"I would focus on four things: "Their home, their bills, utilities, and their food," Schawel said. "After that, the most important thing to focus on is any extra extraneous expenses that I would put on hold for the near term. We don't know how long the coronavirus will last so putting aside extracurricular expenses is probably the best thing to do at the current time."
Schawel said people should reach out to their credit card companies, banks, and other financial institutions to seek payment assistance or delays if they are experiencing hardships to make payments, noting that many companies are willing to work with customers.
RELATED: Financial information, useful links during the coronavirus pandemic
Schawel says the sooner you can contact financial institutions the better and stressed the importance of staying calm during the uncertainty.
"We don't know how long this will last, but, it is important not to panic," Schawel said.