From Airplane Mode to Planning Mode

BY ABIGAIL MCCLOSKEY

Many of our clients know that my husband is a commercial airline pilot. It almost always opens up a discussion with a slew of questions, most of which I can predict. In the past few months, those questions have changed, and become more solemn than “do I really need to be in airplane mode?” They’ve asked if he is working, how he feels about the risk of traveling, to more specific questions about airlines taking government money and the future of the industry as we may see a major shift in business travel moving forward. I don’t have the answers to all of these questions, and if I did, it would certainly be more than a single blog post. I’d like to use my household experiences to shed light on more broad questions being asked in this economic environment.

It’s one thing to have an emergency plan and never need it; it’s another to have an emergency land at your doorstep (job loss, death, etc) requiring you to scramble at the last minute. Many of us are in limbo right now, we are working, but see the Covid numbers creeping up in certain areas. The question in my house is: Will there be a furlough this winter? How will the airline handle an additional decline in travel? If you know a financial emergency is looming, is it still an emergency?

So, what is a household to do? As all good therapists will tell you: communicate. Ask the what ifs? You don’t need to have a solution to every problem that doesn’t exist yet, but having next steps lined up will alleviate any anxiety you may have now, and help you feel more prepared later on.

How much money do you need on a monthly basis for living expenses? This isn’t to be confused with monthly income – this is a barebones living expenses figure, and you should know it.

Where is your monthly savings going? If your emergency savings is not where it should be, it might make sense to shift away from retirement savings (despite CARES Act relief making it easier to access for some people, traditional savings is still the easiest access) to a savings account.

Are you contributing to a 529? I love my kids, but will diverting 529 contributions for 6 months to a year into household savings ruin their future? No.

Worrying is not productive, planning is. In all likelihood, this will be a bump in the road, if that, for my household; and hopefully for yours. I can’t worry about the outlier “living in a bunker” situation, because it’s a waste of time. I don’t worry about more likely emergencies because my household has a plan in place.

Ask yourself, ask your partner, ask your advisor if you are doing everything you should be to prepare for the short-term curveballs, as well as the long term.