What is your baseline?

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc across the world. It continues to swirl around like a hurricane that refuses to leave the mainland and return to the ocean. Aside from the morbidity & mortality caused by the pandemic, there have also been significant job losses which have financially impacted millions of individuals and families. In November 2020, an article in Forbes Magazine stated it would take four years to recover the 22 million jobs lost (at that time) during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Moody’s Analytics.

With vaccines now available (even with limited quantities), help appears to be on the horizon and the goal is to return to the pre-pandemic state. However, will things be the same or slightly different? Throughout the pandemic we heard terms such as “the new normal”, “the reset button” and “pivoting”, but what does this mean? While there may not be an immediate answer available, there is one thing people may do which is to know their baseline.

A baseline can be defined as a basis serving as a starting point for measurement or comparison purposes. For example, if one was unemployed or lost work hours during the pandemic, it’s safe to say the amount of money usually dedicated towards savings, i.e. retirement, emergency fund, etc. would cease or be greatly reduced due to the circumstances. Therefore, if you had certain financial goals in place, you should consider establishing a new baseline to adjust for the disruption of time to measure when you would reach those goals.

If the pandemic has impacted your finances, education, etc. do not despair, as this situation was well beyond your control! Whatever goals you had in place before the pandemic, continue moving forward and note that what you have experienced is a natural occurrence known as a bump in the road. As stated by Francis of Assisi, “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible, and suddenly you’re doing the impossible.”

Michele Williams
www.assetprotectionprimer.com
February 2021