GVSU finance expert: Avoid the urge to overspend during "stay at home" order, ride out the stock market

Gregg Dimkoff, professor of finance in the Seidman College of Business, said the most important advice he can give consumers during the "stay at home" order is to avoid buying non-discretionary items. Simply put: Don't spend foolishly.

"If you don't need it, don't do it," said Dimkoff. "We don't know how long or how deep the recession will be."

Dimkoff said it helps to make a list of what is essential and stick to those purchases. Another piece of advice — don't look at investment portfolios.

"I haven't looked at my investment accounts," he said. "All it will do is disappoint me."

Dimkoff said the worst thing you can do is think you are smarter than the market and start pulling money out. He said the market has a history of always rebounding.

"Stay in it. Go through the ups and downs. In the long run, it will work out," he said. "The people who lose the most are the ones who think they can time the market. No human can do that. The people who pull money out are the ones who get cleaned out the most."

Dimkoff said while some live paycheck-to-paycheck, it's not too late to save three to six months of your salary and put it where you can get to it. 

"This reduces stress," he said. "Many people can do this, but just don't. The lesson is there, what greater example do we need than right now."

For some, Dimkoff said the COVID-19 pandemic will be the catalyst for doing better with finances.

"I'm old enough to remember my grandparents talking about living through The Great Depression," he said. "They were very cautious when it came to spending money.

"I think this may have the same effect for millennials. Their children and grandchildren will hear them talk about how they lived through the coronavirus. This will probably have a permanent effect on how some people handle finances, and that's probably a good thing."