Stay financially fit during coronavirus

The coronavirus pandemic isn’t just a threat to our physical health, but our mental and financial wellbeing too. While most hospitality workers have been furloughed, many are receiving 20% less than their normal wages and some – if paid via the tronc – even less than that.

So it’s important to keep on top of your financial wellbeing. That, in turn, could help your mental wellbeing too. Get control of your money, and it should be one less thing to cause you stress and anxiety.

Steps to look after your financial wellbeing:

1) Complete a monthly budget planner

A budget is a list of all the money you receive and all the things you spend money on each month. It should include your income, outgoings and any debts. PayPlan’s monthly budget planner is a good place for you to start to map out your income and outgoings. It can help you to identify areas that you may be able to cut back on and see how much you have left over for the essential bills.

2) Save on bills and subscriptions

In modern day spending, we’re much more likely to have regular operational costs, rather than save up to purchase items all in one go. You only need to look at subscription services to understand this like Netflix, which has superseded physical DVDs; Spotify, often replacing CDs; or the number of people who buy their car on finance. Look at everything that you pay for from your account and see whether you need all of these services. A number of organisations are offering free subscriptions during lock-down and many gyms have suspended their memberships. Now is also a great time to visit a price comparison site or to call your energy provider to make sure that you are getting the very best possible deal on your energy and utility bills.

3) Check what you are entitled to

Government benefits calculators are a good place to start and will show you how to claim for the benefits you are eligible for.

4) Only use payment holidays if you need to

Payment and mortgage holidays are great if you were not struggling with multiple debts before coronavirus and need to conserve your finances. Always check with your provider how this break will affect your future payments before you automatically opt into this. If you genuinely had payment issues before the coronavirus pandemic and need debt advice, then delaying the problem may only make it worse.

5) Work out which debts to pay off first

If you have multiple debts then you should seek free debt advice from an FCA-approved organisation. You can get in touch with PayPlan for free by visiting http://www.payplan.com/ health-wellbeing for free debt advice either over the phone or via one of its digital channels.

6) Be aware of fraudsters

Unfortunately, fraudsters are creating scam websites and phishing scams at this time. Make sure you don't fall victim to either of these. Phone calls, texts and emails are all ways fraudsters may try to contact you. If something doesn't feel right, then it probably isn't. Take your time.

Look out for:

Similar URLs to genuine companies
Does the layout of your email look genuine?
Incorrect spelling and grammar

7) Keep up to date

For the latest information on coronavirus and your finances For the most up to date information on how coronavirus can affect your finances, visit: http://www.payplan.com/coronavirus

Image: Christin Hume/Unsplash