I almost gave this episode the following title: Dreaming of a Life After COVID. But, I quickly changed my mind because of something that this whole crazy situation made me realize. There’s no point in thinking about life after COVID. The question I realized that we needed to ask ourselves is how do we want to live our lives NOW? Unfortunately, it’s becoming clear that we have at least another year of dealing with the Coronavirus. Life won’t stop between now and then. This new reality means that all of us need to start asking ourselves some very different questions that maybe we should have been asking ourselves before all of this craziness started. In this podcast episode I will share 5 life lessons learned during the Rona.
To access the show notes for this episode go to michelleismoneyhungry.com/life-lessons-learned
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Show Notes
Life Lesson #1
Now is the time to do the thing. Whatever that thing is that you’ve been dragging your feet on.
- Write that 1st book
- Launch that product
- Try out for the dance squad even if you’re well past 20
- Lose or gain the weight
- Create that community
- Hike that mountain
- Start planning that adventure trip
- Become a parent (natural/foster/etc)
- Start your business
- Become a DJ
- Learn a new language
- Finish paying off that debt
- DATE
- You get the picture, whatever it is that you’ve been overthinking stop and get started on it.
Lesson #2
At the heart of Personal Finance is developing the ability to learn how to manage financial uncertainty. And, it’s freaking hard to do. Here are some of the aspects of managing your personal finances that are all about uncertainty:
- There will always be circumstances outside of your control. Examples include:
- Pandemics
- Layoffs
- Your supervisor’s moods
- Personal habits
- Personal financial knowledge
- Access to financial tools
- Right now I have $6,000 in unsecured debt left to pay off and another $8,000 bill and student loans. My goal is to pay off the first two debts by the end of the summer so that I just have to focus on my student loans. It felt like this pandemic happened at the wrong freaking time. I was looking to ramp things up and knock out those two bills this year. But, honestly, stuff always happens at the wrong time. And, my plans are still the same. I just have to approach my plan differently than previously planned.
- What I’ve learned about financial uncertainty? I will be a lot more aggressive when planning for it and that a savings account of 1 year is my newest goal.
- Here’s how to manage that uncertainty. First, take an inventory of your life to see where that uncertainty shows up.
- Look at your job security
- Your ability to earn money
- Your debt load
- Your extended family’s financial situation
- Your insurance:
- Health
- Life
- Home
- Examine your budget and look for ways to gain access to the same things by spending less. Here are some examples:
- I spent $18 on transportation in the month of April and $12 of that was my car share membership
- Clothing-Do you really need to buy new clothes? No one has seen you in person for months
- Groceries-I still use Ibotta, my favorite savings app for groceries. Sign up with my affiliate link and eaaran $10 towards your first $20 payout when you redeem your first savings.
- Cell phone-I use Mint Mobile and pay $400 a year for phone service. And, Ryan Gosling calls us sometimes. I’m serious.
Lesson #3 Check Your Privilege
There have been many instances in my life where I was on the exact opposite of anything that resembled privilege. Like when I lived in a studio with my mom supporting the two of on Starbucks money and student loans depressed and broke. So, if you’re listening to the show and you’re like Michelle what privilege? I get it. However right now I do have some privilege and I want to share it as a lesson in becoming self-aware. What does my privilege look like right now?
- I live in a neighborhood that’s close to a huge park where I can recreate safely during this time.
- I can order groceries for delivery. In fact, I found a new local service that has a sustainable focus and $24 a box for fresh veggies and fruits
- I’m able to go to my local coffee shop and talk to people from a distance. As a person who lives on my own, that has been great for my mental health.
- I work from home.
- I have access to the internet via my laptop.
- I own a smart phone and have access to the internet with that too.
- I have access to entertainment.
- I take free fitness classes with a local fitness center that I work on very small projects for each week. Think an hour a week.
Why do I share my privilege list? So that all of us can gain some perspective on what does privilege look like at a time like this. Spend some time working through your list too.
Lesson #4
People are paying attention to what you’re doing. Seriously. People are watching and noticing the following:
- If you’re nice, snarky, empathetic, selfish, lack empathy, etc. We are noticing how you are. And, because we can’t leave home, we are hyper aware of what other people are doing.
We should always be self-aware, but now, it’s extra important to pay attention to how you’re showing up as a human in this world now. Mark Cuban said the following about this moment “How companies respond to that very question is going to define their brand for decades. If you rushed in and somebody got sick, you were that company. If you didn’t take care of your employees or stakeholders and put them first, you were that company.” This observation applies even if you’re not a business person.
Lesson #5
Don’t Take Things for Granted
It pains me to say that I took it for granted that I would be able to do what I wanted to when I wanted to do whatever it was I wanted. That was a mistake.
- I love to travel internationally and I haven’t traveled abroad since the end of 2014 when I spent 2 months in Australia and Hawaii.
- I was looking forward to traveling internationally towards the end of the year. I’m now very aware that it may be incredibly difficult for Americans to travel internationally for the next couple of years. Damn.
- I took it for granted that I have plenty of time to do the things that I want to do. And the fact of the matter is, there is no guarantee of the amount of time that you will have to do what you want to do.
Do It Now
Weirdly enough at the end of 2019 when I was updating my social media images I added one that said the following “Sometimes later becomes never. Do it now.” I never realized how prophetic those words would be and how much I would find myself questioning myself and all of the ways I waited to do whatever it is I’ve wanted to do.
Things that I will be doing moving forward:
- Dressing up-I love to dress up and in the past 5 or 6 years I stopped dressing up as I focused on paying off debt and trying to clean up my financial life.
- Auditioning for dance squads-I’m not 20 anymore but I still absolutely love dancing and I don’t give a crap anymore that I’m not 20.
- Learning to become a DJ. This has been on my list for years. Time to get on this.
- Living abroad again. Real talk, I love living in Colorado but I need a break from the US for awhile. Like at least a year. It’s not you America, it’s me.
- Stepping into my moment as an entrepreneur-It’s embarrassing to admit this but I’ve played it small a lot more than I would like to admit. No more. Playing small keeps me from living in my purpose and from helping other people.
- Kicking fear squarely in the nuts and living the life that I dream of for myself.
Because honestly, surviving a once in a lifetime pandemic has taught me a lot about myself, some off the ways that I’ve let myself down, and some of the ways I’ve listened to myself.
At the end of the day, consider this moment a second chance, a reboot, a redo. Don’t squander it.
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I agree if people are waiting for this to be “over” they are going to be waiting a LONG ass time. It’s just not going to happen in the way we originally had hoped. Just gotta get out there and deal with what currently is.
There is no point in waiting for later. So with that in mind, I’m really focusing on right now.
I have read the Waiting Place section from Oh the Places You’ll Go! to JB a hundred times and I still forget not to let myself get stuck there. Something about planning things makes me insist on everything happening in a particular order “at the right time”. Some of that is legitimately making sure I don’t overcommit because I do that A LOT but some *is* because of that comes from waiting for the elusive never to come “right time”.
And for me needing a break from America, it’s totally America. It’s not me. I would love this place if it would be better.
There is no right time. Seriously, I’ve learned this the hard way. Michelle 2.0 is going to frighten people because I don’t give a sh$t anymore. I thought you lived in Canada? And, I totally need a break too. Like at least a year abroad.