by Roshni Sachdev [MBA FA] Manager Fintech Aircrews Aviation Pvt Ltd.
Financial Stress Management Due to Covid-19
In an effort to slow the spread of the novel corona virus, COVID-19, businesses across the country are closing their doors. In many states, emergency restrictions now prohibit dining in at restaurants and bars, as well as any large gatherings. Other states and counties have also passed regulations temporarily closing any businesses not essential to life and ordering residents to stay home unless absolutely necessary. These temporary laws are meant to protect lives by “flattening the curve” of COVID-19. Though these measures may seem drastic, they’re necessary to keep already-overburdened hospitals from being completely overwhelmed with new patients.
Financial, like most other sources of stress, can have a significant impact on your physical and emotional health. You might notice:
· Increased irritability or a short temper
· Feelings of nervousness or worry
· Mood swings, including anger and sadness
· Persistent low mood
· Fearfulness
· Appetite changes and stomach issues
· Muscle tension or pain
· Fatigue, sleeplessness or both
How to cope up with this stress?
· Practice Acceptance: It’s completely all right, and normal, and healthy, to mourn your losses. A global pandemic is frightening and upsetting enough without it upending your entire life. That’s true, but you matter, too. Part of acceptance involves acknowledging your situation, and your feelings about it. Then you can take actionable steps toward improvement, when those steps become possible.
· Focus on what you can control: You may not have any power over a virus or the economy, but you can work to manage your reaction to it. It’s true you don’t know what will happen—no one does. But it’s more helpful to manage each day as it comes.
· Mindful practices, like meditation, can help you learn to acknowledge and accept unwanted thoughts without letting them impact you negatively.
· Limiting your news exposure to a set amount of time each day can help you stay informed but avoid becoming overwhelmed by a constant barrage of increasingly bleak updates.
· Reviewing your existing financial resources can help you get a more realistic picture of your financial situation.
· Practice Self care: Remembering to take care of your health in times of stress isn’t always easy, but it’s important to stay well. The mind-body connection means your emotional health will benefit when
you’re in good physical health. Focus on wellness by:
ü Eating balanced and nutritious food
ü Exercise when possible
ü Staying active at home
ü Prioritizing sleep
· Brain Storm Plans: It can help to think of steps you’ll take to get back into the workforce, if you can’t return to your previous job. Having a plan can sometimes offer reassurance and a sense of hope. But it’s also important to avoid spending so much time planning that it increases your anxiety and stress.
HOW TO MANAGE YOUR FINANCES DURING THE CRISIS?
1.Examine Changes in Your Expenses: The crisis might have brought significant changes to your work and lifestyle. Take stock of your New Financial Situation —what is good about it, what can be improved, and what are the actions you need to urgently take to avoid a downturn? Do a swot analysis of your finances.
2.Re-allocate your spending: If your income has been affected by the crisis, you can use the savings you’ve generated to supplement it. Alternatively, that money can help you decrease your debt, build an emergency fund, or top up your savings.
3. Future-proof your finances: Having performed the SWOT analysis for your finances, you might have noticed weaknesses or threats to your ability to produce income such as: limited skills, over-dependency on a particular location, the nature of your work and the demand for it, changing trends, etc.
4. Diversify your income: Relying on a single source of income can be a great threat to your financial situation, especially if the crisis is preventing you from working.
Roshni Sachdev [MBA FA]
Manager Fintech
Aircrews Aviation Pvt Ltd.
