A Fulfilling Life
The 2020 pandemic caught many people in Oklahoma off guard. However, viewing the glass as half full, there are positive lessons learned to use for the future. Things such as having a safety net, importance of family, and job security, are a few examples.
Living Within Your Means
More than half of the workforce lives life paycheck-to-paycheck. Unfortunately, this past year they found out the hard way that having too much debt and no savings leads to financial turmoil.
On a positive note, if that sounds all too familiar, you can reverse course and experience a better quality of life. It’s quite easy to accumulate debt. You buy a home, a new car and apply for a few credit cards. However, once your debt consumes more than half of your net earnings, you have difficulty making payments on your monthly bills. The good news is there are several ways to reduce debt.
You can pay more to one credit card, the one with either the highest balance or highest interest rate, and use this method until you pay the last one off. Some people have too much debt deriving from many places. They can’t make even the minimum monthly payment required. If this is your scenario, finding personal loans in Lawton, Oklahoma, or wherever you live, through a reputable lender, will make it easy to consolidate the credit card debt to a lower, and affordable fixed monthly payment. In the future, it’s critical to borrow only when necessary to avoid creating additional debt.
Earning Extra Money
The lockdown brought to light the importance of having a safety net. Money in reserve will allow you to continue to pay your bills regardless of any unforeseen circumstances. Thankfully, there are many ways to build savings. You can take on a part-time job and put your earnings directly into a savings account for emergencies. For example, the housing market is booming. Having a side hustle in real estate can become lucrative. If you have skills in writing, consulting, or teaching, you can use them to earn additional income.
Paying down debt will also free up money that you can use to fund savings.
Money Now and Later
Having savings for emergencies is just the beginning. In addition, you also need money set aside for things like college, vacations and retirement. Creating and sticking to a household budget will allow you to achieve all your goals, living well now and in your golden years. It brings an awareness to poor spending habits, allowing you to make better decisions. You also pay attention to charges on monthly utility, cable and cell phone bills. As a result, you discover ways to reduce costs across the board.
Family Time
Most households have at least one parent working in a very stressful job. As a result, they miss out on quality family time. Recent events caused many people living in Oklahoma to spend more time than usual with their loved ones. At first, this new environment may have been overwhelming. However, as time moved, they probably saw what they were missing. Some families may have taken to doing some research on their family history together, using resources like this surname meaning search as a jumping off point to potentially unlocking whole new sides to their family that they didn’t previously know about. Even though many places weren’t open, they likely found other ways to enjoy each day together. Nature walks in the park or even around the backyard became a weekly adventure and learning experience. Movie and game night and cooking meals are now something the family looks forward to. Everyone pitches in to help with household chores and the focus on spending time as a family is a priority.
The 2020 pandemic opened the eyes of many Americans. They now understand the importance of reducing debt, having a safety net, and savings for college, vacations and retirement. They also have an emphasis on strengthening the precious family bond.