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Saturday, March 28

Economic Quarantine, a Diary: Day 13 (Thursday, March 26th)

Day 13 (Thursday, March 26th)

I woke up at 5am sharp, which is reasonable these days but not enough sleep.  Instead of jumping out of bed I reached for the computer to see what happened overnight.  Pinellas County issued a stay at home order.  I live in Hillsborough County but our Airbnb is in Pinellas.  Not sure how this will affect bookings.  It's not like business is booming, but we have managed to receive a couple last minute bookings at lower than normal rates.

Companies are beginning to warn about their ability to survive this situation.  Cheesecake Factory said it won't be able to pay its April rent.  AMC Theaters furloughed its corporate staff, even the CEO.  On the one hand, this is really stressful to think we may lose some companies that I do business with.  However, it also makes me wonder why those companies weren't better prepared for hard times.  Sure, the situation is unlike any other.  No one plans for a 100% decline in sales.  But companies should have the means to continue operating at least for a while under dire circumstances.  I hope this virus changes the way companies handle their balance sheets.  Less debt, more liquidity.

This morning we had to clean the Airbnb.  The guests were  radio silent since making their last minute reservation and I was hoping they were gentle with our home.  Turns out they were very respectful, and it was super easy to clean.

Later I did a couple Doordash deliveries and an Amazon route.  

3 comments:

  1. "I hope this virus changes the way companies handle their balance sheets."
    I hope this changes the way PEOPLE handle their balance sheets! It's looking like nobody learned any lessons from the Recession of 2008.

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    Replies
    1. I've been hesitant to post similar opinions at the risk of sounding insensitive, but you make a very good point. My personal balance sheet has never been stronger: debt is the lowest its been in nearly 15 years, there's cash in the bank, and I've cut out unnecessary spending. Personal finance gurus have been preaching about having an emergency fund for years, but it seems no one has listened.

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