Job loss, short term illness, long term illness, these are a few of the unexpected things that life throws at you. You might see the job loss coming but then again you might not. Sure the company is in a rough time and maybe they have laid off a few people, but I’ll be okay. My health is pretty good. I eat right and exercise, what could happen? Illnesses can come out of the blue and can be devastating emotionally and financially. Are you prepared for them?
Let’s hope so. If you don’t think that you are, don’t feel bad I ‘m sure that a lot of people are in the same boat. It’s time to get out of that boat.
It is always a trauma when you lose a job no matter if you saw it coming or not. Fear and despair set in, you self-esteem drops like a rock. And you worry about the money or lack of it. That is why it is so important to start an emergency fund right now. The rule of thumb says that you need to have about 6 months of money to cover your bills till you find another job. If you can save more then do it. Make sure to keep the money in an account that you can easily get to. Don’t invest it in stocks or mutual funds. Having the money put away will help ease off that stress.
Illnesses can strike at any time. If your company has short term disability that’s great because they will usually pay you a percentage of your salary for a short period of time. If they don’t you might want to consider investing in a policy. That also goes for long term disability insurance. Many companies will allow you to take a little out of your salary every paycheck to pay for a higher percentage long term disability. You should take advantage of that. It might mean the difference in taking home 70 percent of your salary versus 40 percent.
Remember it is always good to be prepared.
