Economic Quarantine, a Diary: Day 3

Day 3

On Sunday I woke up at 3am, sore from the work we did at the Airbnb the day before.  I never went back to sleep, so I jumped online to see what was going on in the world.  Nothing but a bunch of panic.

We needed to leave the house early to head back to the Airbnb.  On the way I noticed a couple cruise ships parked at the Port of Tampa.  I wonder if they're just going to sit there since all the cruise lines have shut down.  I posted a Facebook ad to have a mattress picked up and was meeting a guy at 8am.  He showed up a few minutes early.  Turns out he owns a tree service, so I asked him for a quote on trimming some stuff.  While we were chatting, he mentioned his Home Advisor leads over the weekend fell off a cliff.

We made good use of our morning.  We opened up the new mattress in a box.  It takes 24 hours to expand so we'll be going back on Monday.  I did more deep cleaning inside the house and we cleaned up the yard.  Ran to Lowe's for mulch and concrete leveler.  It wasn't busy, but that probably has more to do with it being early on a Sunday morning.

We worked at the house until noon then came home.  Traffic seemed normal, and Ikea's parking lot looked full.  It sure seems business as usual around here.  My partner prepared lunch:  a tasty treat of pasta with ground chicken.  I had a scheduled Amazon route for 5-8 but tried to get a second, earlier route without success.

I had my last international Airbnb booking for April cancel this morning.  I was expecting it and glad it happened, as it was only for two days and opening up those days will allow someone else to hopefully book a longer stay.  Then, while making Amazon deliveries Sunday evening I received a 7 day cancellation for this coming Saturday.  This is the second time this date was cancelled.  Thinking more positively, April is usually a good month.  As long as domestic travel isn't restricted I think we will be okay.

On Monday I will receive the funds from the house I sold.  I have to decide how to use them.  On Friday I upgraded my Chase account to "Sapphire Banking" because there is a $1,000 bonus if I keep my funds with them for 90 days.  I can keep the funds in a You Invest brokerage account with JP Morgan, which qualifies for the bonus.  On the one hand, stocks are looking more attractive these days.  But, what if the economy keeps getting worse?  So many businesses are shut down that this could snowball into something really ugly.  Still, I probably will put those dollars to work in the market.  I also am trying to pay off the last remaining mortgage on a rental property, so that could get some attention, too.

Economic Quarantine, a Diary: Day 2

Day 2

On Saturday we went to the Airbnb.  It's supposed to be occupied for another week.  Our guests, snowbirds, rented it for 28 days.  In a panic over the virus, our New York guests left for home last week.  They didn't ask for a refund, didn't cancel the remaining days, so we're getting paid for another week.  I was supposed to fly to Dallas today for a meeting I work every year, but it was cancelled.  Good news though:  the meeting planner promised to pay me, as the cancellation happened within the 100% pay window.  It's the last meeting for which I'll receive pay.

At the Airbnb, we spent three hours deep cleaning.  The guests had two dogs, and they shed a lot.  We also cut back some tropical plants that were taking over the backyard.  I have a new mattress to replace the one in the master bedroom.  Decided we'll bring it over tomorrow.  I have a Sonata and can take the new mattress, which is compressed and can squeeze into the trunk.  However, the old mattress, which I bought in 2006 (!), won't fit.  I looked at renting a pickup.  $65 for one day, plus gas.  Plus dumping fee.  Instead, I placed an ad on Facebook and quickly got four takers.  If all goes as planned, a complete stranger will meet us at the house to take away the old mattress for $35.

I also worked two Amazon Fresh routes.  Hoping for generous tips.  Amazon shut down new orders for a while.  We normally have 5-10 routes for Fresh.  Today there were 23.  People think the world is ending.

I read an article on 10x Travel.  A new series, Social Distancing Saturday.  The first article was about the most bingeworthy series on Netflix.  The top voted show was Schitts Creek, so when I got home from my route we watched the first three episodes.  Kind of enjoyed it.

Everything is closed, so binging Netflix looks like an appealing option.  By everything, I mean all the theme parks, international travel, schools, lots of employers.  It's funny though:  traffic in Tampa was heavy for a Saturday.  Everybody was out and about.  Weather was beautiful and I saw lots of boats being towed.  People are going to the beaches.  

Yesterday I had four Airbnb cancellations, two were International, two were panickers.  This morning I had three new reservations.  After the cancellations I lowered rates, and that seemed to do the trick.  We basically replaced the cancelled stays, though rates are lower.  Still, it's not such a bad thing.

Economic Quarantine, a Diary: Day 1

COVID-19 has caused a panic across the world.  My own life has been turned upside down as the meeting and events industry has completely shut down.  Travel bans have caused our Airbnb to see mass cancellations.  Grocery store shelves are empty.  The world is coming to an end.  Okay, just threw that in there to see if anyone was reading...  Over the next couple of weeks I will keep a journal laying out what I am doing to cope with this unprecedented situation.

Day 1

On Friday we returned from a short last-minute cruise.  Before setting sail, I took advantage of what looked like some emerging bargains in the stock market, loading up on Carnival Cruise Lines stock, energy companies, and a retailer.  Last week while we sailed the Bahamas ($90 each for a balcony stateroom!), my brokerage accounts were obliterated.  At the lowest point I had lost over $100,000 on paper.  On Friday, my brother called.  This is rare.  We talk maybe once a year.  He's a pilot.  "Go stock up on groceries," he exclaimed.  Turns out he was furloughed.  His boss told him air travel was about to be shut down, which would lead to shortages of everything.  I figured this was an overreaction, but to be safe, we ran to Aldi's and stocked up on canned goods and other food.

Aldi's had signs limiting quantities on canned goods to four per buyer.  Shoppers were panicking, as evidenced by the run on toilet paper.  Best we get a few things, just in case the shelves stayed empty.  At this point I'm not worried about being stuck at home.  I'm more worried that the frenzied panic by other people would cause a shortage.

After Aldi, I worked a delivery block for Amazon.   Amazon Fresh, which is groceries.  I get tips for making deliveries, but won't know how much for 24 hours.

Oh, one little thing I almost forgot to mention:  the house in Birmingham I listed finally closed today.  I listed it for $149,900.  It sold for $148,000, $17,000 more than I paid for it in 2008.  Not much appreciation in that market, so I'll call this a success.

My Frugal Miser - February Expenses: $7,504

February was a solid month:  income easily exceeded expenses.  However, there's still plenty of room for cutting costs.

Not So Good

I spent $950 on bank fees.  This isn't something I will try to cut back.  My self-directed IRA charges $500 in custodial fees each year.  I also paid the $450 annual fee on my Chase Sapphire Reserve card.  It's totally worth it with the benefits I receive from the card.

I spent $461 on utilities, which includes $210 for our Google Fi phone plan.  I might start shopping for unlimited data plans since we've been maxing out our data charges lately.  A lot of the data is from using my phone during Amazon routes or meeting jobs. 

I spent $650 on car repairs.  I needed a new tire and new front brakes and rotors.  My car is paid for but has 210,000 miles on it.

Better

Spending on food was down for the third month in a row.  Most of the meeting jobs provide meals.  In December I averaged $19/day for food.  In January this declined to $15/day (this is for two people).  I brought this down to $6/day last month.  I'm really happy with this! 

The "fun" budget was under $100.  We spend $48/month for unlimited movies at AMC.  Movies are our top entertainment choice so this is money well-spent.

February Business Spending:  $2,233
February Personal Spending:  $5,271

February Expenses:  $7,504

$829 Auto (service, gas, insurance, AAA, etc.)

$950 Bank Fees
$7 Clothing/ Personal Care
$95 Fun (vacations movies, gambling, alcohol, concert tickets)

$169 Food

$406 Health and Dental

$1,903 Household/Mortgage Payment/Home Repair

$0 Interest Expense

$0 Miscellaneous

$450 Taxes includes quarterly tax payments
$0 App Jobs Expenses (tolls, car washes, etc.)
$149 Unreimbursed Job Expenses
($15) Reimbursed Job Expenses

$461 Utilities
$1,098 Rental Property Expenses
$1,002 AirBNB Expenses