What crazy times we’re living in, right?
We’ve been under stay-at-home and shelter-in-place orders for three years now (wait, sorry, I’m being told it hasn’t actually been that long – it just feels that way), BlackRock CEO Larry Fink estimated yesterday that nearly 7.5 million small businesses may go out of business as a result of COVID-19 (for context, that’s nearly 5x as many small businesses as we lost in the Great Recession in 2008), and the S&P 500 is only just about 10% off its record highs, suggesting that Wall Street thinks that, in spite of everything else, we’re only just over 10% screwed up as a country. It feels like more than that to me.
Let’s say that you’re like many other small business owners: You’ve applied for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and possibly the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program to see what resources may be available. You may have even received your Economic Impact Payment, or recovery/stimulus check, too.
Where do you go from here? Here are my thoughts:
- Start with the basics. What is your family budget? How much do you need each want? Where are you, or have you been spending money that you just don’t need to? This is a great time to build a family budget and evaluate where/how you have been spending your money. Check out Mint.com or YNAB – both are great resources for tracking spending. Or reach out to our team; we would love to help point you in the right direction and/or help you build a budget!
Click here to check out YNAB: https://www.youneedabudget.com/
Click here to check out Mint: https://www.mint.com/
- Refinance consumer debt. Are you paying interest on credit card purchases, either business or personal? Have you considered an introductory offer on a new credit card? Many banks offer introductory offers of 0% APR when you setup a credit card account with them – some for as long as 15-24 months! That means you pay 0% interest on those purchases, or that balance until the end of the term (and never if you pay off the card before then). That’s the cheapest money you can find.
Nerdwallet.com (https://www.nerdwallet.com/best/credit-cards/low-interest) offers a great comparison of low-interest credit card offers you may want to consider.
You may also want to consider options for unsecured loans, either through your bank or online lenders. Shop your rates and consolidate total debt into one place.
- Review your current and prior year tax returns. So many people allow accountants to make decisions for them on things like depreciation elections that may or may not be in their best interest. Maybe your accountant, or the online tax program (such as TurboTax or H&R Block) missed one or more major deductions that you could or should be claiming.
Sometimes a second look can yield great savings, and an opportunity for an additional refund. If you feel like you could benefit from a second look, we’d love to help! Reach out and let us know – we’ll do a review for you (no charge or fee) to let you know if there’s additional savings for you.
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