Financial and Lifestyle Resources for Vermont

COVID-19 has brought financial uncertainty to many, and even as we edge closer to recovery, the impacts of COVID-19 will be felt by many Vermonters for months to come. I sat down with Yvonne Garand, our senior vice president of marketing and business development, to talk about personal finance in the age of COVID-19.

Loans and Grants for Now and Later Whether it’s starting curbside pickup at restaurants, pivoting manufacturing facilities to produce masks and other necessities for frontline workers, creating online ordering systems, or developing remote work infrastructures on the fly, one silver lining the pandemic has shown us is the innovative power of small business owners and entrepreneurs.   But the reality is that the small business sector is still in need of help—specifically financial help. If you are a business owner, here are the two major categories of finance that you can turn to, both during the COVID-19 crisis and after.

Home ownership is incredibly rewarding, both financially and personally. Building equity in your home puts you on the path towards a sound financial future, while pride of ownership can be immensely gratifying. Now that spring is arriving, a lot of homeowners finally have a chance to begin planning a renovation or tackling a repair that was put on hold during winter’s harsh weather.

In the last month, 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment due to the coronavirus. Here in Vermont, unemployment has jumped from 2.2 percent to an effective unemployment rate of over 20 percent, with more than 80,000 claims to date for unemployment insurance due to COVID-19. The economy is slowly restarting, as certain industries are reopening with social distancing parameters in place, but many Vermonters remain unemployed or worried about job security. If you or someone you know is out of work, here are eight things you can do to survive being laid off (or furloughed).

If you have lost pay, been laid off from work, or are working reduced hours, you may be struggling to cover food costs. Whether this is a new situation for you or a situation you have been in before, know that you are not alone and there are a number of free food resources available close to home. These programs are for ALL Vermonters and can help you and your family stay healthy and well-nourished through this emergency.

Has anyone else started to forget what day or month it is? With COVID-19 throwing our usual routines out the window, the kids are starting to get antsy. Kids need guidance and boundaries to feel safe and understand that rules are still in force. This is a good time to set wake-up times so everyone is up and out of bed by a reasonable hour, implement additional chores, and enforce homework expectations. It’s also time to engage them in family activities that will create great memories and help them manage their screen time so they don’t start bad habits.

On April 15, some of you may have received your COVID-19 economic impact payment, otherwise known as your stimulus payment, from the federal government.* Instead of wondering, “When will I get my payment?” suddenly it’s, “What should I do with it?”  

Over the past weeks, many parents have been home wondering how they will cover the bills and how they can keep their kids engaged. COVID-19 has brought us all into circumstances we never knew could exist. We are home working, teaching, cleaning, and cooking as a family, all day, every day. Though I don’t have any secrets to help you become a millionaire, I can help with getting the kids to do their chores and understand what to do with the money they earn doing them.