The President announced today, January 25th, that the government shutdown is over and all federal employees will be receiving their back pay. That is good news for the country, but even better news for the 800,000 federal employees who haven't gotten a paycheck in almost a month. As can be expected, that month without a paycheck left many of those employees hurting badly financially. But, let's all be honest here for a moment. How many of us would be in the same situation if we had to go a month without a paycheck? Would we be able to make our rent/house payment, cover monthly bills, and provide for the basic needs of our families? According to a late 2017 CareerBuilder report, 78% of full-time workers in America were living paycheck to paycheck. Four-out-of-five of us would be in the same dire situation as the federal employees if we were hit with a similar circumstance in our own employment situation. This is scary folks.
This purpose of this is not to shame anyone. Rather, it is to help us all learn from what happened to these federal employees, and to better our own financial lives. We must take to heart what we've seen play out, and make the necessary changes to prevent a hardship like that from happening to us. The good news is we can do this, and the person who can make it happen is staring back at you, every morning, in the mirror. There IS a better way to handle money, and it's been effectively used by millions of people. Stop borrowing money. Cut up the credit cards. Attack your debt. Establish/build up an emergency fund. Be intentional and have a plan for your finances. These are the simple, but effective, pillars that better way is built upon.
Ready (maybe even screaming inside) for a change, but have no idea where to start? Trust us when we say you are not alone, and that we can help. Click here to reach out to us, and take that first step.
Baseline Financial Solutions, LLC is based in Aberdeen, SD.
