904 356-JOBS (5627)

904 356-JOBS (5627)

June 12, 2020 (Courtesy of The Florida Times-Union) The coronavirus outbreak has rocked the U.S. and world economy, but when it comes to personal finance, First Coast experts are urging people not to panic and start treading through your money issues more carefully than ever before.

For area workers who’ve lost jobs, and even those who haven’t, it’s time to organize your finances with economic uncertainty still in the wind.

Kendall Spencer, regional bank and market president of Florida and Jacksonville for Ameris Bank, said the first thing everyone should do if they haven’t already is formulate a serious budget. It sounds simple, but most banks and credit unions offer what’s called account aggregators that help on home banking internet accounts or on mobile applications.

“If people have accounts at multiple institutions, it’s a good thing to know what your whole picture looks like in one location,” Spencer said. “Account aggregation … is a great tool especially at this time because you want to know what all your resources are and what they’re worth.”

The aggregation tool can pull all accounts together and aggregate them in one statement, Spencer said.

“People forget about money. People forget where they have all of their accounts,” Spencer said.

NEWS YOU CAN USE

• Start formulating detail budgets for personal spending.

• Aggregate all bills into a tool most financial institutions offer where you can pay them all in one place.

• For personal investments, don’t panic and sell stocks or bonds now. Keep your portfolio stable and hunker down. Markets will begin to stabilize.

• If you’ve lost a job or had income reduced, contact any institutions you have debt with. Most financial institutions are willing to guide those hit hardest through uncertain economic times.

• Shop around, use the internet and seek the best rates for loans or mortgages, fee structures charged by financial advisers and other financial services.

Sean Davis, associate professor in finance for the University of North Florida Coggin College of Business, said it’s a good idea to be shopping around not only for potential new banks, but any kind of financial institution or services. The near-instant recession caused by the pandemic has financial institutions hungry.

“Shopping around for a good deal is always a good idea because those deals can and should be even better given the current situation,” Davis said.

Credit unions can offer better deals on some interest rates for loans. But Davis said all financial institutions are looking to lure customers. There might even be room for haggling when meeting in person mixed if you’re armed with internet research.

“When you’re dealing with an individual adviser, a financial adviser offering investment services, those services absolutely are negotiable,” Davis said. “The fees that they can charge can and will dramatically impact the amount of money you have for retirement years and decades later.”

The wild fluctuations in the stock market have created some serious downsides for long-term investments. Davis said make sure to hold your broker or adviser in check.

“Interest rates on those bond portfolios have plunged over the past year. Ten-year treasuries are yielding well below 1%. If you have those assets with a financial adviser, they may be charging you more than your yield on those assets,” Davis said.

Kristy Meeler, managing principal of Avondale Wealth Advisors financial planning firm and president of community councils for JAXChamber, said when it comes to personal investments, the first thing to keep in mind now is it’s no time to panic.And for those who’ve been hit the worst, Meeler said, even if you’ve lost your job, do not walk away without notice from outstanding debt.

She said to call financial institutions if you’re in a hole.

“Companies are eight out of 10 times more likely to work with someone right now to extend that [debt] and not harm your credit and help you get back on your feet,” Meeler said.

While the stock market has gyrated in wild ups and downs, Meeler said for most, don’t even think about selling stocks.

“It’s the retirees [who are most worried]. When you’re not collecting your paycheck and you’re living out of your portfolio and you see the news, you think your portfolio is down 30%. We had to reach out to them,” Meeler said.

“Don’t panic. It’s hard to do. But you can’t catch a falling market so you have to stay the course,” Meeler said.