The right way to sell stocks during COVID-19 + MORE May 15th

When the COVID-19 pandemic swept across North America in early 2020, it created a wave of income loss that impacted people from all walks of life. While some individuals have been hit harder than others, it’s difficult to find a group or industry that hasn’t been affected. A small segment of the population will have sufficient savings to fall back on, but the majority of Canadians who live paycheque to paycheque, will find  it difficult to keep up.
There are ways to trim a budget and save a few dollars, but at the end of the day, a person’s basic needs must be met. Food and shelter are at the top of the list. This need was partially addressed through federal relief measures including the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), and again in a collective announcement by the six big Canadian banks, which promised new mortgage deferral options and more. 
Unfortunately, many Canadians still aren’t making ends meet—and what options exist for those who don’t own their home but, instead, rent? 
Many tenants are in financial distress, as are landlords who rely on rental income to survive…

I’ve always enjoyed online shopping, but COVID-19 has put us in some uncharted economic waters that are difficult for many and has limited much of Canada’s non-essential shopping to the internet. Should we be cyber-spending right now? Canadians are still buying, just differently than they did before. Being physically distant has impacted how much we’re spending, what we’re buying and why.     
Shopping in survival mode
According to Steve Bridge, an advice-only Certified Financial Planner with Money Coaches Canada in Vancouver, BC, most people have cut spending back to necessities. Bridge explains: “Extra-curricular activities, eating out, entertainment and events have all been cancelled.” As well, caution and the conditions of physical distancing have Canadians holding back on making most big-ticket purchases, he says. It’s difficult to buy and sell houses, RVs or vehicles while physically distancing, and Canadians prefer a stable economy before investing in costly items—and “nobody knows how long this will last, or what the economy will look like after the pandemic…

It’s becoming increasingly likely that the economic recovery from COVID-19 will be long and drawn out, which is not good considering that 3 million have been laid off over the last two months. Since the crisis began in Canada, MoneySense has been telling readers to hang tight with their portfolio holdings and not sell, and that’s been good advice—the S&P/TSX Composite Index is up 34% since March 23, while the S&P 500 has climbed by 30%. 
While we still think people should stay invested, rebalance their portfolios and continue to save, knowing how difficult things may be financially for people over the next few months, there may come a time when you need to trade in your stocks for cash; though it’s great to have government programs like the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, for many people, the $2,000-a-month payment won’t be enough to make ends meet.
Selling stock isn’t as simple as it may seem. Just like you wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) buy stocks in an indiscriminate way, you don’t want to dump a bunch of companies without some idea of what it is you want to sell…