What if you were able to come out of this time of social distancing and economic crisis with a stronger and healthier financial life? What if you looked at this as an opportunity to take a little bit of your extra time each day to work on your finances?
Since it takes me about 35 minutes to drive to work in the morning and 45 minutes on the way back home, I have an extra 1 hour and 20 minutes of my day that I don’t have to drive while I’m working from home that I can use to accomplish something. This doesn’t even take into consideration all of the networking and social events that would usually take up some of my time throughout the week.
Obviously, your situation is different than mine (and probably a whole lot different if you have kids at home who would otherwise be in daycare), but I’m guessing that we all have at least a little extra time right now that we can dedicate to our personal finances.
It looks like we’re going to continue to practice our social distancing skills at least through April, and now is a great time to work on creating a better financial situation, so I’m giving you 30 days of stay-at-home personal finance wins throughout April.
Unfortunately, I understand that there are many who have (and who will) lose their jobs during this time of uncertainty and objectively will not come out on the other side of this with a stronger financial situation. Hopefully, many of these personal finance wins can help to lessen the blow and make things easier on them. On the other hand, I think that many of these wins are still relevant to those who are fortunate enough to be in a position to not have to worry about their job and their finances to help them build a healthier financial life.
Day 4: File Your Tax Return (Maybe)
Now is a great time to work on starting or increasing your emergency fund and a tax refund could be a huge benefit to help with that goal. On the other hand, having to pay taxes that you owe could put many in a less than desirable situation, especially during this time of uncertainty.
Although the 2020 tax filing deadline has been extended from April 15 to July 15 in response to COVID-19 as a way to provide relief for those who will owe taxes when they file, those who will be owed a refund should still file their tax returns ASAP. If you’re owed a tax refund, then you’ve essentially given the government an interest-free loan that you could have otherwise used throughout the year to benefit yourself. The refund could be a great way to start or bolster your emergency fund.
Obviously, those who will owe taxes when they file their return have an incentive to wait to file until closer to the new deadline.
30 Days Of Stay-At-Home Personal Finance Wins
