As the Pandemic is going into it’s second phase, more and more people are starting to feel the financial pressure. People are getting there hours cut back, losing their jobs and see there savings start to dwindle. U. S. bankruptcies are at a 10 year high.
If you’ve lost you job or had your hours get cut back, make sure you have applied for unemployment and check to make sure that you are taking advantage of government stimulus currently available to you, both on the state side and the federal side. The federal government is providing a supplement to unemployment and if you haven’t applied for these benefits sometimes you can get them retroactively. The federal government will give you up to $600 a week extra and your unemployment can be extended for up to 13 additional weeks.
More details on unemployment at:https://www.usa.gov/unemployment
Loan payment companies are offering payment arrangements or deferrals, if you can’t make your loan payments because of a layoff due to COVID. You might also consider taking a home equity line out against the value of your home. The process is straight forward and many lenders will give you an answer over the phone.
If you’re behind on your mortgage payments, many banks are taking your missed payments to the end of your mortgage. If your are a renter, try your best to make your rent payment. States like California have placed a moratorium on evictions. So you can’t be evicted from your home. You’re still going to have to pay the money back at some point, so try to stay current. Also check your current state, they might be offering rental assistance which would give you money to pay your rent.
Congress will soon be releasing a $900 billion stimulus deal, so some economic relief is coming soon.
The important thing is to make sure you stay in communication with your lenders and creditors. Don’t put off making contact because this could cause your credit score to suffer when there was an easy solution to the problem.
With the current vaccines being released the economy should start to recover in the next 6 months and things will start going back to normal.