UNITED STATES─It is the only thing people can talk about right now: Coronavirus. That is on so many people’s minds because right now the world is in a dicey predicament. Businesses are being forced to close, retailers are cutting hours, the restaurant industry in addition to the service industry is being forced to close its doors, and it all leads to a bigger question: what about the economy?

Yes, we are concerned about our money, and I will be one of the first to admit I’m worried sick about what is going to happen because of this pandemic. Am I still going to get paid, am I going to run out of money? How am I going to pay my bills America? Those are things that I seriously have to address and deal with America. We have to be more aware and smart about our money and how it’s being spent. Like the one thing that is baffling me is people’s overspending on groceries right now. Remember, food can be perishable, so why are you over buying fruits and veggies? You can run into a situation where you don’t use those items and as a result you’re tossing them out.

That is wasteful on food, but money being wasted as well. Save some of those items for the rest of us. I mean I saw people purchasing water, paper towel and toilet paper like it was the end of the world America, I mean the end of the world. The world is not ending people, so stop overbuying. What happens in a week if we find out this pandemic is now over. You have all these non-perishable items that you over bought, and now you’re questioning what to do with them. What’s worst? All that food, what are you going to do with it? You cannot eat it all at once America.

So here’s what I’m going to say. Times are difficult right now; there are some families who have no idea how they are going to place dinner on the table because they are out of work. You start by utilizing what you currently have in your cabinetry. You don’t have to go out and spend money unless you actually have to do so. So get creative in the kitchen and utilize those food items you have before they get old or that have just been sitting in the fridge, freezer or cabinet waiting to be used.

Don’t go out and spend on things that you don’t need. If you don’t need it, you don’t need to buy it. You don’t know what could happen from today till tomorrow. So you don’t want to place yourself in a situation where you desperately need money, but you don’t have access to it or you don’t have it because you blew it on a coat you didn’t need, a pair of jeans that you just thought you had to have, but you don’t, or some other materialistic thing that is not a must-have, but a want. Ensure you are still paying your bills if possible, the great thing about this crisis at the moment is so many companies are providing leeway and extra time for Americans to pay bills if need be. On top of that, many of stopping potential cutoffs to services like gas, electricity, telephone and so many other essentials to survive.

For many, we’re in the midst of tax season and you may have just gotten hefty refund, it’s not a bad idea to put some of that money away for a rainy day. There is indeed a reason we are constantly told to save or put money away for a rainy day because we never know when something unexpected like the pandemic we’re dealing with that might arise and have all of us scrambling to wonder how bills for the month, the week or essentials we need will be taken care of. Saving money is never easy, but the more you practice the habit the better you become at it.

Written By Zoe Mitchell