5 Financial Steps to Take During the Covid-19 Outbreak with Bradley Rancourt & Stephanie Jameson

As thousands of businesses are forced to shut their doors and millions of Americans file for unemployment, many people are starting to ask themselves, “Will I run out of money before this ends?” Brad & Stephanie sit down to discuss 5 steps everyone can do right now to get control of their finances now, and going forward.

Hosts
Stephanie - @giveasweat
Bradley - @Bradley.Rancourt
@giveStrength

Free Financial Guide
https://www.givestrengthwellness.com/

Transcript

spk_0:   0:00
Brian. I don't come from money. So anybody we've earned has been because we worked our booties off. We're not smarter or more talented or more deserving of money than anyone else. You, Tonto, actually think those affirmations I give the dogs and you just over here Them I thought you were talking about, you know, was there for our dogs.

spk_2:   0:29
After spending years growing a business rooted in a mission of giving back, Brad and Stephanie are here to give strength Thio all areas of your life. Get ready to hear from experts in every field, from finance and fitness to mindset, relationships and entrepreneurship. This is the gift strength podcast.

spk_1:   1:01
Welcome to the gifts during podcast today, guys, we are bringing you a many episode with your Stephanie and myself were calling these of the quickie.

spk_0:   1:10
Wait, are we really calling our assistant? You can't just make an executive decision

spk_1:   1:17
record like so. This'll might be the only ever so called the quickie. But for now, you guys are here and it's called quick.

spk_0:   1:29
Well, in this short episode bad. What are we talking about?

spk_1:   1:33
They were gonna talk about financial sets that you could take during this covert 19 epidemic.

spk_0:   1:40
Yeah. So Brad and I were pleasantly surprised when all this went down that we were just fine. Financially, um, we lost about 90% of our income very quickly at Justin. Justin, how you view so that that other 10 was holding on strong. But fortunately, you know, we've been very diligent about our finances, So we've been saving and investing. So as of right now, we're fine, and we should be fine for the rest of the year of things still go as they do. So we just wanted to share some of the information we've been using. We wanted to give you some tips because we know that, you know, financial insecurity, Israel. But a lot of America is in debt. A lot of America has lost their jobs right now, So we want to give you some hope. And this is, you know, a really big time for opportunity so we can revamp our finances. We can get ourselves on track and make sure that you are set for the future in case something like this ever happens again.

spk_1:   2:35
Also, let's get into it. Guys are first up. This step is something that everyone should take advantage of it is reassess how much money you are actually bringing.

spk_0:   2:46
Yeah. So if you did lose your job or your hours were cut or if you're running a business and you lost 90% of your income, you just need to put it on paper and be very riel about what money is coming in right now. It could be the same as it's always been. It could be drastically different. But you need to know what that number is.

spk_1:   3:04
And for my money avoiders out there, that means you just gonna figure it out for the first time, right? Take this time to take this moment, See how much money you make and let's make a budget.

spk_0:   3:14
Yes. So let's get real for a second bread When I first suggested this years ago No, no, definitely not

spk_1:   3:23
changed the memory. My house.

spk_0:   3:26
That's convenient. However you want to remember it. But there was some resistance there. You don't want to see the numbers, right?

spk_1:   3:32
I did not want to see the numbers. Uh, definitely have money. Avoider growing up wasn't, like, stressed about the money situation, but also didn't want to see it. Didn't want it to believe that Thank you basically didn't want to write the check because I didn't leave the bank out. So it's easier to step away it then to look at what's going up

spk_0:   3:52
in theory. But then you forgot to pay bills and Brandon Tissue.

spk_1:   3:56
There's only a couple times in the next life, maybe two, before

spk_0:   4:02
he has. I'm sitting on the couch. Serenity work and everything shuts off in our apartment. That was fun. Those good times, basically, what I'm on about maybe losing, losing your power and having to pay big used to get it back on. Uh, that's Ah, that's a conversation for another time. But no, honestly, you guys brought is, you know, like he said a money avoider, and I get it or used to be he's grown a lot in that, but, um, I get it. It's scary to look at your bank account, especially, but smaller than you think it was or the smaller than it was before. But knowing is so much more powerful than not knowing, and you need to know this summer, guys. So write it down. How much you're making every month right now, as is

spk_1:   4:42
usually the assistant number two Step number two is to figure out your minimum monthly burn. Meaning how much money do you need? A minimum for groceries. Wrench for insurance payments, The stuff that's not going to go away. The stuff that you have to have to live.

spk_0:   5:02
Yeah. So this is not, um, Lulu. This is not Netflix. This is not a cabin on s. So maybe to Brad that $10 or how you know, so not clothing, makeup, not anything like that. You guys, this is essentials. Things you need to live. So like, Bread said that's usually right or mortgage. That's whatever utilities, that's whatever minimum credit payments you have to make. So make a list of essentials and non essentials and that all those essentials, that's your minimum monthly burn. That's somebody you need to survive every month.

spk_1:   5:37
You know we're gonna categorize it is that, but also like since we're doing this practice, all those other expenses, If you're gonna keep doing them, then you know what? I know that number as well. But the minimum monthly burn just allows those people that it might not be making as much money as we used to to really figure out how much money you need to survive through this panda.

spk_0:   5:56
Totally. And once you have step number one and two done, you can look at those non essentials. So the make up the $8 latte. We bought it Alfred yesterday with my dirty chai with two shots and milk.

spk_1:   6:13
Oh, my God. That's so they have. You need to try that. It's out of the iceman. Doesn't have three eyes, like should realize

spk_0:   6:22
that this is not a coffee fair. So provide that $8 in the central. No, you guys, it's a non essential. But once you look at your finances and you decided, you know what, I've got money left over and you want to buy that $8 lot, I'd buy it. That's totally fine. But you need to know that you have the money. Step number three. This'd is my favorite one.

spk_1:   6:46
Yeah, we were also kind of split step number three into kind of two categories as well. Some category one of step three is

spk_0:   6:55
I don't know. You split it.

spk_1:   6:56
I just live. Guys think it's not okay. First category is contacting your creditors. Todo your payments lower your interest rates lowered your basically everything lower.

spk_0:   7:12
Yeah, so right now, any federally health student loans are automatically deferred for six months, but you can call if you have a car payment or a car lease or any personal or business loans or just credit cards. Call them. Put some hours aside, interday, maybe one or two, and call all of them and see if you can either lower payments, lower interest rates or extend dead lights. So this is just to buy yourself a little bit of time to stay cash positive if you need Thio, the other. I called MX and we haven't platinum card, which is, Ah, hi annual piece. So it's $550 I think a year, Um, and then all of the benefits are trouble related. So their room upgrades and access to lounges at airports in that kind of thing, which obviously we're not using right now. I can't talk about this credit card actually, all day. I love this credit card. If you're gonna get one, that's the one to get, Um, but basically I called them and I said, Hey, love the card. Love using it. I'm obviously not using these benefits right now, Is there anything we can do? And they said, Sure, let's give you a $300 statement credit. So boom, $300 right there, you guys. So check out your credit card companies, even if all they do is lower your interest rate or extend deadlines. You know you're buying yourself a little bit of time, and you are save yourself some money, so call all your creditors.

spk_1:   8:33
Yeah, if they're more interesting is that you are hanging off of the knights. Take 2 12 months like that can add up to some serious money as well. Yeah, category, too. Step three. So 3.5 is getting rent deferments, things like that. And the reason I put in a separate categories because if you can't pay your rent, you're gonna have to pay it. Eventually, your landlord's a person to who kind of rely on those rent payments that we can make a mortgage payments. So if you can't you are working. We want to make sure you pay those, but if you aren't working or your hours were cut or something, like, uh, now the time to contact your landlord's ahead of time not just don't pay your rent, Not just say well when you can't charge me a fee and you can have a commie, so ha ha. Um, contact them ahead of time and see what kind of deferments you might be.

spk_0:   9:27
Yeah, like Brad was saying, if everyone just stopped being right or stopped paying their mortgages, we would run into some major financial issues with our economy, you guys. So if you can pay, please keeping, if paying is a little bit scared right now, and you need to stay cash positive. Like Brad said, Call them ahead of time. People are way more, more willing to work with you and negotiate with you if you let the know ahead of time that you're not paying. There are different regulations throughout the country as faras deferments in Los Angeles. I know there's a 12 month you can used basically 12 months to pay your rent if you skip it for the next couple months, right?

spk_1:   10:00
Yeah, you basically put down however much you can, so let's say your rent is $2000 a month so you can put down $500 for of your month's rent than the $1500 we get split up amongst the next, like 36 or 12 months.

spk_0:   10:16
Yeah. So you need to set that up with your landlord. You can't just not pay.

spk_1:   10:20
Yes. And those payments aren't coming. Eventually again. So if you can't pay and imaginative staying down that way, you don't have to try to, like, juggle your finances. Because then you might get yourself in a situation where you spend the money. And now you don't have money in your paper.

spk_0:   10:34
Yeah. My suggestion would be, if you are going to defer still, act like you are paying rent, put it in a separate savings account, Do whatever you need to. D'oh. So if your rent is $2000 a month, take that and put it in a separate account and just let it be there. It's there, Case of emergency, but you still have it because you're gonna have to pay the rent. No one's getting pre right right now. All right. Step number four here is sign up for a CZ. Much free money as you possibly can on a mother. Mother, mother, Mother, Mother, Get that for you Money. So There have been a lot of government and the private business relief fund set up. We do know now, but the PPP, the paycheck protection program, ran out of money. They're trying to refund it, but small businesses or independent contractors, even there are some protections. And there are some funds for you because the PPP ran out that showing us that the people that signed up first got money first. So time is of the essence of these. Sign up for them and there are loans. There are forgivable loans. There are grants, so grants are just free money and a lot of those are set up. I know what Verizon had some T Mobile. A lot of big companies that have a lot of funds. They're setting up grants. Those could be $1000.2000 dollars, $10,000. So I would suggest Googling your city, your county googling whatever worked her in. So there's artists funds. There's performing artists, funds. There's, you know, a ton of different funds for people. Go try and get some free money.

spk_1:   12:08
This is also gonna include unemployment guys. So if you've already been let go, make sure I mean if you're bigger than a contractor. Business honor. I believe those applications opened on April 28th.

spk_0:   12:19
That is for California. So other places are already open. And on the 28 they are suggesting that people get Pete out within a couple of days. If you apply that day, I'm anticipating that site crashing things not working out of

spk_1:   12:35
my own,

spk_0:   12:36
you might. But the thing is, go train side up. A student's possible because if funds get depleted, this is a very strange time, you guys. And if the money goes away, the money goes away, right?

spk_1:   12:48
So you guys, a huge cabin after this one is do not count on that money until it is in your account. So just because you filed an application doesn't mean you're Dante to get that money we solve. One program already ran out of money. We've seen delays. The government's trying to do basically everything really fast in history shows us the government does nothing fast, so things are going to slow down. Things are gonna take longer than expected, So don't budget that money until it's actually it. Nor back

spk_0:   13:17
Yes, absolutely. All right, and the final step step number five.

spk_1:   13:22
Scariest step. The most fun step always to earn more. Mom.

spk_0:   13:29
Yeah, and we get it. That sounds like we are making something sound really simple. That's not, um, Brad and I don't come from money just putting that out there. So anybody we've earned has been because we worked our booties off, right? So we're not smarter or more talented or more deserving of money than anyone else

spk_1:   13:50
you want

spk_0:   13:53
todo actually think those affirmations I give the dogs and you just over here Them I thought you were talking. Knows there are dogs. I get my dogs affirmations every morning. It's not working, but, you know, that's just saying that sure were all handed different lots in life, right? Like some of us have it a lot easier. Some of us having a lot harder. Don't use that as an excuse to not make as much money as you want to make. The cool thing is to you guys if you make more money and if you are comfortable right now, the people that are comfortable are the ones writing checks to relief funds are the ones providing money to people that really don't have any other options right now, if you want to be that person, figure out ways to make more money.

spk_1:   14:40
Yeah, I was a little bit of tough love here cause I mean, I already exceed happening. I know it's going to happen. I'm going to have friends, family people that I follow on Instagram start posting things about how they get something, and that's the reason why they became bankrupt. And that's the reason why they can't do the things we want. D'oh! Huh? I feel for you and I am empathetic to it. But like you cast, I just realized like that's a possibility. So you have to have a friend.

spk_0:   15:11
Yeah, and we're empathetic because we've been there. We totally get it. And that's why we're doing this podcast right now is to give you some tools. So we're giving you the tools. Go do it. So some ideas for making money. Right now, you guys, everyone's on the same playing field, so people are doing Zoom and Instagram live, and they're not going to fancy studios. A lot of people don't have the fancy lighting. We bought some lights for, like, 70 bucks online or something. And there's much cheaper ones. So the shipper there's more expensive. So do what you gotta do. Go buy your pod casting equipment. Go start selling a course online. I know people that sell courses, and it's just Google docks like shared Google docks, and that's the courts. They charge money for it. So if you have something, you can provide it to the world. Start providing it. Go bake some bread. Go make some soap. Do what you gotta d'oh. Start putting more money in your bank account.

spk_1:   16:00
And if creating seems scary to you, first ways to monetize maybe like things in your closet like there's posh mark recon. So clothing there's different ways of, like selling things that you're not going to super miss. Just to make sure you're going to make sure

spk_0:   16:16
you get into that Marie condo, clean out your, you know, home. Get into those closets, cells and things you have yourself for not very much money. You're still making money that you didn't have.

spk_1:   16:26
Now I know a lot of hesitation out there in earning more money is that you don't have the complete plan, and that hesitation stopped you from doing it. So people think like, Well, I need to start a business Then I need to create a product in my product. I have to source and I have to read, get it manufacturing. I have to do all these things and then that stops you from doing anything at all. So don't let that get in the way right now. Right now, we're just in the starting phases of that, so I like to just think of it very simple. What skills do I have and how can I use those skills to help people? Because that's every product in business and service on this planet.

spk_0:   17:07
It's so true. You guys just solved a problem. And that problem can be small or big. It could be the fact that people are hungry right now. It can be that people need more masks. People are making tons of money selling masks Right now. Brad's friend converted his flag making company into a mask making company. So pivot, if you need Thio, if you're worried about inventory and all those things people have very lucrative dropped shipping companies on Amazon. So you are basically just the middleman. Someone else's producing it. Someone else is buying it. You just get it from point A to point B. So there's ways to make money right now. Don't make excuses. Find solutions. Right? So we're not looking at obstacles for looking at solutions.

spk_1:   17:45
Yeah, if you don't want a problem right now, think about what service you could use to help people. So there's a 1,000,000 people out there right now who are starting podcasts and things like that, and they don't know how to make graphics. Do you know what demographics. There's people who need editing. There's people who need these things. So what are you gonna and how can I help people?

spk_0:   18:03
Yes. And just start offering it to people. Let everyone know that you are offering the service. Tell them to tell their friends. People are also really willing right now if they do have money to contribute to other people, so do what you gotta do. Start growing that bank account a little bit more because we don't know how long this is gonna go. And we don't know if this will happen again. Well, we know something like this will definitely happen again. Maybe not a virus. Maybe it's a housing bubble. Maybe it's whatever, but we've seen this in our lifetime before and we'll probably get a couple more times.

spk_1:   18:34
Did we just finish your first quickie? No,

spk_0:   18:37
that's not what it's called. But, you know, if you want some more information, please go to give strength illness dot com. We do have a free download there, so yeah, it's the best part. It's help you

spk_1:   18:52
do these five steps

spk_0:   18:54
go to give strength bonus dot com and enter your email. You can download a free budget guide, so that's principle. You can print it out. It's gonna help divide into essentials and non essentials. It's also gonna have you tracked your income, whether that is from one source or multiple sources, and then it's got some steps to financial freedom. We're talking paying down debt, some techniques for that as well, deceiving and investing. So wherever you're at, check that out and I think we've got a block post up. That's reiterating these five steps, right? Yeah, Brad wrote a block Post

spk_1:   19:26
Stones talk about doing things that you never thought you would do.

spk_0:   19:30
Spend it. Never thought

spk_1:   19:32
I would be on our guys. I never thought I would belong But you know what I did?

spk_0:   19:37
Yes, now is the time. It feels like a scary time, you guys, but it's a time of opportunity. Our schedules are different. Our bank accounts look different. Our day to day looks drastically different. So instead of sitting in the discomfort and sitting in the fact that there's a little bit of scary stuff happening and there's a little bit of uncertainty, know that this is no rules anymore, right? So write your own rules, rewrite your life, rewrite your bank account, just jump in and do it.

spk_1:   20:06
All right.

spk_0:   20:08
It is

spk_1:   20:08
a jumper

spk_0:   20:10
quickie.

spk_2:   20:15
Thank you for listening to the gifts Strength podcast. You can give strength to our mission of bringing you valuable and interesting episodes by rating reviewing and subscribing.