I've lost nearly all my income to the coronavirus and have to apply for unemployment benefits for the first time in my life. Here's what the next few weeks look like.
- Like millions of others, I lost virtually all my income this month when the coronavirus shut down normal life across the US. As a freelance journalist, I could no longer go out into the community to do my job.
- My daughters are also home from school, so my attention is focused on caring for my kids.
- I've paused all my bill payments for the month and have a bit of cash in my bank account, but I'll soon be applying for unemployment benefits for the first time ever. I have a lot of questions and no way to know what the future holds.
- Read more personal finance coverage.
My personal and professional lives ground to a halt on Friday, March 13. Two days prior, the final pair of class days before spring break were cancelled at my daughter's boarding school; then, as my younger daughter's public school unexpectedly closed, the very rural place where I live (two hours from both Boston and New York City) began buzzing about social distancing.
Within a matter of days, I watched my freelance writing career evaporate like fog burning off in the morning sun.
Community events I was slated to cover were cancelled at swift clip, individuals with whom I was scheduled to sit down and chat were afraid to do so, and advertising sales, instrumental in floating the publications for which I write, plummeted overnight.
Thankfully I filed my taxes early this year and (finally) sold my engagement ring, which means I'm not in terrible financial shape. Read: I've got enough money for groceries. And that's about it.
I've paused many of my bills
In the 21 days since we've been holed up at home, I've deferred my mortgage payments, my car payments, and my minimum monthly credit card payment. April and May present a reprieve from tuition payments, and because my oil supplier is an acquaintance, he answered the phone on the second ring and graciously agreed not to cash the last check I sent.
This leaves enough cash for the barest essentials: groceries, our cell phones, internet, and electricity. Now, I wait.
I'll need all the help the CARES Act has to give
My main strategy for remaining sane involves distancing myself from the media. We don't have a TV, I've trashed the Facebook app on my phone, and I curate my information updates carefully.
Last week, I was relieved to hear that the federal CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act had been signed into law and had both increased unemployment benefits and expanded eligibility to include freelance and gig workers, a group to which I belong.
The $2.2 trillion stimulus package, intended to keep businesses and individuals afloat during a freeze in the majority of Americans' lives, will be a proverbial lifeline when the benefits finally trickle down to Massachusetts.
As of today, a message from Gov. Charlie Baker asks people like me - historically eclipsed from receiving unemployment - to please be patient while his office awaits further instruction from Washington, D.C.
When CARES benefits do trickle down to individual states, the bill adds $600 per week from the federal government on top of whatever base amount a worker receives from the state; boosted payments will last for four months.
The bill also adds 13 weeks of unemployment insurance, another benefit freelancers and contractors haven't been able to apply for in the past.
Finally, the bill creates a temporary Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, through the end of this year, to help those who have lost work as a direct result of the public health emergency. In my case, the stay-at-home orders and social distancing guidelines mean I can't go out into the community and do my job as a reporter.
I'm trying to remain calm about the future
Yes, I am a single mom of two; still, I'm choosing not to panic. There is a roof over our heads - Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and HUD will suspend foreclosures and evictions for 60 days in response to COVID-19 - and food on the table. I just purchased a CSA share from a local farm. It's ironic: I can't really afford the up-front cost, but I also can't afford not to secure a reliable food source going forward.
I'm optimistic that government relief checks will arrive soon (I'm slated to receive $1,700 as my ex-husband and I each claim one of our minor children as dependents) and expanded unemployment benefits will trickle down to the state level before my checking account is dry. Despite being a prudent planner, I don't have a six-month cushion to cover my living expenses as experts advise (I'm a newly single mom of two who freelances, remember?).
When funds do arrive - and I'm confident they will - I will be faced with another challenge: prioritizing my current expenses with no knowledge of the future.
I've never before applied for, or received, unemployment benefits. I'm definitely not ashamed to avail myself of this resource, but I'm not entirely sure how it will work. How long will it be before I can apply? What can I expect insofar as "red tape" is concerned? Will I get a lump-sum disbursement? Do I turn funds received over to my aforementioned bills, or work to create a cushion lest this economic crisis continue ad infinitum?
I do not know the answers to any of these questions, but I do know what my approach will be: one step at a time. It is never the crisis itself - rather how we respond to said crisis - that defines us. Especially when uncertainty swirls around in great gusts.
I am certain of one thing: the number of COVID-19 cases in the United States and available respirators at my local hospital is entirely out of my control. But my response to the chaos? That is entirely within my control.
I'm committed to stabilizing the atmosphere inside my home (that I'm incredibly thankful to have) and turn my attention toward cultivating connection and communication with my kids. Heating season is almost over, and my daughter's school tuition payments don't resume until June. This could be over by then, right? Fingers crossed.
- More personal finance coverage
- 4 reasons to open a high-yield savings account while interest rates are down
- It took less than 10 minutes to open a high-yield cash account with Wealthfront and earn more on my savings
- How to buy a house with no money down
- When to save money in high-yield savings
- Best rewards credit cards
- 7 reasons you may need life insurance, even if you think you don't
And get the latest coronavirus analysis and research from Business Insider Intelligence on how COVID-19 is impacting businesses.