Many people are facing pay cuts during this time. The most common that I've heard is a 20% pay cut across the board and a loss of the 401K match. If you are in a similar position, this is what I'm telling my clients.

Use your emergency fund.

This is exactly what an emergency fund is for - use it. We will rebuild that savings account when things turn around, and they will turn around. The clients I have spoken to have been hesitant to dip into this because we are disciplined about not touching it, but now is the time. Use it if you need to.

Reduce your extra savings or extra debt payments.

Core savings are your 401k or retirement savings. Continue saving to those accounts. This is a great time to be investing and buying into the market, but for extra mortgage payments, for example, you can scale back. I have quite a few clients that are paying down their mortgage at a faster rate. They want to be debt-free at retirement. Even if you can afford a 15-year mortgage, I recommend you get a 30-year mortgage and then make the extra payments as if you have a 15-year loan to get it paid off earlier. That gives you the flexibility where if something like this happens, you can stop those extra payments and you will not be penalized. So that is an option - to stop those additional savings and additional debt payments that you're making just to free up some cash.

Look at refinancing your other debt.

Interest rates are at all-time lows so any debt that you have you can call your service providers. Make sure you understand all of your options. For example the CARES Act that just came through requires all federally backed mortgages to offer forbearance options. Forbearance is not going to penalize you. It's not going to hurt your credit. It's not forgiveness either. It's really just pausing the mortgage. So you can stop paying the mortgage payment, the federally backed student loan payments. You will still owe the same amount, but you do not need to make those monthly payments until a period of time. So make sure you call them - your mortgage provider, student loan provider, auto loan provider, and any other debt service providers.

Stay on top of your cash flow.

That will tell us if we need to be reducing expenses further. So if you haven't been tracking your expenses, now is the perfect time to do it. Let's check that cash flow every month. If you're running a deficit, then we need to see where else we need to be cutting.

Take a step back and focus on gratitude.

You still have a job and health insurance. You are very lucky. 10M Americans, and counting, have lost their jobs in a very short period of time. So there is certainly is a lot to be grateful for. 80% of something is better than 80% of nothing.

Schedule a time to talk.

If you have any questions, please let me know how I can help. Schedule a time to talk to a CFP(R) professional.

Linda Rogers, CFP®, EA, MSBA is the owner and founder of Planning Within Reach, LLC (PWR). Originally from New Jersey, Linda services clients throughout San Diego county and nationwide. She leads the design of PWR's investment portfolios which utilize broad, low-cost investments that integrate environmentally, socially, and governance (ESG) factors.

Planning Within Reach, LLC (PWR) is a fee-only and fiduciary wealth management firm offering one-time comprehensive financial planning, ongoing impact-focused investment management and tax preparation services in San Diego and nationwide. PWR is a woman-owned firm that specializes in busy professionals and impact investors. Planning Within Reach, LLC and their advisors do not receive commissions and do not hold any insurance licenses or brokerage relationships.