During this challenging time, the health and safety of our family, friends, clients and staff is naturally a priority concern. 

We have all undergone some major changes – many people are working from home, kids are doing their school work at home, you’re unable to get together with friends and family, the familiar places are closed and inaccessible.

We know that this a new and stressful situation for many but take heart. This is a temporary situation, no matter how long it lasts, one for which you should prepare but don’t panic!

While you’re getting used to a “new” routine, here are some suggestions from The Manning Group.

First Things First

Take care of yourself and your family first, especially the ones who are the most vulnerable. Take the precautions recommend by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), as well as your local authorities and use common sense. 

Financially Speaking

After you’ve covered the basics, food, clothing, shelter and any health expenses, then consider your fixed and variable monthly expenses. 

Fixed expenses have set payment amounts (e.g. rent, mortgage, car payments, health insurance, auto insurance, student loans, bank loans, etc). 

Variable expenses, as the name implies, vary month to month. Examples are credit card and department store payments (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Macy’s, JC Penney’s, Nordstroms, etc), cell phone, utility bills (water, gas and electric), cable/satellite TV, etc.

As the various shelter in place orders are lifted and we can get back to our “old” routines (going back to work, back to school, shopping, working out at your local gym, and other aspects of “life as usual”), how you handle your credit and finances will be more important than ever! 

The good news is that many of the major financial institutions and banks, such as ALLY, BBVA, Bank of America, CHASE, Citibank, Capital One, Wells Fargo, and others are willing to work with their clients and card holders to make special payment arrangements on your various accounts. 

So, if you have a car loan, mortgage loan, bank loan, a VISA, MasterCard, and other financial obligations, reach out to your banker and ASK FOR HELP!

Always: 

• Pay on-time and more than the minimum payment; pay in full when possible.
• If you’re going to be late or miss a payment, communicate in advance.
• Don’t close any credit cards; keeping them open shows stability
• Set up automatic payments online.
• When you can, pay early.  Missing a due date isn’t worth what you save.
• Look for low interest balance transfer offers to pay off other accounts faster.
• Focus on your largest expenses for ways to lower costs.  Every penny counts!
• Pay off the smallest accounts first. Fewer accounts are easier to pay on-time.
• Consider a part time or side job to pay off debt faster.
• Pay yourself first — set up an emergency fund.

Remember, the problem is NEVER the problem — how you deal with it is!

Take special care … stay safe and keep in touch!

We’re Here for You

Despite the shelter in place order and other precautions that we and others are wisely taking to help flatten the COVID-19 contagion curve, The Manning Group is still fully operational.  Our team remains available to you by telephone and electronically.

Do you need some help with your credit rating?  You may not think this is a good time to improve your credit score, but it IS.  Call us at 888-458-9100 or contact us online.

THE MANNING GROUP “where we measure by results, not promises!”

Don’t leave GOOD Credit to chance, leave it to us!®