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  • (gentle music)

  • - Hi, I'm Melissa Bell publisher of Vox Media.

  • Welcome to Money Talks, Home Habits,

  • powered by Bank of America.

  • This is a virtual explainer event

  • centered around the new meaning of home

  • and how its purpose has suddenly shifted.

  • Today, we'll be focusing on saving when home

  • and how to manage and prioritize savings

  • during such an uncertain time.

  • People spending more time at home

  • means changing spending and saving habits,

  • but what's the proper way to save?

  • And what are we saving for?

  • For some, the transition to spending more time at home

  • comes with automatic savings.

  • The U.S. personal savings rate jumped to 33% in April,

  • the highest ever recorded.

  • Still in a June, 2020 survey,

  • 23% of Americans reported that a lack of emergency savings

  • was their biggest financial regret.

  • So how can people put any new found savings

  • to good while still at home?

  • An emergency fund should be the foundation

  • of any savings plan.

  • Emergency funds should cover six to nine months

  • of regular household expenses.

  • Saving, however, may not come as easily

  • for those whose incomes have been impacted.

  • That's why it's even more important to set aside time

  • to go through your monthly expenses

  • and identify any that can be reduced,

  • whether you've found unexpected savings in recent months,

  • or have had to cut back,

  • take the time to prepare for the future

  • by reevaluating your savings priorities, today.

  • I'm joined by Tonya Rapley,

  • a financial educator and founder of My Fab Finance.

  • Tanya, it's great to have you here today.

  • - It's wonderful to be here.

  • - One question that is really top of mind for me,

  • is centered around the folks who have been impacted

  • in a disproportionate way because of the coronavirus.

  • What financial advice do you have for them?

  • - Yeah, Melissa thank you for asking that question

  • because as a financial educator and working in this field,

  • I have seen and I've worked with people

  • who even before Corona virus

  • were financially vulnerable and what we are finding

  • are people, particularly people of color

  • and people who might be deemed essential workers

  • who are working in, whether it is required fields,

  • or essential fields such as in the grocery store,

  • farming, et cetera, things that really help ensure

  • that our economy stays voting and our needs are met,

  • are vulnerable as well and they don't often

  • have those protections, but they haven't had them.

  • And that's one of the things that I'm hoping

  • that this kind of starts a conversation

  • of what it looks like to bring people up to,

  • equally before we even have something

  • like the Coronavirus start.

  • And so when working with clients

  • and helping people kind of navigate, okay, what do I do?

  • I'm already financially vulnerable.

  • What can I do to kind of alleviate some of this?

  • If anything, the first thing

  • is we gotta comb through those expenses.

  • What was helping you or what worked before coronavirus

  • might not work now.

  • So what you could afford then

  • you might be able to afford now

  • because maybe your hours have been cut back,

  • or maybe now you have additional health cost,

  • or maybe you're responsible for your childcare and so forth.

  • So you aren't able to go into your office

  • or you're not able to do things you used to do

  • to bring in income.

  • And so we need to cut back on those expenses

  • and we can do that by looking at our budget,

  • looking at what's going out

  • of our household every single month.

  • And then cutting back on the things that aren't necessary.

  • Like during this time we really want to be focusing

  • on those essential items.

  • The next thing is I would suggest that people take advantage

  • of help or assistance that's available to them.

  • I know that sometimes we might not want to or feel like,

  • I got this, but there's any time in history

  • where there's more help available.

  • It is right now.

  • So there are resources available.

  • I know here in Los Angeles where I live,

  • they have a rental assistance program.

  • They're rolling out when everything first started happening,

  • they were forgiving student loan payments

  • for a certain amount of time

  • and mortgage payments for a certain amount of time.

  • A lot of utility companies have been understanding

  • and are working with individuals

  • or working with their customers to look to see

  • what help is available on that side.

  • But then also, if you need any social services

  • or anything of that nature,

  • find out what you need to do to make sure

  • that you're getting groceries and so forth,

  • look into, grocery co-ops or food pantries nearby

  • and so forth so that you can kind of make up

  • some of that difference

  • in what you were spending in groceries

  • and maybe you can reallocate the money from your budget

  • to something else.

  • And then the last thing I really want people to do

  • is really think about stabilizing and what it looks like

  • to stabilize your financial foundation,

  • because that's important.

  • And I know that people might be in crisis mode.

  • It's like, I just can't figure out

  • how to get to XYZ point.

  • You're not alone.

  • There's a lot of people who are trying to figure out

  • how to get to XYZ point,

  • especially when the point has been changed as it has.

  • I don't think any of us expected for 2020

  • to look this way and to have this experience this year.

  • So alter your plans.

  • It's okay to alter your plans and change your expectations

  • of what was expected for you this year.

  • And just realize that you're not alone.

  • I think that, especially for people

  • who might feel like they are vulnerable

  • or feel even more vulnerable, you're not alone.

  • There are services there to help you

  • and we'll get through this.

  • - Thanks, Tanya.

  • I think that's a great point.

  • One thing that I think you mentioned at the very beginning

  • is how a lot of these issues predate coronavirus,

  • and this moment is perhaps exacerbating them,

  • but also revealing them.

  • Now I would love to bring on some guests

  • who are excited to ask you some questions.

  • - Craig, welcome to the today's discussion.

  • I'm looking forward to what you

  • and Tanya have to talk about.

  • - Hi Tanya, my question is like a lot of other people

  • I've been saving more money than usual

  • in the past few months.

  • I'm not going out shopping as much.

  • I'm not eating out as much and spending money socializing.

  • And I'm wondering if for those reasons it's a good time

  • to spend a little bit more money

  • than I might usually on large purchases,

  • despite the fact that I still have debt

  • that I'm working towards paying off.

  • And I'm wondering if there's a balance

  • of how much more money I can spend on myself

  • and so into paying off my debt.

  • - Oh, that's well,

  • that's good news that you are saving more money.

  • I think that as we've spoken to others

  • and when I'm talking to other clients I work with,

  • that's been a positive byproducts of this entire experience,

  • but what kind of large purchases are we thinking?

  • Like what do you have in mind?

  • - I think there's kind of two categories.

  • One is just splurging a little bit more on clothes.

  • For example, every other month

  • usually I'll make an online purchase and maybe

  • I'm more prone now to spend a hundred dollars

  • more than I would have before.

  • And then the other side is just for example,

  • I'm moving apartments next month.

  • And I have my eye on a few furniture pieces

  • that probably I wouldn't have considered before,

  • but now I'm like, okay,

  • well I haven't spent so much money the last few months.

  • Maybe it's okay to buy these now.

  • - Okay, all right.

  • So furniture and additional clothes.

  • Okay, furniture makes sense to me,

  • but clothes I'm like, where are you going?

  • Like, take me with you.

  • Where are you going?

  • 'Cause I know I'm not going to any places,

  • but so just think about this,

  • so there's needs and there are wants, right?

  • So when it comes down to our needs,

  • that's shelter, that's food, that's clothing and so forth.

  • But then there's once and these things probably do fall

  • into the categories of wants.

  • You have an apartment, you're thinking about

  • how am I gonna furnish that apartment?

  • And we have clothes like, well maybe I want

  • a few different pieces of clothing.

  • So these are wants and there's nothing wrong with wants.

  • But when we're thinking about moving into priority,

  • making wants a priority,

  • then we have to look at how are we doing financially?

  • So dialing back to, okay, moving into this apartment,

  • do you have enough money set aside just in case

  • to cover that rent, because what we don't want to happen

  • is that you spend quite a bit of money

  • on furnishing this apartment.

  • We haven't put money aside and saving for this apartment.

  • And so something happens

  • and now we've got to sell the furniture.

  • We have to move out because we haven't been prioritizing

  • putting money aside to save for that.

  • So there's nothing wrong with spending money on your wants

  • and there's nothing wrong with making it a priority.

  • As long as you have already previously prioritize creating

  • that emergency fund and that savings cushion,

  • so that things were to happen,

  • you'd still be able to pay for those basic needs.

  • How are you doing on that?

  • Have you been able to save, to create that cushion?

  • - I would say I have that cushion, but like everyone else,

  • it doesn't hurt to always save more money.

  • I always want to see that number go up.

  • So I guess I'm looking for what

  • that balance could look like.

  • - Yeah, definitely.

  • And are you currently working?

  • - I am and I'm very lucky to have job security

  • for the near future at least I see my income

  • continue to come in throughout the coronavirus.

  • - Okay, well that is good news.

  • And so you're in a pretty good position.

  • The thing with furniture,

  • it doesn't mean that you're gonna have to buy

  • the most expensive furniture in the store, right.

  • It means that we're gonna shop around for a good deal

  • and make sure we're getting the best deal.

  • And so maybe there's still a way to save on that

  • and still put money aside in savings.

  • It doesn't mean we're gonna blow

  • everything out the water.

  • So keep that in mind,

  • as you're looking at your wants and so forth.

  • I think it is, there's this theory,

  • whereas in like certain major life experiences or purchases

  • lead to more expenses such as moving into apartment

  • and moving into a specific side of town,

  • now you feel like you have to have certain things

  • in that apartment or a certain lifestyle

  • or reflected lifestyle to participate in living

  • on that side of town or maybe it's certain clothes

  • and certain wardrobe.

  • So we just have to be mindful of that,

  • what we call lifestyle creep

  • and those additional expenses creeping in.

  • But I think that you sound

  • like you're pretty solid on that.

  • So as far as your other financial goals

  • before we think about splurging

  • and taking care of wants,

  • how are you on your other financial goals?

  • So do you mind sharing maybe one short term financial goal

  • and one longterm financial goal that you have?

  • - Sure, I guess, well, they all relate to bills

  • and loans and things of that nature and debt.

  • I do have a lot of debt and I also know that for example,

  • I can made it a bunch of medical debt this past year,

  • and I know I have a lot more work to get done in the future.

  • So short term, I guess just paying my credit card bill

  • and making sure I can get to paying it off monthly

  • or quicker than I have been in my history.

  • And then longer term is just to pay off my other medical.

  • I have three different loan servicers

  • for my educational loan.

  • So kind of chipping away at all of those.

  • - Okay, all right.

  • Yeah and it doesn't sound,

  • it sounds like quite a few people are dealing with.

  • And so when we think about splurging on our wants

  • and so forth, it is also how am I doing

  • on my financial goals?

  • And if we're meeting all of our markers

  • for our financial goals and I think that since you have

  • like a few debts, unrelated goals

  • to debt elimination related goals,

  • like let's create those different markers where we say,

  • okay, I want to pay this bill down by 25%

  • or I wanna pay it down to this amount,

  • then the next amount, then the next amount,

  • so that we know, okay, I'm hitting

  • my financial goal mile markers.

  • At least now I feel more comfortable spending on my wants.

  • But if you don't have, like,

  • if you don't break down your larger financial goals

  • into smaller goals and it kind of can feel like,

  • what am I even doing this for?

  • So I want you to think about what the smaller goals are

  • and those larger goals.

  • So maybe it is all right,

  • I have a medical bill for a thousand dollars.

  • I want to pay off $250 of that.

  • So I'm left with 750.

  • I want to pay off half of that.

  • Like that can be a micro goal within your larger goal.

  • And once we reach your micro goals, like, okay,

  • now I can treat myself a little,

  • but we wanna make sure that we're making progress

  • on our goals too, before really splurging on those wants.

  • So does that make sense?

  • Does that feel realistic and comfortable for you?

  • - It definitely does.

  • And I think I have a followup question then,

  • which is 'cause all of my loans,

  • I'm paying them all on time and in the increments

  • that they has given me making the minimum payments.

  • So would this be a good time to just throw money

  • into those consciously of course,

  • but conscientiously not too much,

  • but throw that money I would have spent on clothes,

  • the extra hundred bucks into loans.

  • Is that a good idea?

  • - Yeah, if you can amp it up,

  • I would say like now, like I said, now is the time to do it.

  • Most of us aren't going any places

  • or going anywhere so forth.

  • So now is the time that you could really amp it up

  • and put that money towards paying

  • more than the minimum as possible.

  • I understand that dealing with creditors and so forth,

  • it can seem a little daunting

  • or especially if you haven't done it before

  • or aren't used to it.

  • So one of the things I actually recommend

  • is go to bettermoneyhabits.com/heretohelp

  • and actually have a few resources there

  • that can help you prepare for these conversations

  • as well as helping sure that you're more comfortable

  • having them and get the outcome more likely

  • to get outcome that works in your favor.

  • So you don't have to go into this alone.

  • I think if we have money to spend on clothes

  • and we have money and the clothes that we don't need,

  • there are certain things it's like,

  • okay, I need to transition my wardrobe to a winter wardrobe,

  • or I need to do this for workplace attire

  • or safety project.

  • But if it's not something that you need,

  • then I would say, yeah,

  • you just use it to get ahead

  • when it comes to your debt elimination.

  • And then, here's the other thing to think about

  • when it comes to purchases.

  • I think a lot of times we look

  • at I'm spending XYZ amount of money on this.

  • So I'm spending a hundred dollars on clothes,

  • but it's like, how much of your life

  • did you put aside to earning that?

  • Like how much, how long does it take you

  • to make a a hundred dollars?

  • And is it worth like, do you want to use it

  • towards your financial goals?

  • Or do you want to use it towards clothes,

  • which is essentially fulfilling someone else's goal.

  • So think about like the money you spend that way too.

  • It's not this money you spent is hours of your life

  • that you put towards bringing in that money.

  • So you want that money to work best for you.

  • - Thank you, it seems so simple,

  • but it actually feels more impactful coming from you

  • with the full rounded perspective.

  • So I really appreciate that.

  • - You're welcome and I'm really excited.

  • You're thinking about things like this.

  • I'm really excited that you're getting your own place

  • and you're moving in and hopefully,

  • you find a few items in there

  • to help furnish it inexpensively.

  • So thank you for having such great questions

  • and I'm excited for you.

  • - Thank you.

  • - And next step right here with Jen from New York,

  • take it away, Jen.

  • - Hi Tanya, my name is Jen as introduced.

  • So I'm a baker and I laid off during the coronavirus

  • and because the restaurant industry

  • is so influx at this moment and it's really uncertain

  • on what kind of jobs are available.

  • I'm looking to kind of pivot into new direction,

  • whether that be something related to my field or not.

  • And my question is how can I plan to save money

  • enough to focus on looking towards a new career

  • while this is going on?

  • - Yeah, Jen, the restaurant industry

  • has been hit really hard,

  • but as a baker, I'm curious,

  • what's your favorite thing to bake?

  • - I love baking cookies

  • and I'm really into decorating cakes.

  • Like I kind of would love to pivot into that in the future,

  • but I have a tiny apartment

  • and I really can't put it all in one go in that fridge.

  • - I understand, I mean, you need commercial kitchens

  • and all these other things like that too,

  • but I love cookies.

  • So if I lived in New York,

  • I would definitely be one of your,

  • I would buy cookies from you right now

  • because I'm not the best baker.

  • But I think that you're wise to think about

  • your different options.

  • Like if you really love baking,

  • I think that there are certain ways that you can continue

  • to grow in that career path.

  • But thinking about saving,

  • like I always say savings is essential

  • regardless of what you have going on.

  • So unless you just like inherited a large amount of money

  • or unless you've been saving

  • and so you're financially comfortable,

  • but if you're not in any of those positions,

  • which most people aren't,

  • I would definitely recommend that we focus on.

  • Okay, so what are different ways

  • that we can leverage the skillset right now

  • to add to our savings so that we have

  • that three to six month cushion

  • that makes us feel comfortable.

  • Outside of coronavirus, I recommend that someone

  • has three to six months and savings.

  • Now, it's kind of like if you had the ability

  • then six to 12 months of savings,

  • because one of the things about economic downturns

  • is we don't necessarily know how long they could last.

  • So this could be something

  • that's over at the end of this year.

  • This could be something that is ongoing until,

  • the next three to four years.

  • And so we want to be as financially prepared as possible.

  • - In the beginning when I was laid off,

  • I applied for unemployment.

  • So I've been receiving my weekly

  • and then the additional payment on top of that.

  • And again, I've been reaching out to certain friends

  • who want any pastries and offering them

  • on a friend to friend basis

  • or a lower rate than I would probably charge

  • for something normally.

  • And so it's been a slow climb in finances,

  • but I make ends meet with the unemployment

  • and just kind of supplementing myself a little bit,

  • but I don't have anything like part time going on.

  • I'm not doing any side gigs that like require me

  • to be around a lot of people.

  • So it's just more on the need basis.

  • - So we need to think about other ways that we can bring in

  • that revenue so that you can begin to pivot and transition.

  • And so we're thinking about it.

  • It's like, okay, what are different things that I can do?

  • Maybe it is, I think that now is the opportunity

  • maybe for you to start growing your online community,

  • because there are people who might not live near you,

  • who are willing to pay for access

  • to some of the knowledge you have

  • or show up for, they have time they're at home.

  • They're like, Hey, I'm going to bake a cake with Jen today.

  • And so they, you could say,

  • I'm gonna show up at this time

  • and I'll be baking a cake on Instagram, live,

  • get your ingredients and you can do it along with me.

  • Or you can start to maybe deliver some of these ingredients

  • to people or help them decide.

  • This is exactly what I need.

  • So I think one of the appeals

  • to a lot of those delivery food boxes

  • is that they premeasured the contents for you.

  • But I haven't seen the dessert one

  • and so maybe that's small curated thing

  • that you could offer,

  • just so that when you bring in that money,

  • you can put it into your savings account.

  • So it is important to think about,

  • I'm bringing in this extra money,

  • I'm putting it directly into my savings account

  • instead of using it on something that's not essential

  • or not important because that's gonna

  • to help you create that transition fund.

  • How do you feel about that?

  • - Yeah, so focus more on saving in longterm

  • than just taking the money that I've earned right away

  • and spending it right back.

  • - Yeah, yeah.

  • Especially if we're thinking about a transition

  • and I'm curious, what kind of transition are you looking at?

  • Is it, I know that you said maybe in your industry,

  • but what other options are you looking at?

  • - Well, I like the ins and outs of publishing.

  • Like if I've ever been able to put a cookbook together.

  • - It can seem arduous,

  • especially given that finances might already be constrained.

  • There are so many resources online.

  • One of my favorites is Canva

  • where you could publish your own PDFs and so forth.

  • And they have all these nice images

  • and you don't have to be a design expert

  • in order to create your own book

  • or create your own whatever it cookbook

  • or whatever you may want to create.

  • And then you can upload that.

  • And the great thing about creating something

  • is that you'll have passive income.

  • And so I don't think enough people also talk about

  • passive income when it comes to your saving strategy

  • and your longterm goals,

  • but it is looking for ways that are active.

  • So baking a cake is active income,

  • and it requires you to go out and get the ingredients,

  • bake it, sell it to someone,

  • arrange the delivery of it or whatever it may be.

  • Whereas in passive income, it's like, okay,

  • maybe you can put your recipes together.

  • Maybe there's this awesome cookie recipe

  • that you developed and you want to sell it

  • in a few others that you wanna sell.

  • You can upload those online

  • and you could still be selling those

  • five years down the line.

  • Even after everything has settled,

  • you can still bring in that passive revenue from it.

  • You can make it so that your passive revenue

  • goes automatically into your savings account.

  • So it's already, it's deemed being deposited

  • into that savings account.

  • So you're still automatically

  • building your savings, but passively.

  • So think about that there are different ways

  • that you can build it.

  • It doesn't necessarily have to just be active,

  • but I'm looking forward to what you come up with.

  • And I wished that I could taste you some of your cookies

  • 'cause I am a cookie monster.

  • - Okay, well, we'll stay in touch.

  • Anytime you want something.

  • - Tanya, thank you so much for this great discussion.

  • You had some fantastic advice.

  • I really appreciate it.

  • And a big thanks to our guests who shared

  • so much about their personal situations.

  • - Thank you again to everyone

  • for watching Money Talks, Home Habits,

  • powered by Bank of America.

  • We hope this event was able to provide some guidance

  • and help you prepare for a better financial future.

  • (gentle music)

(gentle music)

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How to prioritize and manage savings when home [Advertiser content from Bank of America]

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    林宜悉 發佈於 2020 年 09 月 12 日
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