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Tell us: How has the pandemic changed your financial plans?

We want to know how the pandemic has impacted both your short- and long-term financial goals.

By Zipporah Osei

July 16, 2021

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The pandemic has upended so much of our lives over the last year and a half, and unfortunately for millions of Americans, the negative impact has been felt most intensely in their bank accounts. 

After more than a year of living through a pandemic-induced recession, the economy looks to be on heading in the right direction. New applications for unemployment benefits are at the lowest they’ve been since the start of the pandemic, with jobless claims falling by 26,000 to 360,000 nationwide. Still, the number of claims nationwide is double what it was before the pandemic and financial uncertainty that came with this recession will continue to impact households for some time.

In the first week of July, Massachusetts was one of five states with the largest decreases in unemployment claims, according to the Department of Labor, but financial stress remains. The uncertainty of the pandemic has only worsened financial anxiety about retirement. A recent poll from CreditNinja.com found that the average person in Massachusetts starts worrying about retirement at just 25 years old. One in five Americans polled by the personal finance group said that the pandemic’s financial stress has them rethinking their retirement plans. 

For Americans closer to today’s typical retirement age of 65, previously laid out retirement plans seem to be on shakier ground. Thirty-six percent of Americans older than 55 said the pandemic has them rethinking the viability of their retirement. We may be looking at a generation of Americans further delaying their retirement plans out of concern for the financial futures of themselves and their families.

Retirement isn’t the only financial concern looming over our heads. Financial anxiety spurred by the pandemic has us re-evaluating just about everything, including making rent payments, paying off mortgages, chipping away at debt, and more. 

We want to know: How was the pandemic changed your financial plans? Have you had to adjust plans to buy a house or pay off your student loans? Maybe you were able to financially weather the pandemic but are now thinking differently about how you spend and save your money. 

Let us know how the pandemic has influenced how you’re thinking about your money by filling out the survey below or e-mailing us at [email protected].