These serious conversations are best had in person. If social distancing is preventing that, a phone call works best.<\/p>\n

Nothing on the topic of personal livelihood and well-being is better conveyed by a text, said Ashlee deSteiger, a certified financial planner with Gunder Wealth Management in Michigan.<\/p>\n

“With friends and family, I don’t want a text,” she said. “There is just too much tone to be lost in a text.”<\/p>\n

She suggests setting boundaries like not texting in frustration or sharing things in which tone can be misinterpreted.<\/p>\n

“Those conversations need to happen over the phone or face-to-face,” she said.<\/p>\n

If you’re the one receiving the insensitive texts or messages, avoid getting defensive and try to consider where the other person is coming from.<\/p>\n

“I suggest reframing the situation to, ‘I know my friend or family member is doing the best that they can for themselves and their family.'”<\/p>\n

That, she said, may help you see beyond the posts and conversations that you think lack empathy.<\/p>\n

Be direct<\/h3>\n

If you are having financial difficulties, now is the time to speak up about it, Melkumian says, because you’re not alone.<\/p>\n

“If you are really struggling and feel you can’t say to your friend, ‘I don’t know where my next rent payment is coming from’ — then when can you say that?”<\/p>\n

When Ed Hart was able to reopen his hair salon in Hermosa Beach, California, he noticed many of his clients experienced the shutdown much differently than he had.<\/p>\n

While Hart was struggling after a major loss of income, his customers were working from home, earning the same income, some even more than before.<\/p>\n

“People that I know who retired well are fine,” he said. “Younger people I know that work for large companies are working out of their homes, they are okay. But the people who are consistently struggling and having trouble are business owners, entrepreneurs.”<\/p>\n

So he decided to address this awkward disparity directly.<\/p>\n

“I made a sign and put it by my station,” he said. “It says that there is no secret that we are going through a financial hardship. I understand that they may be going through a hardship, too, so we won’t raise prices. However, if you are financially strong, pay more if you can.”<\/p>\n

And they have. After one client received a $200 treatment, he said, she included a tip and left.<\/p>\n

“It was a $1,000 tip,” he said. “I called her right away to thank her. I didn’t know what to say. It was overwhelming. ‘Don’t worry,’ she told me.”<\/p>\n