Your Summer Pivot Plan
The majority of our summer plans have been canceled.
The first order of business: give ourselves space to grieve the lost graduations, pool parties, tropical vacations, baby showers, etc.
Then, it’s time to get to work and find the financial silver lining.
The average American goes into $1,600 worth of debt in the summer. According to a MassMutual study, it’s all because of one thing: FOMO.
Miss Corona has taken care of that for us—lately, the only thing I’ve been scared of missing out on is the latest Ina Garten recipe via Instagram.
There’s never been a summer like this one. There’s never been a summer where the coolest thing you can do is stay home.
How can we use this to our advantage?
The next 3 steps will help you take stock of your pre-Corona plans and turn them into gold. So come fall, you might not be tanned & traveled, but at least you’ll be financially secure.
1) Calculate the total cost of all trips you planned to take this summer.
Make sure you take the time to request refunds for whatever you already purchased!
Questions to ask yourself for each trip:
How much was my flight?
How much did I plan to spend on lodging?
How much did I plan to spend on food and drinks?
How much did I plan to spend on transportation while there?
How much would I have spent on any supplies/clothes to prepare/while there?
Add up each trip for your grand summer spending total.
2) Take the total cost of your most expensive trip and cut it in half.
This will be your new pivot fund. You can use it to buy fun summer supplies, go camping, plan a local trip, or just treat yourself to something summery that you can wear around your house.
In no way will this replace your original plans—physically or emotionally—but the act of setting aside a certain amount of discretionary spending can help you feel more in control, and less likely to overspend.
3) Commit to saving the rest of your travel total by the end of summer.
Imagine heading into September with thousands of extra dollars in your high-yield savings account. You’ll feel confident and ready to take on the rest of 2020 (whatever she may bring).
If you have plans to invest, you need to have cash first. Which is why we’re launching a new course…
Bonus: Join 6-Figure Savings
6 Figure Savings is for women who want to get clear on their savings goals, structure their emergency fund, and build a confident system for automating money to the right accounts. And saving like you mean it is the first step to building real wealth.