Rising inflation and the last several weeks of a market downturn have some folks really worried. This, despite signs that our economy is beginning to recover from the last two years of an international health pandemic. And those signs of recovery are terrific: the jobless rate has dropped to 4.2%, with U.S. economic output jumping to more than 7% in the last three months of 2021. An economic expansion of 5.7 percent in 2021, the biggest since 1984. U.S. companies showing profit margins higher than they’ve been since 1950. Child poverty cut in half, and more than 4.6 million Americans who didn’t have insurance now have healthcare coverage. With solid economic measures like these, and upcoming spending on much-needed infrastructure creating even more good paying jobs, you’d think we’d all be feeling a bit more optimistic, if not popping Champagne corks just yet.

But even with all of the good economic news, if the cost of goods and services continues to rise faster than the money we have in our wallets, it’s gonna hurt, even with rising wages.

So if you’re distressed, what can you do about it? You might think nothing much, unless you have a magic wand or the number to the Federal Reserve secret hotline.

But you’d be wrong.   

There’s a fast, easy and absolutely free solution available to just about everyone right now, one which could positively impact the overall economy and protect our personal wallets and investments:

Get vaccinated.

Now, for those whose political persuasion somehow prevents them from doing so, hear me out. Many of you said you voted for Trump, despite his many character flaws and lack of experience in governing, because of one thing—your bank accounts. You told me that you didn’t care whose pu$$y he grabbed, whether or not he was in bed with Putin, dishonored Gold Star families or paid off hookers. You voted for him because you believed he was a successful businessman whose experience would catapult our economy to historic heights and thus put more money in your pockets.

So if it’s money you value most, then getting vaccinated should be an easy decision for you. Because we know that business owners hate and fear uncertainty. When things aren’t certain, businesses stop investing and they stop hiring. And that kills an economy. We also know that until more people are vaccinated, we’re going to have more Covid variants rearing their ugly little heads. And every time a new one pops up, the stock market gets jittery, business owners hit the brakes and our economy suffers as a result. It’s no wonder. Running a business is difficult enough without having to deal with an out-of-control international health pandemic that could sicken or kill your employees, your customers and your vendors.

Every new variant brings with it the same fears: how contagious or deadly will this one be? Will there be more lockdowns? Will our hospital systems hold up? How many more people will get sick, be unable to work, or even die? These are the questions that keep business owners, and the rest of us, up at night every time there’s a new variant. And that uncertainty is only going to continue unless something changes. The good news is, that “something,” at least in terms of getting vaccinated, is completely under our control.

Think of it this way: getting vaccinated is a sound decision made to bolster your bank account. It’s not a political statement. In fact, you can even keep your vaccination a secret. No one has to know. But the sooner more people get vaccinated and boostered, the sooner we’ll reach herd immunity which will drastically reduce the frequency and spread of Covid, and the sooner this thing will stop wreaking havoc on our lives. And with our wallets and bank accounts.

It’s worth a shot.

Photo by Tom Barrett on unsplash.com.