{"id":332352,"date":"2020-10-28T06:03:37","date_gmt":"2020-10-27T20:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=332352"},"modified":"2020-10-28T06:03:37","modified_gmt":"2020-10-27T20:03:37","slug":"how-do-you-keep-up-with-finances-during-the-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/how-do-you-keep-up-with-finances-during-the-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"How do you keep up with finances during the pandemic?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether you\u2019ve been furloughed, laid off, or still has a job, money just seem to be hard to come by these days. The financial climate during the pandemic is making everyone feel is that they should spend less, save, and live modestly. For some people, that could be a drastic lifestyle change. Everyone has different ideas and strategies about the amount of\u00a0money they should spend or not spend in their daily lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the start of the lockdown here on Saipan, I decided to stock up on a lot of food and stuff needed in the house because of fear that the containers would stop arriving. I remember spending at least $200 a day for supplies and this went on for two weeks until I said I have stocked up enough. Overall, I remember spending $1,000 in two weeks. In the long run, it was cheaper for me because it is already October and I am still finishing all the canned goods, rice, pasta, and dog food I bought in April. If there is an urge to eat out, I just think of the goods I have stocked up, cook that, and stay at home. So I spent a lot in the beginning of the lockdown but, as months passed consuming those makes me spend less in a day.\u201d
\n\u2014Ina Cruz, Gualo Rai<\/p>\n

\u201cI discovered an app called Track My Spend by ASIC\u2019s MoneySmart. Just type in your weekly budget and then type all of your spending. It\u2019s really rewarding to see how much you spent, especially if it\u2019s under budget.\u201d
\n\u2014Selina Magalang, Chalan Kanoa<\/p>\n

\u201cEver since I started working at 18, I have always kept an \u2018emergency fund\u2019 where I get 20% off of my pay, deposit that and never see that money again until, of course, I have an emergency. In April, I was furloughed and it was the first time I tapped into that emergency fund. It helped me pay my rent, utilities, food, gas until I got my job back in August. I would say I spent less and wisely when I was using my emergency fund. Now that I have work, I am replenishing my emergency fund again.\u201d
\n\u2014 David Cabrera, Dandan<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI got into gardening during the pandemic. I didn\u2019t buy new plants, I just cut the ones in my mother\u2019s garden, re-rooted, and repotted them. As for pots, some pots can be expensive here on Saipan so, instead of spending money, I learned how to \u2018do it myself.\u2019 I used damaged mineral bottles\u2014gallons and some small ones stocked in our backyard. Cut the top part, poked holes at the bottom and colored them and they are instant cute pots now.\u201d
\n\u2014Cristina Attao, Capital Hill<\/p>\n

\u201cFood is my biggest expense pre-COVID-19. I live alone and get my food from take-outs. But now, I decided to skip take-out and do grocery shopping myself. I actually cannot believe that I can actually spend only $15 on groceries and food that would last me for two days or six meals. I still eat out on special occasions but, by doing my grocery, I get to be mindful of what I put in my cart and how much its costs.\u201d
\n\u2014Lyn Delgado, Garapan
\n\u201cOur travel plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas were put off, so that is a huge savings for my family. Aside from that, my wife and I keep a monthly budget. We have cancelled some magazine subscription and just went online, which is way cheaper and happy to be surrounded by friends and a community that is giving. All of our 15-month-old baby clothes are all hand-me-downs.\u201d
\n\u2014Pete Roberts, Dandan<\/p>\n

\u201cI work as a waitress. I used to work in just one restaurant but, when an opportunity opened for a waitressing job in another restaurant with no conflict with my first work schedule, I grabbed it right away. Having an extra income never hurts.\u201d
\n\u2014Emily Mendoza, Garapan<\/p>\n

\u201cI started selling things that we don\u2019t use\u2014clothes, bags, and some kitchen equipment. We also do not turn on lights in any rooms that is not occupied at night; it saves us money on electricity bills. I cancelled my gym membership and just opted to do workouts that I get for free from YouTube. These are just little things but, all together, they can buy us groceries and pay other bills.\u201d
\n\u2014Tina Chavez, Kagman<\/p>\n

MD: Money is really tight nowadays whether you were furloughed, laid off or have a job. The financial climate during the pandemic is making everyone feel is that they should spend less, save and live modestly- a total lifestyle change. Everyone has different ideas and strategies about the amount of\u00a0money they should spend or not spend in their daily lives.
\nKW: Save Money budget Income<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whether you\u2019ve been furloughed, laid off, or still has a job, money just seem to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":332353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-332352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-supplement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332352\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/332353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}