How to Manage Finances, Mental Health and Stay Occupied at Home (49 Ideas + Resources)

First and foremost, I want to say that I hope you and your loved ones are safe and doing the best you can under these current circumstances. The reality is that while things do suck, we are all doing the best we can to get by and adjust to the new normal.

I decided to create this full guide to help you navigate through these new circumstances and share some of my favorite tips and resources.

Let me be clear that you really don’t need to be taking things to the next level right now in any way. I’ve seen a lot of content online about how to make the most about all of the “extra” time you have at home these days. Now’s the time to learn Japanese, finally organize your pantry to make it look Pinterest-worthy, or even launch your side hustle.

I think that advice is well-intentioned. Some people may have found themselves with all sorts of hours on their hands and want some inspiration for how to optimize their time.

But, a lot of us have less time than ever.

Maybe you’re trying to keep up with your full-time job in a totally new environment or you suddenly found yourself having to homeschool your kids. To top it off, you’re probably worried about your loved ones in the back of your head especially if they are essential workers.

So before I get into the meat and potatoes of this post, I wanted to put that out there. We all have different circumstances so focus on prioritizing what works for you at this time.

Managing Your Finances During a Global Pandemic

Let’s face it, a lot of personal finance is about planning but also responding to life’s circumstances. Most of us didn’t plan for the financial effects of this global pandemic. However, if your finances have been shaken up lately, there are a few things you can do.

Look For Ways to Save Money

This was my first instinct when I found that schools were closing and people would be out of jobs. I sat down with my husband and we went over our budget while discussing any expenses we could reduce.

We realized that we’d naturally spend less on gas for the month and also wouldn’t be spending much on dining out or entertainment. These things alone would easily save us around $300 for the month. Go through your budget and review your transactions to see where you can save or cut back if you need to at this time. There’s no telling how long things will last but this is the perfect time to prioritize saving money.

Related: 70 Ways to Save More Money While Living Paycheck to Paycheck

12 Frugal Hacks You Can Use to Start Saving Thousands

50 Everyday Expenses You Need to Stop Spending Money On

5 Tips to Help You Save on a Low Income

Get Your Bare-Bones Budget Ready

A bare-bones budget includes your core non-negotiable monthly expenses. These are costs that you need to pay each month no matter what. If you’ve recently been laid off or had your hours cut, you may want to switch to a bare-bones budget which can drastically cut your expenses and reduce your financial stress level.

Even if you haven’t experienced a significant income change, it’s still important to have your bare-bones budget ready in case you ever need it. Learn how to create one here.

Plan Out Meals

We’ve been ordering takeout at least once per week as a way to help local businesses out, taste some of our favorite foods, and try new foods out as well. But let’s face it, planning out your meals and cooking at home is one of the best way to stick to your budget and stretch what you have at home.

I’m still doing 2-week meal plans and highly recommend checking out the $5 Meal Plan if you need meal ideas that are affordable and easy to prepare. Also, realize that you can free certain things like milk, fresh fruit, and even whole cooked meals for future use.

Defer Payments on Some of Your Bills

Many bill companies have relief options that you can take advantage of at this time if you need to. Car insurance companies are offering rebates on premiums since people are driving less. I exercise at my local park district and they decided not to bill members for the next two months since all the gyms are closed.

NerdWallet also put together this list of bills you may be able to pause and receive assistance with.

Consider Selling any Assets or Liabilities

If you have any items around your house that you can sell for extra cash, now would be a great time to sell them. You can sell items safely online or use the Facebook Marketplace and have people do a contactless pickup from your porch.

Put Your Stimulus Money to Good Use

Many Americans who met a certain criteria received a stimulus check. I can’t tell you exactly what you should do with the money. Only you know what’s the best option for you and your family right now. I can only recommend that you use the money wisely and put it to good use. If you’re unsure about your job or don’t have an emergency fund, buying a flat-screen TV at Walmart is probably not the best option.

Making Extra Money From Home

Looking to make extra money from home? There’s no better time than the present. Here are some of my favorite ways to make money from home right now.

Teaching Online

Teaching online is always a good option, but with more kids learning at home now, there are even more opportunities to start teaching and tutoring from your home. Consider getting started with Education First, VIPKid, and checking out Chegg Tutors.

Freelancing

Learn how to become a freelance writer here or a virtual assistant here. Set your own hours and work flexibly with clients of your choice.

Transcription

Get paid to type with work from home transcription jobs. Earn $10 to $25 per hour with companies like:

• Quicktate
• Rev
• Scribie
• Daily Transcription
• TranscribeMe

Customer Service

There are tons of remote customer service jobs available right now. Check out your options here.

Related: 20 Ways to Make Extra Money Today

10 High-Paying Part-Time Work From Home Jobs

How to Make Extra Money Selling Electronics Online

Other Resources

Food Banks

Local food banks and food pantries are a great place to look if you need to get food into your home. Feeding America is a national food bank that is working with the government to provide more food in communities and help with school lunch programs. The USDA also has a food assistance program to help people during this time.

Schools in your area may still be offering meals to students as well even though they’re closed. Reach out to your school district to see what their plans are for distributing meals to students in need through the remainder of the year.

Childcare

Governments are working with daycares to keep some open, with priority for emergency workers. Check with your city to see which options may be available to you.

Track Your Stimulus Payment

The IRS has made it possible for you to track your economic impact payment through their Get My Payment page. Just be sure to have information like your name, social security number, date of birth and address on hand.

Student Loan Relief Programs

Learn who qualifies for coronavirus student loan relief here. Federal student loans can be deferred at this time and you won’t have to worry about paying interest until fall 2020. If you have private student loans, you may be able to get relief as well. Here’s what some private student loans companies have said.

Coronavirus Grants, Relief Programs, and Other Assistance

The CARES Act that was passed on March 27, 2020 has A LOT of info in it regarding who gets a stimulus check, student loan relief, increased unemployment insurance, and more. If you have questions about what options are available be sure to check out this FAQ press release. You can also check out a summary of the relief programs here.

Related: Where to Get Covid-19 Financial Assistance

Watch Out For Scams!

No one likes scams so beware of these IRS scams especially if you’re expecting a stimulus payment or still filing your taxes.

Related: Top Work from Home Job Scams

Teaching Kids at Home

E-learning has been a major adjustment for most parents who are juggling work, helping with school, and everything in between. However, I’ve taken this opportunity to learn about some new programs and resources to help keep my son learning and engaged each at home. Here are some of my favorite resources and tips for families during school closures.

Google Classroom

Google Classroom helps teachers and students organize their assignments, collaborate on different lessons, and communicate more clearly in a virtual setting. Your child’s teacher may already be using it, or you can request that they start. You can even use Google Classroom on your own to stay better organized with assignments.

Education.com

Education.com has tons of educational resources for families. Some of them are free but there is a membership requirement and it’s pretty affordable starting at just $8 per month. You’ll pay even less than that if you sign up for multiple months in advance.

A monthly membership with Education.com is not expensive and starts at just $8 per month,  $6.33 per month for 3 months, and $5 per month is you pay for 12 months in advance.

Outschool

Outschool offers live online classes for kids ages 3 to 18. Classes start at just $5.

Adventure Academy

This is my new personal favorite! Adventure Academy is similar to ABC Mouse only it’s for kids ages 8 to 13. It’s just like playing an interactive video game only your child is learning and covering core subjects like math, science, reading, and English. As they learn and get certain questions right, the move up a level in the ‘game’ and can buy items for their avatar and even furnish their own home. This aspect of the site reminds me of the game Sims.

You get 30 days to try out Adventure Academy for free.

Hooked on Phonics

Hooked on Phonics is a great program to assist your child in learning how to read. They provide books, videos and interactive activities. You can get started with just $1 for your first month.

Scholastic

Scholastic is another site that is offering free at-home learning resources to families.

Science Kids

One thing I was worried about with schools shutting down was how my son was going to learn certain hands-on subjects like science. Then I found out about Science Kids which provides free science experience ideas to try at home.

Typing Club

Typing club is a fun and free site that can help your kids brush up on their typing skills.

Duolingo

Thinking about having your child learn a new language at this time? Duolingo is a free site that makes learning a foreign language fun.

Virtual Summer Camps

Varsity Tutors recently launched a free virtual summer camp program where parents can sign their kids up for fun classes like drawing, theater and improv, photography, science labs, dance, and more.

Frugal and Cheap Ways to Stay Busy

Say you actually do have some extra time on your hands or maybe you just want to take your mind off the news and relieve some stress. Here are some of my favorite frugal and cheap ways to stay busy at home.

Declutter

Decluttering is one of my favorite things to do. Nothing beats having a clear and organized space. A lot of what’s going on in your head often reflects your surroundings and living space. Take some time to declutter your workspace and your home. Another added bonus of doing this is that you can often find things you can sell for extra cash. Consider listing some items on the Facebook Marketplace or sell to buyback sites like Decluttr.

Read

You may find that you may have more time to read than you did before. I realized that I have several Audible credits stacked up so I decided to download a few audiobooks. Trade-off between reading for fun and reading self-help books that interest you. If you’re looking for a place to start, you can check out my ebook, Mindset Over Money (shameless plug).

Make Home Decor

Being at home more these past few weeks has definitely prompted me to do some more decorating and rearrange the house. I figure since I’m going to be home for an extended period of time, I might as well make my home more comfortable and inspiring. I’ve seen a lot of interest DIY home decor ideas on Pinterest that you can do with items that are just laying around the house. One thing I started doing is designing my own frameable images and graphics on Canva and getting them shipped to my house. I use the ‘poster’ template and design quote images and my favorite bible scriptures.

Here’s a preview of a poster I created on Canva that I’m looking forward to putting on my bedroom wall.

Exercise

There are so many key benefits to exercising especially during these times. Do you best to get up and move a few times per week. You can walk, ride your bike around the neighborhood, jump rope, and utilize exercise routine videos.

Right now, I’,m loving the workout routines that Planet Fitness is uploading to Facebook each day. On YouTube, I check out 305 Fitness and their live daily exercise routines as well sometimes.

Color or Paint

When was the last time you sat down and colored something? I did a few weeks ago and it was super relaxing. Coloring and painting are proven ways to relieve stress and they will also keep you busy and focused on something else.

Take an Online Class

Coursera offers free online classes that you can finish in as little as a day. There are courses available on practically any topic you’d like to learn about.

Update Important Documents

This is also an ideal time to update and organize your important documents like your life insurance, tax returns, birth certificates, your living will and more. Do you have all of these documents and know where they’re at? Are they up-to-date?

If you don’t have life insurance, check out Bestow for affordable term life insurance policies. My previous policy expired so I signed up for a new term policy through Bestow and the process was super easy.

This weekend, my husband and I will be doing some estate planning using Trust and Will.  I know, it doesn’t sound that fun but it’s something that everyone should consider doing just to have a solid plan in place.

Write Your Bucket List

This experience has taught me how precious life is and how I should stop procrastinating and putting certain things off. There were so many simple things I kept saying I was going to do then and all of the sudden schools closed down and we were under a stay-at-home order. I realized I was taking each day for granted.

Creating a bucket list of what you want to do when things open back up can be a great way to motivate yourself to start making the most of each day.

Fun Things to do at Home With Family

Grill out

If you have some yard space, make it your new hangout spot and have a grill out. Even when we lived in an apartment, my husband would grill food downstairs then we’d sit on our balcony and just relax and talk.

Bake/Cook Together

I’ll admit, I’ve been eating a lot more during quarantine but I’m also enjoying cooking and baking for my family. Consider asking your kids to help you cook or having your own cooking class demonstration with your partner for date night. I’m sure there are plenty of cooking instruction YouTube videos out there. You can also have a healthy meal challenge or eat through your pantry challenge to make it more productive.

Weekly Theme Nights

Even though we see each other each day, I’m still working from home and wanted to dedicate some time to be fully present with my family so we made Wednesdays our weekly dedicated family nights. It’s just a fun time to talk, play games, eat comfort food and more. A few weeks back we made greek donuts and watched a movie. Other nights, we played video games or board games together.

You can even create a theme for your night like ‘Disney’ ‘the 80s’ or ‘pajama day’.

Camping in the Backyard

Camping out in the backyard can be a fun way to feel like you’ve left the house when you really haven’t. Challenge yourself to act as if you were really camping in an area away from home so get creative with how you prepare food and stay entertained.

Some other fun ideas include:

• Playing board games
• Listening to new music
• Doing puzzles
• Karaoke night
• Creating a vision board
• Starting an herb garden
• Planning a future trip

Related: 75 Free Things To Do This Weekend

Prioritizing Mental Health At Home

It’s important that we all prioritize our mental health at this time. I know many of us are dealing with a ton of pressure, financial anxiety, and feelings of uncertainty about the future.

It’s important to focus on what you can control and know that caring for yourself is one of those things.

Journal

If you’ve never journaled before, now is the perfect time to start. Journaling allows you to get all your thoughts and ideas out of your head and onto paper. You don’t have to write a ton, but doing this regularly can be very therapeutic.

Try a Meditation App

Mental healed and meditation apps are often free and can help you relax. I recommend checking out apps like: Headspace, Smiling Mind, Calm and Mindfulness Daily.

Listen to Music

I know I mentioned listening to music before, but doing this really helps me lower my stress level and escape for a moment. Some celebrities are even doing virtual concerts so this could be something to look into.

Call Friends

I’m an introvert so initially, I didn’t realize how much these new circumstances would cause me to miss being around people. While video calling platforms can’t replace face-to-face interaction they can help, especially if you live alone or miss your friends and family. One app I’ve been loving lately is called Houseparty. It’s like Facetime only you can play games with the people you’re chatting with through the app.

Wrapping It Up

It should go without saying that Coronavirus has and will affect all of us. While no one could have seen this coming, it’s okay to be a little overwhelmed right now and reassess things. Don’t beat yourself up for and decisions you made in the past whether financial or personal.

The best thing to do now is develop a solid plan to help you manage finances at home during these tough times and do what works best for your family.

How are you handling the new normal?