The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t just affected our health, but our wealth, as some are dealing with unemployment and financial uncertainty.
Shawn O’Keefe is owner and financial coach for Owlbus Financial Coaching Services, LLC.
O’Keefe said there are three things you can do immediately to take control of what may feel like an out of control situation.
1) Prioritize your payments for the four pillars of necessity. Those four pillars include rent/mortgage, utilities, transportation and food.
2) Create a plan to pay all other bills on a pro-rata basis. That means dividing the money you have left to pay a little on each bill you owe, such as credit cards, personal notes, medical bills, other vehicle payments, student loans, etc. For instance, if you have $100, and ten bills to pay, each bill gets $10.
3) Overcommunicate with every entity that you owe money. O’Keefe said it’s better to confront the situation than to avoid calls from creditors.
He pointed out there is no magic wand and no magic debt eraser, but rather hope using a solid, proven plan.
O’Keefe offers a free one hour consultation, and in an effort to help anyone affected by COVID-19, he says he’ll offer two additional one hour sessions for free. Learn more here. You can also email Shawn at owlbusfcs@gmail.com.