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Coronavirus: How to Protect Your Personal Finances
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It’s week *insert shoulder shrug emoji here* of quarantine, and we’re all still chugging along, working from home, jumping on Zoom (ZM - Free Report) calls, baking banana bread, watching a lot of television, and just trying to get by.
While our “new normal” is beginning to feel less and less strange, there’s still an incredible amount of uncertainty, about our jobs, our health, and our future.
Because of this, reviewing your personal finances is now more important than ever.
To avoid going into panicked, stressed-out mode, start by figuring out your net worth. Calculate how much cash you have on hand, what’s in your investment portfolio(s), and your current debt load.
By laying everything out on the table, from what you owe to how much money you’re able to bring in, you’ll be able to start to feel a little more in control.
Another key step: start, or add to, an emergency savings fund.
Despite the allure of online shopping, you may have found it easier to save your money, since bars, retail shops, restaurants, and movie theaters are all still temporarily shuttered. Taking what you would have spent on dinner and a movie, for example, and putting it right into your piggy bank is a simple way to build up your fund.
But if you really want to ramp up your savings, write down all of the things you think you’ll be able to live without for the next couple of months, like your morning Starbucks (SBUX - Free Report) run or new summer clothes.
The more luxuries or non-essential items you can cut from your budget, the more you’ll be able to easily save and the bigger (and quicker) your emergency fund will grow.
Protecting Your Investment Portfolio
The spread of the coronavirus pandemic has hit the U.S. economy hard. Even though big tech stocks like Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) , Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) , and Facebook have helped drive the major indexes higher, the underlying economic data continues to be pretty dismal.
One of the simplest ways to protect your investment portfolio in a volatile climate is diversification.
Portfolio diversity does not just mean owning five stocks from five different sectors. It also means complementing stocks with bonds, real estate investments, hard assets and/or cash investments.
The more diversified a portfolio is, the less vulnerable it is to broader macroeconomic events.
Additionally, avoiding high beta stocks and sectors and favoring those that pay dividends can help your portfolio thrive during a downturn.
Do You Ever Cash Out?
Moving your entire portfolio to cash is a thought that may have crossed your mind since the market meltdown back in February.
While most advisors will tell you to not do that, there is a scenario that you could consider if you are toying with the idea:
If you are in a place where you don’t need to take on any more risk and you have all the money you’ll need for a good retirement, then moving to cash makes sense.
But that’s a very rare situation.
Overall, the amount of cash you should hold in your portfolio depends on what type of investor you are and where you are in your investment journey.
For younger investors, there’s a good chance you can recover from any losses you experience now—history has shown that the market has risen after a downtown, surpassing past highs.
For retirees, it’s a bit different. Financial advisors usually recommend having more cash on hand, but still keeping two to three years’ worth of investments you can rely on as part of your income.
Something to always keep in mind, though, if you are thinking about or are tempted to cash out a portion of your portfolio is when you would you get back into the market. Timing the stock market is incredibly difficult, if not impossible, and you may miss out on dividend payments if you own stocks that pay those nice quarterly distributions.
Final Thoughts
Economic volatility is a good time for you to both reevaluate your personal finances and your investment risk tolerance.
But always remember: reducing your exposure to risk is never a bad thing. You just have to figure out what is best for you and your investment horizon.
Zacks’ Single Best Pick to Double
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each picked their favorite to gain +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Zacks Director of Research, Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
This young company’s gigantic growth was hidden by low-volume trading, then cut short by the coronavirus. But its digital products stand out in a region where the internet economy has tripled since 2015 and looks to triple again by 2025.
Its stock price is already starting to resume its upward arc. The sky’s the limit! And the earlier you get in, the greater your potential gain.
Image: Bigstock
Coronavirus: How to Protect Your Personal Finances
It’s week *insert shoulder shrug emoji here* of quarantine, and we’re all still chugging along, working from home, jumping on Zoom (ZM - Free Report) calls, baking banana bread, watching a lot of television, and just trying to get by.
While our “new normal” is beginning to feel less and less strange, there’s still an incredible amount of uncertainty, about our jobs, our health, and our future.
Because of this, reviewing your personal finances is now more important than ever.
To avoid going into panicked, stressed-out mode, start by figuring out your net worth. Calculate how much cash you have on hand, what’s in your investment portfolio(s), and your current debt load.
By laying everything out on the table, from what you owe to how much money you’re able to bring in, you’ll be able to start to feel a little more in control.
Another key step: start, or add to, an emergency savings fund.
Despite the allure of online shopping, you may have found it easier to save your money, since bars, retail shops, restaurants, and movie theaters are all still temporarily shuttered. Taking what you would have spent on dinner and a movie, for example, and putting it right into your piggy bank is a simple way to build up your fund.
But if you really want to ramp up your savings, write down all of the things you think you’ll be able to live without for the next couple of months, like your morning Starbucks (SBUX - Free Report) run or new summer clothes.
The more luxuries or non-essential items you can cut from your budget, the more you’ll be able to easily save and the bigger (and quicker) your emergency fund will grow.
Protecting Your Investment Portfolio
The spread of the coronavirus pandemic has hit the U.S. economy hard. Even though big tech stocks like Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) , Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) , and Facebook have helped drive the major indexes higher, the underlying economic data continues to be pretty dismal.
One of the simplest ways to protect your investment portfolio in a volatile climate is diversification.
Portfolio diversity does not just mean owning five stocks from five different sectors. It also means complementing stocks with bonds, real estate investments, hard assets and/or cash investments.
The more diversified a portfolio is, the less vulnerable it is to broader macroeconomic events.
Additionally, avoiding high beta stocks and sectors and favoring those that pay dividends can help your portfolio thrive during a downturn.
Do You Ever Cash Out?
Moving your entire portfolio to cash is a thought that may have crossed your mind since the market meltdown back in February.
While most advisors will tell you to not do that, there is a scenario that you could consider if you are toying with the idea:
If you are in a place where you don’t need to take on any more risk and you have all the money you’ll need for a good retirement, then moving to cash makes sense.
But that’s a very rare situation.
Overall, the amount of cash you should hold in your portfolio depends on what type of investor you are and where you are in your investment journey.
For younger investors, there’s a good chance you can recover from any losses you experience now—history has shown that the market has risen after a downtown, surpassing past highs.
For retirees, it’s a bit different. Financial advisors usually recommend having more cash on hand, but still keeping two to three years’ worth of investments you can rely on as part of your income.
Something to always keep in mind, though, if you are thinking about or are tempted to cash out a portion of your portfolio is when you would you get back into the market. Timing the stock market is incredibly difficult, if not impossible, and you may miss out on dividend payments if you own stocks that pay those nice quarterly distributions.
Final Thoughts
Economic volatility is a good time for you to both reevaluate your personal finances and your investment risk tolerance.
But always remember: reducing your exposure to risk is never a bad thing. You just have to figure out what is best for you and your investment horizon.
Zacks’ Single Best Pick to Double
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each picked their favorite to gain +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Zacks Director of Research, Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
This young company’s gigantic growth was hidden by low-volume trading, then cut short by the coronavirus. But its digital products stand out in a region where the internet economy has tripled since 2015 and looks to triple again by 2025.
Its stock price is already starting to resume its upward arc. The sky’s the limit! And the earlier you get in, the greater your potential gain.
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