Dear Friends,
This is an unusual and challenging time for everyone. Today, I wanted to come here to connect with you, extend my love and support and share some important resources with you. Wherever you are in the world, we are in this together.
Ok, here are some topics and resources that I’ve been thinking about…
Grief, Government Stimulus, Girlfriends and Giving.
Money, Life, and Grief: An Interview on the Dear Life podcast with Christina Rassmussen, Grief Educator and Founder of Second Firsts.
I know that many of us are experiencing some level of grief and loss right now. I did this interview with Christina before the pandemic but I’m still hearing how relevant and touching this interview was. This interview was one of the most intimate I’ve done. I openly talked about big losses in my early 20’s, how I worked through them and how this time of bereavement led me to my financial therapy work in the world.
From Christina: ”Oh darling. Money. Loss. Change. Grief. and everything in between. On this week’s podcast with Bari Tessler, we talk about Bari’s personal experiences with loss and how she got started as a financial therapist. Bari walks us through the 3 phases of developing a relationship to money and talks specifically about how to approach that relationship during times of big transition and loss. If you are like me and money is not your strength or skill set, this is the episode for you.” Listen here.
If you are experiencing any grief right now, please listen to this interview and learn more about Christina’s grief work as well.
Government Stimulus Resources – Jennifer Kem, Business Strategist, put together a very helpful video and resource list to help you navigate the US Government Stimulus Money.
The LAYPERSON’S GUIDE TO GETTING YOUR STIMULUS MONEY. Here’s what Jennifer will cover: Stimulus Checks. Student Loans. Unemployment Benefits. Personal Emergency Fund. Retirement Accounts. Small Business Loans. Private Funding & Bankruptcy.
Some highlights:
1. If you earned less than $75,000 in 2018 (or whatever your last tax filing was) you will get $1,200. From Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez via Instagram live, if you have direct deposit with the IRS, you will see this money within 3 weeks, if you do not, you will not see the check for 4-6 weeks.
2. Federal Student loan payments are postponed for 60 days and interest is reduced to 0%.
3. Small business owners can apply for unemployment right now. This is a first. Please apply quickly as each state has an allotted amount of money to give.
4. You can take money from your retirement accounts with no penalties right now up until $100,000.
5. There are SBA loans for businesses with employees that can cover your payroll if you keep your employees on right now and the loan can even turn into a grant down the road.
Please watch the video and read through her documents thoroughly. There are links to all of these resources. And, big appreciation to Jennifer Kem for doing this!
Girlfriends Are Essential at this time!
Seriously friends, this Zoom call made my day! These are my closest girlfriends from high school (so some of my oldest girlfriends). One of us had to leave early so she’s not in the photo. There are 5 of us, all so different, and yet after all these years, there is still so much love and support. We talked about all of it: completion of cancer treatments, loss of business, lower income, increased income in new ways, layoffs in companies, how to pivot, older kids coming home from college, younger kids who will be doing school in virtual classrooms and missing out on their soccer season, how we are exercising, how we are cooking for our families, and on and on. For some it was a happy hour. For some it was a chocolate hour. For all of us, it was love hour. It was an almost 2-hour chat. And so this is the good coming out of this very challenging time. Please make something like this happen in your world. It can shift the whole week. If you are not on Zoom, now’s a good time to get on.
Giving.
If you have extra resources please pay your house cleaning crew, acupuncturist, hair cutting lady, or any other service provider you hire for any normal appointments during this time. I wrote about this in my last newsletter: Some extra love + money support during this challenging pandemic, but I want to share this again. Also, if you can support your locally-owned (family-owned) restaurants right now by ordering curbside pick up, please do. And if you can donate during this time, please do.
If you have extra resources, please give.
If you need to ask for support, please do.
I hope these resources are helpful to you.
Please know, I’m thinking of you and sending dear wishes to you and your family during this time. Wherever you are in the world, we are in this together.
With love,
