if you don’t have to.

If you don’t need your retirement for at least 7-10 years, hold steady. If you are incredibly nervous and want to sell, stick to a % such as 3 or 5%. If you truly need your money in 3 years or less, then it should be in cash now.  

3) Do Something With Your Investments.

Reallocate between your asset classes or change funds around.  For example: put more into an International fund, less into a Small-cap fund, OR more into a Balanced Allocation fund.  4) Clean Up Your Funds. Switch to index funds or ones with low expense ratios.  Switch to 5 star Morningstar funds. Switch to funds with low turnover to minimize taxes. Sell any relative underperforming funds to capture losses for your taxes.  5) Put off Paying Your Taxes. Unless you are getting a refund.  You can defer federal tax payments until 7/15/20. 6) Switch your cash to higher paying online accounts.  Rates are low but still paying 1.5% and more.  www.marcus.com/ www.ally.com www.capitalone.com/bank/ www.americanexpress.com/personalsavings/home.html 7) Refinance.  Rates are lower. Might be hard to get a banker or mortgage brokers attention but if it saves you at least $500/month, make it a priority. 8) Buy Equities.  I’ve been buying the S&P 500 Index and Total Stock Market Index funds every week for the last few months.  I’ve allocated a small cash amount and am buying every week.