How many times in your life have you heard that you should have 3 – 6 month’s worth of expenses saved for an emergency? I know I have heard it over and over. From a teacher in high school. From my Mother. From listening to the Dave Ramsey show. I have heard it SO MANY TIMES, and I had the best intentions, but it hasn’t happened. There has always been something that came up that caused us to deplete it, or to stop us from saving. We have made huge financial gains through careful spending over the last few years, and thankfully we still have some income and we will get through – but man, it would have been lovely to be sitting on 3 – 6 month’s worth of money. To know without a doubt that this pandemic isn’t going to cause us to go into debt, and we don’t have to worry for at least 3 – 6 months. So my question to you is – did you have an emergency fund in place? If so congratulations, and I want to hear – how did it make you feel to know that you don’t have to think about finances in the coming months? Did you feel relief or are you still freaking out at having to actually use that money? Less panicked than friends who didn’t? If you didn’t – where does that leave you? Are you going to get through this, or are you now scrambling and at risk of losing your home or struggling to feed your family?

I am hoping and praying that all of you listening are going to be able to get through without having to look at those worst case scenario options. If you are in a position where you have no income PLEASE look into what options are available in your area. I know for us in Canada the government has put a LOT of supports in place, and I have heard that other countries are offering help to their citizens as well. Check your government websites, reach out to local online communities and ask for help navigating the system and finding out what help is available. Contact your bank and ask about payment deferrals, credit options, and any other way they might be able to bridge the gap. Call companies that you have services with and ask if it is possible to suspend them, or if they are offering relief. A lot of the companies that I do business with – includes Adobe, Dubsado, and Showit have all offered 2 months off for clients who have lost their income due to COVID19.  Reach out to local churches, food banks, and agencies that might be able to help with essential supplies. I have even heard that some Tim Horton’s locations are offering free meals for kids – there are LOTS of companies, agencies and people willing to help if you can get a bit resourceful and not be afraid to ask for help. Communication is a big piece here – if you aren’t going to be able to make rent, call your landlord ahead of time. If you can’t pay your hydro, water, gas, or car payment – reach out to the companies to ask what your options are. If you stick your head in the sand and just let due dates pass and bills pile up its going to get ugly, but most companies are going to be willing to work with someone who calls up and respectfully explains their situation and asks for options – especially considering everything that is happening in the world right now.

I have also seen tons of people posting that they are willing to help out with groceries or paying bills for anyone who needs the help – and its ok to accept that help if you need it. This is an exceptional time and it is going to call on us to be both exceptionally generous and exceptionally vulnerable. Whether you are on the side that is able to give and needs to step up and offer, or the side that needs help and needs to swallow their pride and ask – please know it is ok. Either side is ok to be on, we are in it together and we will get through it together.

I also want to encourage anyone who is in a position of need to check out last week’s episode on how we can innovate and get a bit creative and scrappy to get some income coming in. If you are in Canada and have applied for the CERB then this won’t likely