Notes for self — Pandemic and Personal Finance
Sweden’s approach to counter the pandemic has had me worried but I am coming to terms now and perhaps understanding their perspective as well. I read this in the news articles that Sweden is going through one of the worst recession it has ever seen and closing down the country would mean even more severe damage. I can’t imagine how pragmatic the authorities would have been to have made this decision, they must have had no space for any wishful thinking whatsoever, just plain hard facts. I am coming to terms with the fact that remaining open in the face of a pandemic may result in the healthcare system being stretched more, the death toll rising a bit more but a total lock down would mean shutting down businesses, ceasing trade and high unemployment rates. The latter would of course have long term effects and could force the country behind by a few years and that’s a reality that has to be taken into account.
What worries me also is losing my job, it’s a constant fear of mine which has peaked in the circumstances. Again, something I read in a news article was that the IMF had announced that they saw this as a recession worse than 2008/2009. Being in a country where I barely speak the language and having had just started the job, I really can’t afford to lose the job. I need to pay my student loan as soon as possible and having this job means everything to me.
One of my major fears is my parents. I don’t know what I fear about them but I guess it’s mostly insecurity. I keep worrying that I need to save money for them, I keep feeling that they are very inept in planning finances and that fear perhaps also stems from the fact that I myself am a noob in that area. Noob is perhaps not the right word but I strongly believe that I don’t have the kind of mind and hand to save and most importantly “plan” money. I guess one has to do it. I have to do it and the only way to go about it finding information for yourself, researching the ways and means to find the right information. In my experience, asking for advice in this area is just useless. I mean, currently what I need is perhaps a personal finance plan/app.
The fact is that perhaps most people don’t need a personal finance app or a fancy investment plan or a middle man who can manage their money. What they need is to just sit down and write down the numbers and see what they can do with them. It is only going to get as complicated as you make it. I have do this today for myself or else I will be going around in circles not knowing how much I actually spend.
