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While we’re still in the thick of COVID-19’s impact, your audience is embracing an unusual summer. Whether that means skipping the annual summer family reunion, facing the daunting impact of homeschooling the kiddos in the fall or considering a life spent WFH, they’ve got a lot going on right now. Here’s how to guide them through it.
Help Parents Budget for an Unusual Back-to-School
…because they really need the help. Saying COVID-19 has been challenging for parents might be the understatement of 2020. Between navigating delayed starts, partial in-class semesters or the joys of homeschooling, most parents are already near their limit. And now they have to buy school supplies to boot. Money is tight and stress is high. Help the parents in your audience out with a roundup of tips to save money on all the supplies their kids will lose by Thanksgiving.
Blog Inspiration:
- Cross Items Off Your Back-to-School List With These Tips (NerdWallet)
- How to Home-School Your Child on a Budget & Save Money (MoneyCrashers)
- The Ultimate Back-to-School Budgeting Guide (Chime)
Navigate Government Benefits for Your Audience
The extended unemployment benefits millions of Americans were relying on may be coming to an end and it’s likely some of your audience will be working with $600 less a week. However, a second round of stimulus checks seems all but certain (at least maybe). Now is a great time to help your audience (especially if they fall in the near-prime to subprime range) navigate both their benefits and their tight budgets.
Already created a resource article for benefits and financial assistance earlier in the year? Update your existing content with new information and share it on social. Feeling at a loss for what to cover? Interview personal finance influencers for their best tips.
Blog Inspiration:
- What to Do if You Can’t Pay the Bills (Ellevest)
- Reduced Unemployment Assistance, a Smaller Check: What to Expect From the GOP Stimulus Bill (Acorns)
- How to Manage Your Finances During Times of Uncertainty (Simple)
Help Make Sense of What’s Going on
In the midst of a global pandemic and a recession, your audience has a lot of questions. They’re more interested than ever in topics about the economy and the stock market—and they want to hear your insight.
Lately, we’re seeing people wonder how the economy could be in a recession while the stock market is rebounding. This is a great time for a blog post on how the two aren’t as related as we think. (Check out this piece from The Huffington Post for an in-depth explainer.)
Blog Inspiration:
- The Stock Market and the Economy – How Do They Impact Each Other? (Altavista Wealth Management)
- Stock Market Versus the Economy (Oliver Wyman)
- 5 Explanations For the Disconnect Between the Stock Market and the Economy (Darrow Wealth Management/Forbes)
Use Social Media to Highlight Safe (and Affordable) Summer Traveling
Nationwide, we’re not requesting time off. For example, Craig Maloney, CEO of Maestro Health, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette employees have taken 25% – 30% fewer days so far this year, a sentiment echoed by many business owners.
Many employees don’t feel like they can afford — or risk — taking a vacation right now. But skipping time off leads to poorer mental health and higher stress levels. While far-flung destinations and expensive resort stays might be off the table this summer, you leverage social media to help your audience find affordable ways to reclaim their PTO. Highlight staycation ideas, share photos of socially-distancing glamping or host a live Q&A with a budget travel expert.
Blog Inspiration:
- How to Take a Safer Summer Vacation During COVID-19 (Stash)
- The Secret to a Quarantine Staycation That’s Actually Fun (Money Management International)
- 6 Summer Staycation Ideas (Chime)
Take the First-Person Approach to These Changing Times
The pandemic has undoubtedly changed the way we live our lives (a “new normal” if you’re not totally tired of that phrasing). And one of the biggest shifts might be in how and where we work. Companies are catching on that it is safer and cheaper to keep employees remote. In turn, employees are realizing they don’t have to live in expensive urban areas to keep their jobs and many are already pulling up roots and heading to smaller, cheaper locals.
This is a great opportunity to survey your audience and use that data to craft a few blog posts. Or, you could interview someone who’s in the process of relocating for an honest first-person account.
Blog Inspiration:
- Newly Remote Workers Are Fleeing Cities: 3 Things to Consider Before Making a Big Move (Acorns)
- Who’s Moving, and Who’s Staying Put? (TheHustle)
Want to look further ahead? Download our Financial Content Planning Calendar to stay up-to-date all year-round.
