We are currently experiencing a difficult and unpredictable time among the recent COVID-19/Cornona Virus outbreak. This has had substantial impacts on the economy, including the stock market facing a massive drop. I wanted to discuss my thoughts about if I will be making any changes to my investment strategy, what I will be keeping the same and my personal recommendations.
EMERGENCY FUND
If you currently do not have an emergency fund of at least 3 months of expenses, I would highly recommend starting to focus on saving cash to build this. In this unpredictable time, there is a good chance that cash reserves are needed, especially due to job instabilities in this COVID-19 situation.
I am a very anxious person that always over-prepares, therefore I am fortunate enough to have an 18 month emergency fund in cash savings. This will allow me to survive if the current economic climate results in a job loss or any other financial emergency. I have listed this information first as it has dictated the rest of my investment strategy.
INVESTING
As I am fortunate enough to have a large emergency fund and a full-time job (at the moment!) – I will continue to invest in the stock market. I invest when I get paid each month, and will continue to do this. The current market drops do not stress me out as my portfolio has another 30+ years to recover. I am not trying to time the market, and am continuing to invest in low-cost, index funds. I also avoid looking at my portfolio and stay updated on the market by reading the news. This means that the current COVID-19 virus has not greatly impacted this aspect of my finances.
WORK AND INCOME
I am going to be honest – this is the part that stresses me out the most. As previously mentioned, I work in marketing and do a lot with large events and conferences. As a result of the virus, I have had to cancel a lot of these events which has also reduced my value at work. Furthermore, many businesses do not consider marketing as an “essential” department and is often the first to get cut in a recession. This is another reason that I have such a large emergency fund, because I was aware of what my industry is like. This may change my finances in the coming months – let’s see how we go!
TOILET PAPER
Not looking great. I am down to 1.5 rolls…