Are you disaster proof?

When shit hits the fan, what do you have? An umbrella? Or a hazmat suit? No one can accurately predict mishaps and misfortunes in one’s life so you better have a decent backup plan. Here are two of the tried and tested ways that you can help disaster-proof you and your family:

Emergency fund. The recession has underscored the importance of an emergency fund. Be sure to have at least six months’ worth of living expenses in your emergency fund. That means it’s money that can easily be accessed in case crap happens. The job situation today hints that a years’ worth of living expenses as emergency fund isn’t that bad. Replenish it before spending your money on other things.

Insurance. Aside from your emergency fund, you can also protect yourself and your stuff through insurance. While many might claim that these can be an unnecessary expense, my own experience has taught me to value insurance. Prioritize getting health, life, home, and car insurance policies. Just shop around to get the best deals.

Choosing life insurance

It’s not being morbid. It’s just being practical. Here are some stuff you need to think about when choosing the right life insurance for you:

It basically boils down to two popular choices – term life insurance andwhole life insurance.

You may initially purchase a term life insurance which costs the least but it is only valid for a specified amount of years. Once this period is over, you would need to renew your insurance for higher rates.

A whole life insurance may cost higher but they are kept at a set rate until everything is paid off. The only time the premiums change is when the one covered by the insurance decides to discontinue the coverage but later on comes back.

Another consideration for death insurance is if it accrues money or not. This is the reason that term life insurance costs less. You are paying for the term, in most cases about $100,000, and though you may be paying for fifty years, that amount will never increase.

The deciding factor would actually be your financial situation. If you have more money, go for a whole life insurance. Although it’s more expensive, it will be much better for your family in the end. However, if you’re tight on the budget, a term life insurance is a good-enough alternative until you save more to upgrade your policy.

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What to look for in health insurance

Are you planning to acquire health insurance? There are some considerations you need to think about when getting one. A good solid health insurance also offers the following:

Hospitalization Coverage. Hospital stays can be quite expensive depending on the type of medical service that you acquire. A good health insurance covers hospitalizations which include room and board, and the medical procedures that they perform on the patient.

Co-pays. These payments are the individual expenses that are paid independently such as doctor visits, prescriptions, emergency room visits, and shots. A good health insurance pays for some of these up to a certain amount. Although you can also consider less coverage on co-pays if it allows you to up on other areas.

Durable Medical. This refers to the equipment and devices you need for health management. Examples of this are nebulizers, compressors for administering medication.

Whatever coverage you purchase, just make sure that you read everything on the policies and procedures, including the fine print. Be diligent in keeping and filing paperwork as most health insurance providers would need documentation. Don’t hesitate to ask questions if you have to.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurance

Replenishing your emergency fund

We can’t emphasize the importance of an emergency fund more. We’ve already posted on how to build up your own emergency fund.

Let us expound on the topic. Given the recession, you should have at least six months to a year’s worth of living expenses as emergency fund.

First of all, let’s be clear on what things do you actually need an emergency fund for.

What are emergencies anyway? Your mother-in-law’s birthday is not an emergency. Your anniversary isn’t an emergency. These are events that happen yearly so there’s no reason to consider them emergencies.

A blown water pump in your car is an emergency. Hospital bills from your kid’s broken foot from a skateboarding accident is an emergency. Getting laid off is an emergency.

So in such unfortunate instances, you’d only be thankful that you have your emergency stash to tap into. But what do you do after? Once your affairs are in order again, well, you should replenish the fund, of course.

It might take a few sacrifices again such as deferring buying that new widescreen TV but it’s always important to keep your emergency fund topped up.

Rainy days come fast and plenty these days so why leave a nasty gash on your umbrella?

Building an emergency fund

One of the greatest personal finance lessons that many should’ve learned during this recession is to have an emergency fund. The massive job cuts across industries and foreclosures left many jobless and homeless.

Thing is, life tends to screw you over big time once in a while. It might be as communal as a recession or as isolated such as having a major boo-boo at work. So everyone has to be prepared.

Traditionally, the emergency fund’s money that you stash away that should cover at least three months’ worth of expenses. During the early parts of the recession, many believed that it should be six months’ worth. Now, the safe number seems to be enough money for a whole year.

Here’s a guide to having one:

1. Build an emergency fund – This is basically a savings project and would require you to probably employ some lifestyle changes. You have to commit part of your income to it. If you feel that a year’s expenses is a tough target, then plan for a three-month emergecy fund first. Remember, you have a target and the sooner you get there, the better.

2. Protect your emergency fund – By no means should you tap into your emergency fund, unless, of course, it’s a real emergency. Fancying that new iPod? Make it a separate savings project.

3. Replenish your emergency fund. – So the poop hit the fan. Big deal. At least you won’t be living like a hobo for the meantime. Just be sure that you work your way to earning again and prioritize earning back what you spent of your emergency fund.

Extending parental coverage

In an economy where young adults struggle to cope with costs of living and employment, should health also be a worry?

Many young adults remain without any medical insurance primarily due to the cost and many have jobs that can’t quite provide them with enough wages to allow them to pay out of pocket if their companies don’t provide for health coverage.

At least state governments are doing something about it while the Federal government continues to finalize health care reforms.

New York, for example, passed a law in June allowing parents to cover young adult children up to the age of 29 under their employer-provided healthcare. The conditions – child may/must not have any other coverage and should reside within the state. More than 20 other states have similar laws which allow parents to cover children up to their mid to late 20s.

Young people sure can take advantage of this but we sure hope that this doesn’t increase the a mentality of overdependence to parents.