COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — The government opening does not suddenly fix the financial stop gaps many turned to during the shutdown.
“As excited as we all are for the government to not be shutdown anymore, we do not want to take this moment to completely celebrate with those funds we're going to be receiving. We want to be thinking about our future and what stability means for now and for what something may come in the future,” said Ent Credit Union, Director of Financial Well-being, Bree Shellito.
A month without paychecks and benefits forced a lot of people to hold off on payments or make purchases on credit.
Shellito suggests stepping back and considering an approach with these three actions:
- Pause
- Plan
- Prioritize
“Pausing, I mean taking a breath, knowing that this was difficult and that you may have been put in some tough situations,” said Shellito.
Next is plan
“Actually write out who it is that you owe any money to anything that you skipped those will still be in place.”
Third is to prioritize.
“What needs to come first and of course it's going to be those essentials we want to cover things like rent or our mortgage payments, but it also may be things that were kind of on that back burner, those medications.”
If credit cards and loans were used to counter cash-flow issues, it's important to pay off the ones with the highest interest rates first.
High interest credit can double what you owe in as little as six months.
“Wanna make sure we're getting those paid off and prioritizing things that are going to cost us more in the long run.”
An early and consistent strategy for countering money burdens caused by the government shutdown will minimize extended personal financial stress.___
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