How to Improve Money Flow During Covid-19

5 Easy Hacks for Empowerment During Money Crisis

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been seeing, feeling and even experiencing a lot of uncertainty around money since Covid-19 hit. All this uncertainty and fear has led to a lot of crazy behaviors around money. Hoarding products, refusing to think about it, disregard for normal care and practices with money (and even health) are just a few of the things I’ve seen.

As you may remember from what I’ve shared in the past, I 100% believe that I am supported by money. It’s going to show up for me and it always does. I believe that for myself, for my clients and for you too!

𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙫𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙪𝙨 — 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚.

Even though I have my core belief, I’m still feeling the panic. One area that I continue to work on is protecting myself from the energy others are projecting, I still have a way to go.

I work for a small business and, like most small businesses, there is a need for cash management because resources are limited. As soon as Covid-19 started ramping up in the US, we saw an immediate slow down in cash receipts. We were still working and billing just like normal, but our customers had slowed payments. This caused a lot of consternation and concern from management.

All of that concern started affecting me. Last Thursday night, I spent the entire night in my dreams, crafting an email asking to spend some money (for bills generated before all this started). I kid you not, the whole night I dreamt about it, woke up and did breathing to calm down, only to fall asleep and start the dream right where I left off! Maddening!

The interesting thing was, Friday morning we received a very large deposit that no one knew was coming. Money showed up. Just like it always does. Yes, I was feeling the stress, but my core belief was still there.

𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝘼𝙇𝙒𝘼𝙔𝙎 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙪𝙥.

Today I want to share a few of my favorite tips to help keep your money flowing and your mindset positive. No matter what we do, we need to do it from a place of empowerment; not a place of reaction and fear. To me that means that we make sure we are doing our part to keep money flowing (the nature of money is to flow in and out). If each one of us takes this opportunity to empower ourselves around money, we can start to change this narrative of panic, fear and scarcity around money.

I think it helps to remind ourselves that there is always enough. There is NO need to feel like money is going to run out. One of the basic principles of my life is that I’m going to always have what I need. And frankly, because I live in that knowing and that core belief, money always shows up for me. And that is the basis of what I teach my clients and community. Feelings of scarcity and lack around money only garner MORE of that very fact.

Here are a few things you can do right now.

1 — Keep paying your bills. A lot of companies are offering you the opportunity to defer payment. It is a way for them to show they support their customers and also help with the crisis. But the fact is, this may not be the best option for you. They aren’t forgiving the amount due. They are just pushing it off until a later time. So, regardless of if you pay now or later, the balance is still due. I encourage you to pay all or as much as you can and stay as current as possible. When things settle down and get back to normal, you will be happy you did. Rather than being faced with hefty chunks of money due for utilities, car loans, rent and other things, you will be sitting in a better position to bounce back to normal. Plus, you are going to feel super empowered when you go ahead and make the payment now rather than later. On top of all that, you are making a stand for keeping our economy strong!

2 — Keep saving. As long as you are alive and kicking, I always recommend saving. Even if you’ve had a decrease in the amount of money coming in, you can still save. Saving is super important for helping you feel empowered and in control. Even if you can only save a few dollars, that feeling of empowerment will still be there and help you trust that money is there for you.

3 — Thoughtfully spend any subsidy you receive. We’ve all seen the news about the subsidy that the government is going to be sending. It can feel exciting knowing that money is coming. I’ll admit that when I heard about it, I immediately thought, “Oh man, now I can buy that new washing machine I’ve been wanting!” But the truth is, I won’t do that. Because I know that my best choice is to stay personally responsible and that means to thoughtfully consider any purchase I make. If I do end up purchasing a washing machine, it will be from a place of choice and knowing that I’ve made the empowered decision about how to spend my money. When we do that, we keep our relationship with money strong and create space for more to flow.

4 — Practice Gratitude. Even if your inflows of money have decreased, there is always something to be grateful for. I often joke that gratitude can fix anything, but it truly is one of the core staples to my good relationship with money. When we stay grateful, it improves our feelings of empowerment and it also helps us make choices around our spending, saving and splurging from a place of calm, happiness and wisdom. Gratitude keeps us present in the moment, rather than focused on what we are missing from the past or wishing for a future we haven’t created yet.

5 — Always Look for Abundance. During uncertain times, it always helps me to look around and see the abundance all around me. There is abundance in nature, abundance in my closet, even abundance in my bank account. As one of my clients said so beautifully, “Sometimes the money is already there and you just have to open your eyes to see it in a different way.” If we open our eyes and look at things from a different perspective, we often see abundance, money and life in a way that shows us that we are already supported and that money is there for us.

I know that no matter what you do, if you do it from empowerment and not fear, it will come out all right in the end. Living in that empowerment will set us apart by creating a shining example for ourselves, our families, our work families and the world.

Sherry Parks is a Money Mindset Coach who helps women escape feeling stuck and trapped by their finances, so that they find more joy and wealth for their lives. Check out her 5 Steps to a Better Money Story workbook here. Here’s what people are saying about the workbook. “I am amazed how much insight I got after completing the workbook, I [became] aware of so much!” — Nicole E. “Your workbook is great; I already feel calmer and more in control of my relationship with money!” — Nancy R.

To connect with Sherry, join her women-only Facebook group Lives in Balance.