Surviving and Thriving During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Well, I made it through my first week working at home.  I think it has been good for the family to be together during this difficult time, even though the kids are not liking distance learning, are bored and don't like our new opportunistic diet (depends on what's at the store).  I haven't dug into the canned food yet in the pantry and hopefully won't have to unless we can't leave the house at all or stores are completely out of food.  So far, that doesn't seem to be the case.  I also keep a few "go bags" with three days of supplies in the garage in case we have to leave the house, but again hopefully, I never need to use those. 

I'm fortunate to be able to work from home, with only my desktop, internet connection, house phone, cell phone and yellow notepad as my main tools.  I have to say, having between 8 and 12 conference calls a day plus doing work online is very draining, especially since there are plenty of mini-crises at work in the midst of the bigger COVID-19 crisis.  At the end of the workday, I always make sure to go for a nice long walk by myself to get some exercise and reset my mind.  I still try to make sure I get 10,000 steps a day, even though I can't go to the gym.  I'm finding it's really hard to work efficiently remotely when you are used to walking down to someone's office to talk about things, but we are all slowly getting used to it.  Still, it's amazing what we can do now with technology and I do think many companies will look very differently at working from home after this crisis.  They will also take disaster preparedness more seriously.  Also many companies that support WFH will no doubt continue to grow in value.

Went to Trader Joe's today and waited in line for about an hour to go in the store, but was pleasantly surprised to see the aisles fully stocked.  The joy of seeing meat, eggs, bread and frozen foods on the shelves was hard to describe.  Also Smart & Final was pretty well restocked as well.  After securing food for next week, it was time to come home, walk the dog and then work on the blog.  A typical weekend day on lock down. 

On the bright side, gas is cheap and the line at Costco gas is short.  Also mortgage rates are really low and I was able to refinance my home and this will put more money in our bank account soon, which will be very helpful.  I also recently paid off a lot of debt, so I'm in good shape financially with an adequate emergency fund.  I feel like having built a Financial Fortress for my family since the Great Recession has really helped me deal with the new recession we are now facing with a real sense of calm.  Yes, many of my stock investments have lost value, but they are a small portion of my overall portfolio and I have no need to sell.  Plus, they all pay dividends and are strong companies, unlikely to cut their dividends, so I continue to "clip coupons" every quarter.  The yields on quality companies' stocks that pay dividends are also significantly better than on government bonds currently.   

Below is a graphic of the Financial Fortress:

I believe it's never too late to begin Building a Financial Fortress, even now.  As you can see, it starts with a strong base of Cash (and investment debt, like mortgages on income property).  Insurance is the next level, making sure you have adequate coverage for liability, life and property.  Next comes stocks, bonds, and retirement accounts.  The top level is hard assets including real estate, gold/silver and commodities.  The key is positive cash flow in all of your investments and lots of passive income so you can continue to build your base of cash.  Especially in times like these, having multiple streams of income and plenty of cash in an emergency fund is critical.  This is not only for peace of mind, if an unexpected big expense comes up or if you lose your job, but more importantly to take advantage of the many investing opportunities that will undoubtedly arise in the wake of the current crisis.  It's also good to have a plan if you lose your job (where will you live, how will you reduce your monthly living expenses, etc.).  With this in place, you can pretty much weather any storm.

Please stay safe, healthy and positive.

I hope you find this post useful as you chart your personal financial course and Build a Financial Fortress in 2020.

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