Part of a series. Covers the change to the US Federal tax return filing deadline and the direct payment.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Response (CARES) Act includes aid for regular Americans. This article covers two of those items: additional time to deal with Federal taxes and direct payments to individuals.

Please note:  before taking action based on this information, please do your own research, including speaking with your CPA, financial advisor or planner, employer, loan servicer, state unemployment office, and heck, maybe even a priest or shaman.  My goal is to share my best understanding and to be of service.  I hope you find this helpful.

On February 20th, 2020 the first of a series of U.S. stock market drops began in response to the global pandemic and concerns about the effect the disease would have on economic activity worldwide.

On March 21, 2020, an unprecedented spike in first time jobless claims was announced by the Labor Department.  There had been 3.2 million first time unemployment claims.  The single largest week record before then was for 700,00 back in 1982.  Check out this article from Business Insider for details.

On March 27th, the CARES Act was signed.  This law provides for loans to corporations, small business loans, household payments, unemployment insurance, tax deferrals and deadline extension, and other funds.  Most of the “goodies” we are interested in are in this act.

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This article covers changes for federally-backed mortgages made as part of the CARES Act.

First and foremost let me say, if you can make your mortgage payment, you should. Congress has not forgiven or erased anyone's debt.  However, for those who have lost their income due to the pandemic, if you have a federally-backed mortgage this law did provide for some temporary relief.

If you were on the verge of foreclosure already, the CARES Act included a 60 day moratorium starting on March 18th.

 If you are not able to make your payment, you should contact your servicer to see what options are available for you.

The CARES Act provided for 180 days of forbearance, which could be extended an additional 180 days.  However, many servicers appear to not be leading with this offer.  Apparently 90 days is more common in reality.  As with all things, what you get will depend upon how familiar you are with your rights, how committed the organization you are negotiating with is to it's goals (and how much flexibility and power the rep on the phone has), and what the two parties can agree upon.

When you contact your servicer, you should state that the need for forbearance is due to the COVID emergency.

The servicer may just pile up the payments due during the forbearance period and ask for them to be paid at the end of the forbearance period.  So for example, if you are allowed to skip your $1,000 mortgage payment in April, May, and June, at the end of that time period you would owe $3,000, plus the $1,000 for July that would be due on the regular schedule.

Needless to say, if someone is out of work and out of cash to the point where they can't pay their mortgage payment, it is unlikely that in 90 days they would magically have several times that amount in free cash.  Even if someone is back working, they'd likely have the regular payment amount, not a large lump sum.  But if you were the bank, wouldn't you ask for that if you could get a client to agree to it?

Be aware that you can request that instead of a lump sum being due at the end of the period that you add payments on the back of the term of the loan. 

If you and the servicer agree to something more limiting than what is allowed under the CARES Act, you should honor your agreement, although you could certainly call back and try to renegotiate.

During the time of the forbearance, the CARES Act requires that servicers report you to credit bureaus as paying as agreed (current) and that they charge no fees and no interest during the forbearance.

If your taxes and insurance payments are escrowed, discuss with your servicer how this should be handled.  Not having to pay your mortgage payment due to forbearance does not exempt you from having to pay your homeowner's insurance premiums or your taxes.

Journal questions:

What does the current crisis expose about the need for emergency funds? 

If you feel there should be more government assistance available now, does this change your thoughts on how our social programs have been constructed to date?  

Part of a series. Covers the additional funding being given to states to supplement unemployment.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Response (CARES) Act includes additional funding for states to supplement their unemployment programs.

Please note:  before taking action based on this information, please do your own research, including speaking with your CPA, financial advisor or planner, employer, loan servicer, state unemployment office, and heck, maybe even a priest or shaman.  My goal is to share my best understanding and to be of service.  I hope you find this helpful.

On February 20th, 2020 the first of a series of U.S. stock market drops began in response to the global pandemic and concerns about the effect the disease would have on economic activity worldwide.

On March 21, 2020, an unprecedented spike in first time jobless claims was announced by the Labor Department.  There had been 3.2 million first time unemployment claims.  The single largest week record before then was for 700,00 back in 1982.  Check out this article from Business Insider for details.

On March 27th, the CARES Act was signed.  This law provides for loans to corporations, small business loans, household payments, unemployment insurance, tax deferrals and deadline extension, and other funds.  Most of the “goodies” we are interested in are in this act.

This article covers the additional funds made available to the states to supplement their unemployment programs.  Details are outlined below.

 It is important to remember unemployment programs are run by the Department of Labor of each individual state.  Those departments determine who is eligible for unemployment.

The CARES Act made funding available for the following: 

• Extra federal help – if unemployed or partially employed due to COVID19 (layoffs, furloughs, reduced hours)
• Includes independent contractors, self-employed, and individuals with limited work history
• Covered if you had to quit job to care for someone with coronavirus, child due to school closings, or quarantine order
• State funded benefits ($400/wk national average), plus federal supplement ($600)
• Payments can be made separately, but have to be in the same week
• May need to complete an additional form to get the supplement
• Up to 26 weeks normally, +13 weeks federally funded
• Typically takes 2-3 weeks to apply, then 1 week waiting period. CARES Act requests the waiting period be waived.

Here are some frequently asked questions:

Can I apply for the SBA loans and for unemployment?

If you are applying for a small business loan, you are not considered to be unemployed.

Can I apply for unemployment because my side hustle ended?

If you have a full time job you are not considered to be unemployed.

And a frequent complaint:

“I tried to apply for unemployment and the website crashed/I haven't heard back/etc.”

Yes. 

I think it is fair to assume that IT teams in their testing never anticipated this sort of a spike in demand, so rather than being a conspiracy, it may just well be that systems are slammed. 

When staffing departments, a spike in demand like this was also likely not anticipated.  The folks working these organizations are overloaded, and just like all of us, are trying to balance working, childcare, and their own concerns and anxieties.

Depending upon your politics, you can either see this as the inevitable result of relentless budget cuts meeting unforeseen circumstances, proof of government incompetence, or both. 

My suggestion would be to continue trying to apply.  At the same time, check out your local news and local government websites to see if alternatives are available.  I know some jurisdictions are gathering information on paper forms as an emergency backup.

Journal questions:

What would you do if you were laid off?  How can you best prepare in case you are impacted in the future? 

Part 4 of a series, covering the Paycheck Protection Plan for small businesses.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Response (CARES) Act includes aid for Americans, both as individuals and for small business owners. This article covers the Paycheck Protection Plan.

Please note:  before taking action based on this information, please do your own research, including speaking with your CPA, financial advisor or planner, employer, loan servicer, state unemployment office, and heck, maybe even a priest or shaman.  My goal is to share my best understanding and to be of service.  I hope you find this helpful.

On March 27th, the CARES Act was signed.  This law provides for loans to corporations, small business loans, household payments, unemployment insurance, tax deferrals and deadline extension, and other funds.  Most of the “goodies” we are interested in are in this act.

This article covers one of those goodies:  the Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP).  To participate, a business must either be running payroll or doing distributions to owners.  If you are in start up mode and have not yet taken money out of your business, you will not be able to participate.

The PPP allows businesses to borrow two and a half times their wages, rent, and utilities.  Average monthly wages are determined by totaling the amount paid between 4/1/19 and 3/31/20 and dividing by 12. 

Provided the funds are used on approved expenses and at least 75% of those funds are used for payroll, the loans can be forgiven.

The funds must be spent by June 30th. There is no requirement that you show you have been impacted by COVID-19. 

To apply, contact your local bank or credit union.  Many banks are requiring that you have an existing relationship with them in order to apply, so the bank where you have your business checking account would be a good place to start.

These loans are available to self-employed people and independent contractors.

For more details, check out this press release on SBA's site. Here is another article with relevant information from the SBA.

Journal questions:

Is this a great time or a terrible time to be a small business owner? Why? 

Part 3 of a series. Covers the $10,000 from the EIDL that does not have to be repaid.

The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act included SBA loans for small businesses.  The first $10,000 of the loan does not have to be repaid.

Please note:  before taking action based on this information, please do your own research, including speaking with your CPA, financial advisor or planner, employer, loan servicer, state unemployment office, and heck, maybe even a priest or shaman.  My goal is to share my best understanding and to be of service.  I hope you find this helpful.

On March 6th, 2020, the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act became law.  This law included funding for telehealth for Medicare, for vaccine development, for public health funding, and for medical supplies and preparedness.  Additionally, extra funding is allocated for departments and agencies.  This law included disaster loans to be provided to small businesses through the SBA.  Those Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) are discussed in this post.

As a general rule, I believe government programs and loans are best avoided.  However, I also believe we are not going to quickly return to normal in the next few days or weeks, and it is hard to know now what in the future we will wish we had done now.  With that in mind, I decided to apply for the EIDL loan.

My understanding is that if you are in a state that has declared a disaster, you can apply for the EIDL loan from the US Small Business Administration (SBA).  Disaster declarations can be found here.

You will need to disclose your gross receipts for the period from February 1, 2019 to January 31, 2020 plus your cost of goods sold (if applicable).  The application only takes a few minutes to complete.  The loan would be for up to 50% of your gross receipts.

The most interesting part of this program, though, is the $10,000 advance.  This initial money supposedly will be sent directly to your business's account (you will need to provide the routing and transit numbers), and it does not have to be repaid. For more details on the advance, check out the information on the SBA site here.  It is my understanding that accepting the advance does not require you to take out a loan.

I have applied for this program for our IT consulting company.  If you would like to apply, the application is here. 

After I applied, the confirmation screen said I should hear from them via email in about a week to let me know they are processing my application.  I imagine they are completely overwhelmed, but we will see how it goes.  I'll keep you all posted.

In addition to this program, there is also another SBA program, the Paycheck Protection Program, that is intended to help employers keep employees on the payroll.  A portion of that loan can be forgiven.  As I am able to assemble information, I will post more on that as well.

Journal questions:

If you are a small business owner, how has your company been affected?  How do you think this situation will continue to unfold?  What steps could you take now to position yourself for the future? 

Part 2 of a series. Covers the change to the US Federal tax return filing deadline and the direct payment.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Response (CARES) Act includes aid for regular Americans. This article covers two of those items: additional time to deal with Federal taxes and direct payments to individuals.

Please note:  before taking action based on this information, please do your own research, including speaking with your CPA, financial advisor or planner, employer, loan servicer, state unemployment office, and heck, maybe even a priest or shaman.  My goal is to share my best understanding and to be of service.  I hope you find this helpful.

On February 20th, 2020 the first of a series of U.S. stock market drops began in response to the global pandemic and concerns about the effect the disease would have on economic activity worldwide.

On March 21, 2020, an unprecedented spike in first time jobless claims was announced by the Labor Department.  There had been 3.2 million first time unemployment claims.  The single largest week record before then was for 700,00 back in 1982.  Check out this article from Business Insider for details.

On March 27th, the CARES Act was signed.  This law provides for loans to corporations, small business loans, household payments, unemployment insurance, tax deferrals and deadline extension, and other funds.  Most of the “goodies” we are interested in are in this act.

This article covers two of those goodies:  the change to the Federal tax deadline and the payments to individuals.  Details are outlined below.

1) Extension to both file and pay 2020 Federal taxes from 4/15 to 7/15.  Note:  while most states have followed suit, not all have (Mississippi is Mississippi-ing again. Check with your state and this article for more details.).

2)Direct payments to individuals.  This is why you came here, right?

It is my understanding that if you in the past got your refund via direct deposit, this money will come in via that same process.  You do not need to take any action.

Please be very cautious as scammers are sadly taking advantage of the opportunity.  If you receive a phone call asking for a bank account or card number in order to get you this money or expedite this process, please do not give out any personal information related to your bank account or social security number.  Older folks are especially at risk from these types of scams, so please reach out to them to help them avoid becoming a victim.

If you have always been a paper check person and can wait for the paper check, I recommend you do so to avoid scams.  However, if you have an emergency situation and cannot wait, the IRS is planning to set up a site to let you give them your bank account details.  Be very sure you are on the IRS's site when you do this.  More information is available at the IRS website.

Most individuals will receive a one time payment of $1,200 each. Kids are worth $500 each, which should cover roughly two to three of the panic grocery shopping trips you did when this whole thing kicked off.

Upper income earners will see the payments begin to phase out for incomes between $75,000 and $99,000.  If you are married filing jointly, the phase out begins at $150,000. The number used to determine this payment will be what you show as your annual income for the most recent tax filing (so 2018 if you have not yet filed for 2019.  2019 if you already got this latest tax return in or can do so before they get to you.)

Journal questions:

What would be the highest and best use of this direct payment? 

On a low information diet to preserve your sanity? Here's the scoop.

There are three new laws that have been put in place to address the Coronavirus outbreak in the US: The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Response (CARES) Act.

 Please note:  before taking action based on this information, please do your own research, including speaking with your CPA, financial advisor or planner, employer, loan servicer, state unemployment office, and heck, maybe even a priest or shaman.  My goal is to share my best understanding and to be of service.  I hope you find this helpful.

With memories of the 2008 Financial Crisis still fresh in the minds of anyone old enough to be in Congress, the US has taken bold action to try to reduce the impact of the current situation.  Well, they took bold action on the third try, but this article summarizes all three laws.

On February 20th, 2020 the first of a series of U.S. stock market drops began in response to the global pandemic and concerns about the effect the disease would have on economic activity worldwide.

 On March 6th, 2020, the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act became law.  This law included funding for telehealth for Medicare, for vaccine development, for public health funding, and for medical supplies and preparedness.  Additionally, extra funding is allocated for departments and agencies.  This law included disaster loans to be provided to small businesses through the SBA.  More information on the Economic Injury Disaster Loans will be provided in a subsequent post.

 On March 18th, the FFCRA was passed.  Its main features are to provide employees of certain employers with paid sick leave or extended family or medical leave in response to the viral outbreak.  If an employer has fewer than 500 employees, the organization can receive tax credits to offset the cost of paid leave. There is an exemption for employers with fewer than 50 employees where giving paid leave to employees to take care of children would risk the continuation of the business.  For more details, I recommend consulting the Department of Labor website and your employer.

 On March 27th, the CARES Act was signed.  This law provides for loans to corporations, small business loans, household payments, unemployment insurance, tax deferrals and deadline extension, and other funds.  Most of the “goodies” we are interested in are in this act.  My next posts will cover that act.

 Journal questions:

 When in this process do you think our leaders realized the severity of the issue?   When did it start to affect you?

Financial coaching is all about helping people with money trouble get in a better state with money.  For some people that may be about education.  For others, that may be about organization and prioritization.  For most of my clients that also includes a good deal of emotional work, as stress and anxiety do not help us make better decisions.  But when you are trying to help people with their money, one of the main objections we coaches hear is that our potential clients don't have money for coaching.  Let's dig into this.

First, if you are a professional person who lives in a decent house or apartment, has clothes to wear and food to eat, you probably DO have enough money to build financial coaching into your budget.  You may not, however, be able to objectively see the tradeoffs you are making, as you've never questioned the expenses you currently have.  The irony here is that this is exactly where a coach could help you.  In working with a coach, you'll gain a different perspective on what is truly important – having HBO or working with someone to get your finances in line.

If you don't have enough money to hire a financial coach, that's exactly why you need a financial coach.

But what about the unemployed, homeless person who is currently reading this blog on the library computer?  Surely this person doesn't have enough money for coaching.  Sometimes affording what we want is not just a matter of looking at our expenses differently.

To that person I say, ok, this is a legitimate objection. Luckily, you've already found the library, so here are some books I'd recommend to get you started:

1.  Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover.  If you are deep in debt, follow Dave's advice.  Ruthlessly cut your spending. Save up $1,000 so that if an emergency hits you don't have to go back into credit card debt to deal with it.  Then pay off all your credit cards.  Once you are done with that, take that money in your monthly budget that you'd been using to pay off credit cards and build up your full emergency fund (I recommend 3 months of expenses for a dual income household, 6 months of expenses for a single income household). Then hit the tax-advantaged employer-matched plan you have at work HARD.

2.  The Millionaire Next Door.  This classic is a bit dated, but it makes the point that the way most people build wealth is a little at a time and by living below their means.   If you spend everything you make plus some on credit cards, you will never be rich.  If you think money is for spending, even a windfall like an inheritance or lottery winnings will disappear.  Live below your means and invest the rest.

3.  The Richest Man in Babylon. 10% of what you make is yours to keep.  We can debate over the percentages, but the idea that some of your earnings should stay yours is gold.

4.  Personal Finance by Garmin & Forgue.  The best all around personal finance textbook I've found, and I've read a lot of personal finance books.

If you do fall in this truly broke category, in addition to reading you should check out local churches, food banks, and non-profits.  Many organizations like these offer or can refer you to financial counseling services or a bankruptcy attorney.

 If you aren't willing to learn the slow way through just reading (and sacrificing all that time your investments could be growing via compound interest) and if things are not so dire that you'd be willing to reach out to local charities, then I would submit the problem is not that you truly can't afford coaching, but that you are unconsciously choosing the things you currently spend money on over coaching.  If you want to do that it's your choice, but until you are willing to INVEST money in yourself and your financial future instead of SPENDING it automatically without awareness, nothing is going to change. 

Are you ready-for-charity broke, or are you making-a-different-choice broke? WHY are you broke, and how will you change that?

Your Net Worth Statement Is.

Many of the people I talk to about money are obsessed with their credit report. And don't get me wrong, credit is important in some instances.  But if you are looking for your grown up money report card, it's not your credit report, it's your net worth statement.

Many people I talk to who are just starting to pay more attention to their money are obsessed with their credit score.  If you've been careless with your money or had a financial setback, it is understandable that your credit score may be low.  But if you are looking for validation that your are on the right track financially, let go of the credit report and get to know the net worth statement.

Don't get me wrong – your credit score can be important.  But remember why the credit report and credit score was invented.  It's not a report card for grown ups meant to tell us how we are doing and the game of adulting.  It was developed for financial institutions to share customer data so they could make better decisions as to who they should extend additional credit to.

So yes, if you are looking to take on more debt, your credit score is important.  If you need to buy a new house or car, your credit score will impact whether or not the lender decides to have you as a client and the rate they choose to charge.  In this scenario, a good credit score can help you make a purchase you want and to pay a bit less for the loan.

Credit score can also be important if you are looking to rent.  Many landlords check applicants' credit scores before deciding to rent to them.  Because the way you do one thing is the way you do everything, understanding your behavior patterns with your other bills help them to understand your likely behavior pattern in paying your rent on time or late. 

If you are job hunting, many employers will check your credit report as a part of their due diligence before hiring you.  In some ways this seems unfair – after all, if you've been out of work and unable to pay your bills, getting the job would automatically improve your credit, right?  However, a really low credit score shows the potential employer a peek behind the curtain into your life.  If your bills aren't getting paid, there are likely other areas of your life that are chaotic as well.  You may not be the trustworthy and slightly boring employee they are looking for.  This becomes especially important if you will be handling money in your new job. 

But unless you are looking to take on debt, rent, or look for a new job, you should be 0% interested in your credit SCORE.  You should, however, look once a year at your credit REPORT. 

Your credit report is the underlying data that banks, credit card processors (like the place I used to work), and other lenders send to the credit bureaus each month to let them know what you've been up to.  This data is the basis for your credit score.  Your credit report data is important for more than just the fact that it contributes to your score, though.  It's also important insight into how your name is being used.  Checking your credit report periodically can be a great way to know if you are a victim of identity theft.

Because every “trade line” (record of debt in your name) shows on the credit report, if someone steals your identity and starts opening credit cards, those new cards will show up on the report.  If this happens, you can then contact the credit bureau to dispute the item, and you can contact the issuing bank to let them know you did not authorize the account to be opened in your name.  You should also contact local law enforcement to file a police report.  It is your responsibility to make sure the data in your name is cleaned up.

In order to check your credit report, you should utilize the site annualcreditreport.com. By law you are entitled to get a free report from each of the 3 credit bureaus once a year.  Therefore, you can check your credit data once every 4 months at no cost to you.  There's no need to pay for an identity monitoring service or to pay to obtain your credit score.  By reviewing your report once every 4 months and challenging any incorrect data, plus paying your bills on time, your credit score should be just fine in the event that you ever need it.

 As I mentioned, your credit score is not your adult/money report card.  It was not designed to show who is good with money and who is not.  In fact, you could have two individuals with the exact same money behavior but quite different credit scores, as being “good with money” is not what is being measured. 

 As an example, my husband's credit score falls in the “excellent”category, and mine falls in the “good” category.  But here's the kicker – my husband hasn't paid a bill since the 90s.  So if “being good with money” were the only criteria, and the person paying bills for him and for me is the same person, we should have the same score, right?  WRONG.

 You see, at our last house the mortgage was in my husband's name.  He was working a day job (in addition to moonlighting for STS), so it was much easier to show regular, normal person income for him.  To make things easy for the bank, we put the house in his name.  Because he has MORE debt and is paying that debt on time, he has shown that he can handle more debt than me in a way the banks like.  You would think having more debt makes him more unable to pay his bills and therefore more of a risk, but that's not how the credit score is calculated.

 So if you are looking to clean up your credit score as a way to prove that you are adulting with money correctly, you are barking up the wrong tree.  Yes, your credit score can be important, and it is valuable to check your credit reports throughout the year.  But it is not your grown up report card. 

If you are looking to prove you are winning the money game, it's your net worth, not your credit score, that you should be focused on.  But that's a separate post.

 How do you know if you are winning with money?

 What is Blocking Abundance For You?

Coaches are trained to see our clients as naturally resourceful and whole.  I also see my clients as naturally abundant.  My job is to help clients discover what is blocking the natural flow of abundance and help them release that.

Each of us are born in touch with our natural selves.  We are naturally in touch with our inner guidance and clearly know our wants and needs.

It is important that as children we learn the ways of the world and how to get along in society from our parents, teachers, and peers.  But as children we lack the ability to discern which lessons are clearly valuable (such as learning a language) and which are bad data that will cause us problems later. We absorb everything as if has equal value, not understanding that our parents are people who have their own issues.

There are times as children our behavior is inappropriate and needs to be corrected.  But when we get the message that WE OURSELVES are wrong (whether because of what is said to us or because of what we make what is said to us mean about us) we learn to live in a way that violates our ability to connect with who and what we truly are.

By nature we have everything we need to live in financial abundance. Nature always provides.  Most land where people live is fertile and can yield more than enough food to support us.  Most of us have natural interests and talents that can be developed into skills and abilities that allow us to provide value to others.  We can then trade the excess fruits of our labor for those items provided by others that we want or need but do not have the ability or interest to create for ourselves.

 When we are told from an early age that our instincts are wrong, we can develop false beliefs and behaviors that get in the way of our natural abundance.  We might be told that only boys can become surgeons and that our parents don't have enough money to both their male child and female child to college (this happened to a friend of mine).  On a more subtle level, we might pick up the belief that money is a source of self-worth and then spend our adult lives trying to make it as a lawyer because it's a high paying job, even though we hate the work and life we are leading.

 Most of my work as a financial coach is to help clients find the areas where they have picked up unhelpful money beliefs as children, stored those beliefs in the subconscious, and run their lives as if they are true. Since for many of us money is a taboo topic, these incorrect beliefs never come to the surface to be examined.  Through journaling, coaching, therapy, or conversation, we start to examine those beliefs for the first time and, if we choose to, set them aside in favor of beliefs that will help us get to that natural abundance each of us desires.

Even the best parents can only prepare you for the world they are living in while you are a child.  Parents and teachers cannot see into the future to understand the world we will live in as adults.  There is no way that they, with their own issues, could have fully prepared us for this new reality.

Be willing to unlearn the scripts and behaviors you were taught as a child.  A great way to identify these is by noticing where you react without thinking and get into trouble.  Perhaps there's a fight you've had with your spouse about money over and over again.  Is this really a mismatch between unexamined scripts you are each operating from?  Is there a coworker who makes you absolutely nuts?  What are they triggering in you?  Is there a belief or past trauma they are touching on that's causing you to respond with fear or anger instead of with calm rationality?

Our work as adults is to understand that everything that happens to us is being processed through our own cognitive filters.  The more of those we can identify and clear, the more we will be able to respond appropriately and stay in the present rather than acting out unresolved drama of the past.

 Where do you get triggered with regards to money?  Does that tie back to childhood experience or subconscious understandings of the world?