PHOENIX — Stimulus checks are rolling in for Americans as part of the $2.3 trillion relief package amid the outbreak, but you could be saving even more during these tough times.
There are five ways to save money as long as you specifically ask the right questions. Financial expert Dr. Dan Pallesen with Keystone Wealth Partners says it all depends on what you should be asking when it comes to pinching pennies during this pandemic.
"Look at what are you're paying and reaching out to each one of those companies directly, you're going to find a lot of them providing relief during this time," Pallesen said.
He says first up, all that plastic: paying for emergencies during the coronavirus with credit cards.
"What I'm gathering is it's really going to be a case by case and it depends on when you reached out, so whether it's delaying payment or delaying interest, that's sort of up to each company to allow their consumers to take advantage of," he said.
What about reoccurring payments that come out of your account automatically, like the good old gym memberships?
"I've seen a lot of gyms that are proactively just pausing payments while they're shut down but a lot of them are not, so it's going to you reaching out to them, to see if you can pause your account," Pallesen said.
Number three, a category of its own, auto insurance. Companies like Allstate are returning hundreds of millions of dollars to drivers, simply because they're not behind the wheel.
"They're doing that shelter-in-place payback, so what they're doing is offering 15% back on premiums for the months of April and May and could continue on. They want to keep your business, so it's really going to be an advantage to you to reach out to them," he added.
A big question in the rotation is rent. How can tenants find a reasonable way to "rent a break on bills"?
"You're going to find someone reasonable on the other end of that phone call that wants to work with you and keep you in that unit and find a way to get through this time, maybe that's a reduction on rent or maybe pausing payments until you're back up and running," Pallesen said.
Lastly, let's talk utilities. Are customers kept to strict policy or should they pursue payment forgiveness?
"It's really important to be mindful of when you're running the air conditioning. It's that time of year where we're going to see more of that going on, so having a good plan within you and your family and then communicating that to the utility company," Pallesen said.
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