The ongoing pandemic has pummeled world economies, shuttering businesses and wreaking havoc on those who were formerly employed. As a result, many have lost their homes, their savings and the ability to provide for their essential needs. Those who are fortunate to still have employment should practice basic principles of money management to survive the future.

Personally, I have observed a significant decrease in income from my writing business. I spent Sunday tallying lost income over the course of the last 15 months. The auditing reveals about a 30% loss of income compared to the 15 months prior to the pandemic. Accordingly, managing my budget has been a priority and practicing sound principles has provided me with security and the ability to keep a roof over my head, eat and enjoy some pleasures.

Basic principles

It may appear entirely logical to many, yet few follow this basic rule: never spend more than what your income level happens to be. Despite this, many individuals do it and find themselves upside down, financially speaking. In oder to resolve this, take some time and write down what you earn and where you are spending your money. If you're wise, you will keep your receipts (bills, supermarket receipts, etc). Tallying these up and subtracting it from your net income will reveal ways to slash your budget.

Avoid the pitfalls of budget making by over-zealousness. Do you need a new car, smartphone or other luxury item? Are you able to downsize your home or apartment to save money? These are excellent practices.

Save, save, save! We should all work towards having various types of savings. We need a medical emergency fund in the event some unfortunate malady hits. An illness is capable of bankrupting any individual lest they be wealthy. You should also save for your children's future. Government's will not finance anything save for a basic high school education, so if you desire your kids to be university educated, save now. Also, you should have a retirement plan no matter what age you are.

One vital aspect of effective savings is to keep an eye on what you have managed to put back. A good rule of thumb is this: if you are able to go six months or more without touching your savings, you are properly budgeting your household and are on the road to financial stability.

Ditch your credit cards. I had two credit cards. These pieces of plastic are dangerous in the wrong hands. I cut them both in pieces with a pair of scissors. It's far too easy to buy on impulse, especially for something that isn't really necessary. Instead, my bank deposits are transferred from PayPal and I use two debit cards. In this way, you cannot spend more than you have in the bank. And remember, when you use a credit card you are paying a hefty interest rate that cuts into your budget.

Reduce your monthly bills. I'm no green fanatic, but it makes common sense to watch the utility bills. For example, I dry my clothes on the clothesline as opposed to using a dryer. My air conditioning is used only when my son and I are sweating profusely, and then for a limited time, typically for a few hours in the evening. During the day, we hit the beach and take advantage of the breeze from the China Sea. Eliminate anything that you really don't need, such as Netflix, cable, Apple TV or Amazon Prime is necessary. There are a plethora of free movies on You Tube and Odysee.

Be careful with any investment. Never invest more than you can afford to lose. Avoid pyramid schemes. These rackets suck you in with bloated and misleading promises of wealth. The truth is the vast majority of people who invest in these lose their money to the handful of people at the top of the pyramid.

Crypto investments

We all have an affinity for earning #Bitcoin Cash. My first week on #read.cash has earned me over $100. Not bad at all. I watch the crypto market several times a day and read opinions and news from experienced investors on #Coindesk. I also watch some of the top investors on Odysee and You Tube to see what they are buying or trading. All of the above-mentioned has helped me considerably.

Be aware of the risks when investing! This cannot be overstated. Far too often people lose money when investing because they fail to look deeper into trends. Hasty decisions should be avoided. Nothing is really a sure thing when investing. On the other hand, you can possess the mindset of #fomo (fear of missing out) and delay a buy. This happened to me when I was watching #Cardano. It was $1.19 and I wanted to buy two chunks of $50 each, a week apart. I hesitated despite the advice to buy. Now the crypto is $2.09 as of this writing, while #Bitcoin has sunk to $43,000.

Rich or poor, one needs to manage their money. Hedonistic or unwise spending will leave you scrambling at the end of the week to make ends meet. You can avoid this by following sound money management principles. It will take some grit and proper decision making, but you can do all of the above if you put your mind to it. Let me end by encouraging you to look into financial budgeting. Put down your TikTok, gaming, frivolous activities, smartphone and conduct some research. The time you spend gaining knowledge as it concerns money management will pay off in the end.