What were your major concerns in January and February of this year?
Are those the same top of mind issues for you now at the beginning of April 2020?
How different our lives have become from the beginning to the end of March 2020.
Many people are not allowed to go to work unless they are deemed critical workers. Many schools are closed. We are told we should only leave our homes for needed groceries, medicine and healthy exercise. We are to keep physically distant from each other; clean surfaces we touch, wash our hands, etc.
The Covid-19 pandemic is spreading all over the United States and the world and the death toll is rising.
The US stock market dropped on March 9 with history’s largest point plunge for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) up to that date.( https://www.thebalance.com/fundamentals-of-the-2020-market-crash-4799950).
March 27, the $2 Trillion coronavirus stimulus bill was signed into law to help those who are out of work and the small businesses that have been ordered to close. Many other segments of the economy are on pause.
For many of us, it is difficult to deal with the changes in work, play, social and family life. But we can become overwhelmed when we add in the worries overpaying our bills and the fear of getting fatally sick.
What can you do, in the face of threats to your health, money, and security?
In addition to being of service to others, you can do what only you can do. That is to think about your life. Ask yourself what really matters to you? To get at that answer, people play with questions like: If you had to be alone on a desert island for a year what would you take with you? If your house was on fire what would you take out of the house? Most people don’t face such dramatic situations. Notice the questions seem to focus on stuff, physical objects. Although those with family members and pets would likely be sure those treasures were out of the house, safe from the fire.
The harder and more purposeful question is “How can you live your daily life well?” What is most important in each day for you? Is it important for the day, or for the long-term, however, you want to define long-term?
“How to live your daily life well” is a deep philosophical, psychological and spiritual question. The question may seem too big or fuzzy. However, you answer it every day, maybe not consciously, but you answer it by what you do, how you speak to others and how you spent your money and your time.
Since money is limited for most of us, the decision to spend on this rather than that discloses your values. Tell me how you spend your money and I’ll tell you who you are. You are not going to spend money willingly on things that don’t matter to you. Likewise, though we are grateful for each 24 hours, we can not make more hours in the day. So, how we spend each hour, underscores what we value.
You may have more free time than you have had in years and here are two thought experiments that can create personal certainty for you and ready you for the next phase of back to the normal rush.
The Zero-up Budget
Here is a short dialogue from my first book, Wealthy Choices: The Seven Competencies of Financial Success. It is between a husband and wife.
Mary: “Jim, how could you spend $130 on baseball tickets?”
Jim: “It’s my money I can do what I want with it.”
What’s next? A quiet cup of tea, or a fight? Why is Mary angry? Why does Jim answer as he does? If they were your friends, what advice would you give them?
If Mary and Jim could have created the Zero-up Budget described next, maybe they could understand each other and not fight.
To discover more about your inner workings and values, I suggest that you create a Zero-up Budget. If the household money and responsibilities are shared, then each person should create a Zero-up Budget.
Here’s the process. Start with any dollar amount. It could be your income for the month. What is the most important and first use of the money? Write that down. That statement will go at the bottom of the list. Lay on top of that, the next most important thing to spend money on. Keep doing that until you have spent the whole sum. What was left out? Should an item you included be swapped out for something that is more meaningful to you? Can you lower the cost of some items?
It is possible that you and the other persons disagree. No arguments or loud voices are allowed. Ask with love, “That’s an interesting choice. Why is that important to you?” Hopefully if this is a conversation with yourself or with someone else, it leads to a deeper understanding of what is important, and an opportunity to make other choices that in the long run make you more the you you want to be. It is likely when you are really living from your values, stress, overspending and feeling unsatisfied will lessen, and feeling more at ease and sure of yourself will increase.
The Time Thought Experiment
The Time Thought Experiment is the same process as the Zero-up Budget. Think about how you spent your time when life was more “normal” for you. Then log what you are doing now. Write down hour by hour, or quarter hour by quarter hour, how you have spent your time. Notice we commonly use the word “spent” when we talk about our use of time. It is a treasure and we spend it. As you look over days of your log, what does it tell you about what you value, what you made time for, and what you wasted?
If you have gotten upset if you wasted money, lost money in the market, or overpaid for something, how do you feel about wasting your time? Does it make sense to say, “I did such and such just to kill time?”
In the face of so much exterior uncertainty, you can create more internal stability, joy and peace by thinking more deeply about your life. Yes, there are many more questions to ask about relationships, faith, what it means to be a citizen, a neighbor, a person of integrity, etc. Create your own thought experiments. I would be grateful if you shared your thoughts.
I pray that you and your loved ones stay well and manage the present external difficulties with courage and optimism and that you are more centered in your own values by giving yourself time to do what only you can do; uncover your central values and be better aligned with them.
[email protected]. In all 50 states, Penelope S. Tzougros is registered with, and securities and advisory services are offered through, LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPCShe is affiliated with Bay Financial Associates, LLC. Financial Planning is offered through Wealthy Choices® and Bay Financial Advisors, Inc. Both are registered investment advisors. Neither is a broker-dealer nor affiliated with LPL Financial.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. The economic forecasts set forth in this material may not develop as predicted and there can be no guarantee that strategies promoted will be successful.