By The Collections Agitator
Tribe, are you paying attention to the news, not the regular nightly news but the financial news? Wells Fargo is taking steps not witnessed since the Great Recession a decade ago. What have they done you ask? They are shuttered individual Lines of Credit (LOC), stopped funding vehicle loans, etc. What this foretells, I really don’t know, but it is disturbing. If America’s 3rd largest bank is making moves– what will other large, regional and local banks do? A game of follow the leader may have just begun. The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and CNN are some of the news outlets you can follow for analysis.
Inflation is on the rise, with prices at the supermarket jumping rather than creeping up. Used car prices are scaling toward the summit of Kilimanjaro at a steady clip. Mortgage and rent moratoriums are coming to an end, along with the Unemployment Insurance extensions that have kept many afloat and housed. (Only California has committed to paying all back rent.) The Gemini devastations, fire and drought in the West, and flooding in the South and East feel like a convergence of a perfect storm. All of this amid the spreading Covid-19 Delta variant has a woman wondering what is next and what to do.
While I can’t offer financial subject matter expert direction (like J The Money Motivator), I do make the following suggestions. If there are luxuries you can minimize or do without– let some rest for now. If that rainy day fund is dry—turn on the faucet. If there is lingering debt, you can manage to pay it off even with a bit of pain-pay. Holding off on getting the car fixed-call the mechanic. Attend to the things you can right now!
Unlike the last recession from which many are still digging out –we can see something on the horizon and intentionally position ourselves to survive. Yes, I said survive, for that is what we must do. The canaries are disturbed, and we cannot pretend not to see, hear or prepare.
Being WOKE goes beyond social justice; it is purposely attending to all parts of life.
Once the canaries stop moving, it is often too late to climb out of the cave.
Your Immediate Tasks: Take the financial steps now that might keep you housed, fed and secure in the next 6-24 months.