Money Talks Blog by Oxford Planning Group

With all the news reports on coronavirus, specifically COVID-19, it's hard not to be concerned. There are new reports out daily that bring new fears about health and the markets. 

Health Concern

Coronaviruses are not new themselves. They are a large family of viruses common in many animals and rarely infect humans. However, this specific coronavirus has not been seen before. 

The CDC has stated that the new coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads from close person-to-person contact through respiratory droplets. Close contact counts as about 6 feet apart. A person may be able to pick the virus up from surfaces recently in contact with an infected person. People are thought to be most contagious when they are the sickest and showing symptoms; however, the virus may be able to be spread when someone is asymptomatic. The coronavirus is still considered an emerging virus and there is a lot to be learned about it. 

Right now, the concern to the U.S. general population is listed as low.  Keeping up with current news to stay informed on the virus is a good idea. While the coronavirus is not a high threat yet, flu season is still here. The best recommendations right now are to stay current on news and keep good hygiene practices. Avoid touching your eyes and face while out in public, wash your hands thoroughly, avoid close contact with anyone who is sick. If you haven't already gotten your yearly flu shot, it's a good time to get that as well. While it won't protect against this new virus, it can help you keep healthy from the current flu strains going around. 

Market Concern 

Watching the news on the coronavirus, we are seeing effects on daily volatility of markets as the markets try to predict the effect of GDP and corporate earnings. Going forward the virus’s effect on the market will likely depend on how far reaching the virus is. Further spread or a prolonged time period would likely rattle the markets.  We continue to hope for a slowdown of both the spread between people and the geographic spread.  

The CDC keeps their webpage on COVID-19 up to date with new information every day. For more information click on the link below. 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Have you ever been in a situation where you wanted to talk to your friends about money, but you weren't sure how to bring it up? Money is a tricky subject with anyone - check out a couple of common scenarios below for some tips: 

Splitting the Bill

If you've ever gone out and purposely ordered something cheap only to have someone suggest you split the bill, you know how frustrating this can be. If someone asks you to go out to grab a bite with them and you know they like to split the bill there are a couple of options. Be up front about it by saying you would love to go but are on a tight budget 

The Friend Who Over Spends and Complains About Not Having Enough Money

This is a tricky one. It's only natural to be concerned about a good friend if you see them overspending and worrying about money. However, personal finance is exactly that, very personal. In my opinion, unless they directly ask for your advice or you are extremely close with the person, you should probably keep your advice to yourself. Even with these two situations it's important to not overstep. If someone asks for your opinion on a small issue, give them advice on that topic and maybe anything directly related. This is not the time for a full-blown finance lesson or for you to bring up other issues you have noticed.

As for bringing up something with a close friend, if you truly feel like you have a close enough relationship, then you could try to start up a conversation. Try to do it in a positive way. Instead of saying "It seems like you are spending too much money and you need to stop" try phrasing it like "I've noticed you've been worried about money lately, maybe we could sit down and work on a budget worksheet because that has really helped me stay on top of things lately".  Even if you think that you have a close enough relationship, some people just don't want to hear about it or talk about money problems with friends. If you bring up something and your friend seems upset or uninterested, just take a step back, apologize for overstepping and don't keep bringing it up. 

Money Loans 

If a friend asks you for a loan, take a minute before you say yes. If you say yes, you need to be ready for the fact that they might not repay you. A very smart woman once told me if you loan money to family or friends, it’s best to consider it a gift. If they wind up repaying it, great! And if they don't, then it won't be an issue. The reason for this is that it can really ruin a relationship when money is loaned and expectation for repayment are not met. You should also be prepared for what your friend then uses their money for afterwards. If you loaned them money and agreed to consider it a gift in your mind, then see them going on a fancy trip a little while later, that will probably not feel good and can cause strain between people. If you have the money and want to help, then just think about these issues before hand. If you don't have the money, then let them know that. It can be hard to say no but you don't want to put yourself in a bad spot because you wanted to help someone who may or may not pay you back. 

Share your own thoughts on money with friends.  Who knows?  You may make it easier on them to start a conversation. 

Who is excited for the New Year? For me, it feels like this is the first year that I will really be marking my year in January. I graduated last December but with the whirlwind of everything going on, I was still in the mindset that my year began in August with the start of a new school year. With that in mind, I decided I wanted to set up some goals for myself for 2020.  

Many think that New Year's Resolutions are overrated, and I tend to agree. I don't want to make any extravagant goals.  The beginning of a new year can have so much going on, it can be hard to keep up with a strict goal such as making it to the gym every day of the week or eating perfectly healthy.  

Simple Goals

Instead of making one really big, really hard to achieve goal, I want to make a few simple goals to work on throughout the year.  

Goal 1:  Improve my cooking. I want to take a cooking class at some point during the year. Maybe with some friends as a fun activity to do together. For this goal, I also want to try making one or two new recipes a month depending on time.  

Goal 2: Start a travel fund. Over the next year, I want to determine a reasonable amount that I can put aside every month into a travel fund. I'm going to leave it generic at first and set a goal I would like to reach.  

Goal 3: Make time for friends while balancing time for myself. As this year is coming to a close, I've gotten to see friends and family and been able to do a lot of cool things. However, I lost a little bit of balance. I reserved a lot more time for other people and then the only time I had for myself was taken over by studying. In the new year, I hope to set aside some time every week that won't be for chores or studying. It will just be for me to relax, maybe do some yoga, and enjoy time by myself.  

My plan is to get a journal just for my goal progress and once a week I will sit down and write down any ways I worked on one of my goals.  

What are your goals for the new year? Whether they are financial, family, or health related, give yourself some credit for the things you are already doing well and make the best of the new year.  

Happy holidays from all us here at Oxford Planning Group! 

The holidays are a great time of year. They can also be an expensive time of year. Some stores advertise their Black Friday sales for weeks before Thanksgiving. Consumers are constantly seeing signs stating "best sale of the year" or "one time chance". The goal of these slogans is to make consumers feel like they have to take advantage of the sale or they are wasting money. The truth is if you are on a budget, Black Friday sales can seem like such a great way to save money, when in reality they cause a lot of people to overspend.

If you want to take advantage of Black Friday, think about a couple of things first.

Planning Ahead

Know that you need to replace or buy something specific this year? If it's not urgent, it's a great idea to plan ahead and save up money for that item and see what kind of discount you can get around the holidays or right after. With Black Friday right around the corner, this probably isn't an option if you are just now thinking about it. However, it's a good idea to look at the deals going on to get an idea for next year!

Do you need it or want it?

Would you want or need this item at its full price? A great deal can sometimes make people think they need an item, but if the item was still full priced, they wouldn't even look at it. For example, say you see a brand-new coffee maker with different settings that can make tons of drinks and it's $100 off. This item is still probably pretty expensive, and you could get a much cheaper and less fancy coffee maker if you really do need one.

Can you afford it?

I won't lie, there are some pretty tempting sales that go on this time of year. If you haven’t done my first suggestion (planned ahead) but see something that you really want or really need, ask yourself if you can really afford it right now even with the discount. If you are going to have to put it on a credit card and can't pay off the amount in full before the due date, you could wind up paying the full price of the item anyway.  This is due to the fact that credit card interest rates are very high and not paying off your balance in full each month leads to a lot of money paid in interest.

Compromise

If you find something you really love, see if there is any wiggle room you can give yourself. Look at your budget and see if you take some money out of your savings to buy the item now but can lower one area of your budget the next month or two to replenish those savings. It could be something simple like committing to not eating out at all for the next month and putting the money saved into savings or something bigger such as changing a weeklong trip to a long weekend.

Enjoy the holidays but remember that “deals” are only worth it if you don’t overspend and regret it  later!

• In-unit washer and dryer (instead of a separate laundry area in a basement) This could be considered a need as far as security 
• Central air and heating 
• Fitness center: it could save you money to look for a place with a gym for residents to use instead of paying a gym membership 
•  Carpet vs. Hard wood/ faux hard wood 
• Smoke free apartment 
• Bathtub vs. Standing shower only (for if you have kids or simply want to be able to use bath bombs)