Money's tight for a lot of people right now. So some financial experts offered a few quick money and budgeting tips to point you in the right direction. Here are five things to think about . . .
1. See what kind of help you qualify for. File for unemployment if you lost your job, and check with credit card companies to see if they'll freeze your payments for a month or two. The government also offered an extension on student loans through September.
2. Re-vamp your budget. Look through your last bank statement for anything on auto-pay that you don't really need right now. The stimulus checks people get should go to things like food and rent first. Not magazine subscriptions.
3. Look for free and cheap ways to pass time. Your Netflix subscription is probably worth the money right now. But there are also free ways to kill time. For example, a lot of libraries will let you sign up online and access their digital books and movies for free.
4. Don't borrow from your 401k unless there's no other choice. You'll lose out when the market rebounds. Plus, the mistake a lot of people make is borrowing from it to pay off credit cards, but then they go bankrupt anyway. Retirement plans are usually from bankruptcy. So don't tap into that money unless it's really necessary.
5. Look for a side-hustle. Whether it's something you've always wanted to do, or you're just trying to make money, now's a good time to get serious about it. Time is the one thing most of us do have more of right now.
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