The Impact of Financial Stress During COVID-19

COVID-19 isn’t going away any time soon. As the pandemic continues, there are many aspects of your life, health, and livelihood being affected in addition to financial strife. The longer coronavirus continues to upset your day to day life, the more consequences you are prone to fall prey to. 

On top of the extra precautions you are taking to safeguard your likelihood of contracting COVID-19, there are other things you should also be doing to protect yourself and your loved ones from associated problems. 

Domino Effect

Many problems can arise from struggling to make ends meet and having social interactions drastically change. Pre-coronavirus you were probably managing your money enough to make ends meet. You might not have had to worry about paying essential bills and putting food on the table for your family. Then the layoffs began and the more time went by, the more problems you experienced. Suddenly you’re worried about making your mortgage or rent payments, or not having enough money to shop for groceries the way you used to. 

When it comes to managing your debt, you can seek help from the financial experts. You may be able to consolidate your debt and consequently free up some of your expenditures. By knowing how to manage your debt, you can alleviate some of the stress associated with your finances. 

Social Issues Arising From COVID-19

Unfortunately, economic issues increase the risk for child abuse and domestic violence. During the difficult times you are living in, there have been marked increases in more severe child abuse cases that are concerning experts. 

Alcohol sales are also increasing exponentially. With some parents trying to cope with the stress of money, or lack thereof, alcohol and even drug consumption have increased creating a less than ideal or healthy environment for their children. 

Childhood trauma causes emotional and mental problems for children that would’ve otherwise been avoided if parents chose healthy coping mechanisms for their increased stress levels. 

Debt Increases

It lends to reason when you have less money coming in, you are going to seek alternate ways to try to make ends meet and have your lifestyle impacted as little as possible. This usually means using credit cards more and creating more debt. That’s not to say people are spending frivolously, but more accurately, people are desperate to feed their families and keep their utilities on. About one-third of the adult population has been adversely affected by the current pandemic. 

Help Resources 

There are many resources available to help you get through this pandemic, you just have to look for them. Help available can range from unemployment to small business benefits. 

Examine your most important obligations like mortgage, utilities and insurance. If you find you are struggling to make the minimum required payments, reach out to the specific companies. Chances are you can work out some type of arrangement that will keep you in good standing instead of just falling behind and adversely affecting your credit. 

The same applies to big banks. Larger institutions have been making concessions to help their consumers like deferring payments or waiving late fees. You won’t know what your lender is able or willing to do for you until you ask. Keep in mind that phone lines will most likely be overwhelmed; don’t let that frustrate and deter you. Instead, have a look online and see if you are able to access available help that way. 

If you’re looking for ways to get more financial assistance, working with tax professionals could get you a larger tax refund, which can go a long way right now. 

If you need help with feeding your family, check with local churches and charities. Communities have been pooling their resources by having food drives and taking donations to help charities fund the work they are doing in their own neighborhoods. Also, check online to see what specific help you can find on both the state and federal level. 

Stay Hopeful

The silver lining is, this won’t last forever. You may have to do a bit of homework to see what help can get you through these rough times, but you will get through them.