OT: How have you been impacted by the coronavirus crisis?

[Keith A]

I know we already have a discussion on the coronavirus, but I would like to know how you and your family have been impacted by this crisis?

I think most of us have experienced empty shelves, loss of value for our investments, and school closures. In what other ways have you been affected?

A few for me:
• Company sales have taken a hit. We are in the CAD/CAM industry.
• Our church has stopped all meetings.
• A health clinic my wife has been going to has closed for now.

[Hilltopperny]

The one client I was working for over the past year and a half had to call the project quits this week due to financial loss. My wife who is a teacher and pregnant has school closing for the time being and we are a bit nervous about visits to the Dr. at this stage. My siblings are very distraught and seem to think that I am under reacting and it is causing me quite a bit of stress.

All these things aside I am still optimistic that we will all get through this. Financial losses are terrible, but it’s probably time as a society to be less consumeristic and more self sufficient anyway.


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[Bruce K]

School is closed until at least early April - we will be planning online learning for later this week by Wednesday. Our kids all are supposed to have Chromebooks but there will be opportunities for smartphone and paper packet pickup as well.

Expecting cancellation or some other modification/rescheduling of statewide testing.

We are staying home and avoiding all scheduled events except for doctor appointments and necessary shopping items.

Going to the bank to get a small amount of cash as we plan to support some local restaurants who have been mandated to do take-out or delivery only by the Commonwealth of MA. These locals need our help to survive and while it won’t be every night, once or twice per week seems worth a try.

After that, I will dust off the trainer, do household cleanups and chores, and basically hang out with my wife.

BK

[p nut]

Work is going forward as normal, for now. We’re just bracing for whatever may come up.

Church has cancelled all meetings and other activities (LDS)

Worst is the school closure. Chrome book check out today. Hoping they have a decent curriculum set up.. My wife (and other parents) have it the worst. Especially those that both work or are single parents. Heart goes out to them.

[bthornt]

I was planning on retiring this year, but my 403b plan (401k for certain professions, such as professor) has really gone down. This is in spite of a middle of the road allocation of funds, basically 50/50 equities and fixed income assets. The same is true about my Roth IRAs. So, I just signed my contract today to teach for another year. That's life, I guess.

[cmbicycles]

The school district I work for is closed officially for 2 weeks, though I am guessing that will be extended. Teachers are still going in doing food distribution for students, as it's a low income area. My wife is a massage therapist and her work is currently still open, though understandably has barely any appointments. My kids are homeschooled, though they take a lot of classes at a co-op that has just switched to online instruction.

Otherwise, churches around here cancelled services, though still otherwise open and available to people. Lots of other appointments and things closed. Lots of projects are going to take place at home I think. Since there is TP hoarding, maybe installing a bidet seat.

[exapkib]

School cancelled.

Church cancelled (also LDS).

We live in an older neighborhood in our town. Literally 80% of our neighbors are in the high-risk category. The extra stress of not introducing the virus to this neighborhood is really, and compounded by the fact that we are so used to helping our elderly neighbors and bring involved in their lives. It's a tricky balance to maintain.

Classes on campus cancelled. We are expected to begin conducting classes online this Wednesday, which is daunting for those of us in more practice-based fields that have not traditionally transferred well into a virtual environment (what does an online first-year language class look like?).

Our entire life this past year has been built around preparing to lead a lengthy study abroad program in the Middle East in the second half of this year. Our start date is far enough away that they haven't cancelled yet, but no one is very motivated to help make arrangements for future programs either. Managing the uncertainty of the students is one of the hardest things--a group of 50+ students, each of them asking be questions every day.

So much uncertainty right now.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by Keith A

I think most of us have experienced empty shelves, loss of value for our investments, and school closures.

Important note -- the loss of investment value is mostly psychological. The actual value loss is only realized if you have to sell or liquidate investments. If you do not touch your investments, a year from now they may be worth more than they were in January of this year.

So...unless you have immediate short term cash needs, don't touch your investments. The worst thing you can do, financially, is to sell your holdings now. Just sit tight.

[C40_guy]

I'm in the middle of a job search.

Should know tomorrow whether my best opportunity is moving forward with their process...but that's day-to-day.

And my job involves a lot of face-to-face meetings with groups of sales people, so...

[joosttx]

No school. I have become a home schooler. Class starts in about 20 minutes. I lost a ton of money in the market. My wife works from home now. I’m cooking all the meals. I still plan to MTB.

[Blue Jays]

* Work from home. Customer visits forbidden. All videoconference.
* My morning ritual of stopping for coffee has been temporarily halted.
* Cycling club cancelled big group events. Maybe 3-4 of us ride...and FAR apart.
* No shows, seeing bands, meals out, concerts, lectures, or anything similar.
* Must reconsider things like haircuts and other typical errands.

[Elefantino]

Daughter's wedding, scheduled for 6/6, postponed until 5/29/21. My future son-in-law is in a PhD program so it has to be when school's out.

Grr.

[dbnm]

My kids are home at least until April 6.

Can't go anywhere.

I work for a company that requires human contact and experience.

And well, the investments are not doing so well.

But...

I'M HAPPY TO BE ALIVE!

[Spaghetti Legs]

Originally Posted by bthornt

I was planning on retiring this year, but my 403b plan (401k for certain professions, such as professor) has really gone down. This is in spite of a middle of the road allocation of funds, basically 50/50 equities and fixed income assets. The same is true about my Roth IRAs. So, I just signed my contract today to teach for another year. That's life, I guess.

That is lousy timing. I’ve been worried that the inflated market would take another 5-6 years to pop and affect my potential retirement. I hope the next year gets you where you need to be.

On a lighter but still sad note, I’m sorry to see the rug pulled out from the finale to FSU’s historic basketball season. OTOH, I’m a Duke fan and I think this saved me the pain of a sweet sixteen heartbreak.

[mistermo]

We source our 'products' from Wuhan China. Our supply chain closed nearly two months ago. Hiring freeze, etc. Our customers, research labs, often in universities, are also shutting.

Rather than focus on the negative, I see it as an opportunity to reconnect with people. Though I've never done much online 'connecting', this represents an opportunity to get into that. Imagine this in the days before tech...we'd be way more misinformed and way more isolated. Information is a good thing, though it sometimes doesn't seem that way.

I'm former LDS. One thing I've always admired about LDS is their emergency preparedness. I'm using this as a reminder and opportunity to get my emergency preparedness house in order, though I'm not buying bottled water or toilet paper. I'm puzzled by those who believe that's their safety net. Maybe we should start a emergency prep thread.