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Financial Planning For Disasters And Emergencies
Your financial world may be good right now, but that doesn’t mean it always will be. You should take stock while things are smooth to make sure you don’t hit a rocky stretch later. This is particularly critical in today’s economic unruliness. Your financial world can be turned upside down in 24 hours.
Disasters That Lead to Financial Emergencies
There are many disasters that lead to financial emergencies. Some are natural, such as the 500-year floods in Georgia recently that left thousands homeless, and without any funds to rebuild. Others, which we are more concerned with, stem from economic situations. You may have an accident or become ill, and miss work for an extended period. Worse, you may get laid off. With 15 million unemployed now, finding another job is more than difficult.
The table below lists the major disasters that you could face.
| DISASTER OR EMERGENCY | FINANCIAL IMPACT |
| You are laid off. | Even though you may receive a severance package, it probably won’t keep you going until you find another job. |
| A sudden illness or accident puts you out of work for months. | You use up your vacation, your sick leave, and have no income or at best go on long term disability, which is two-thirds your salary.
|
| You have a sudden unexpected car repair of several thousand dollars—transmission, air conditioning, etc | The funds you have to pay it with were supposed to pay bills. Now some bills have to slide. |
| Your identity is stolen. | This may be the worst of all disasters. An ID thief can empty your bank account, max out your credit cards, and ruin your credit in 24 hours.
|
| A natural disaster makes your home unlivable. | Even with insurance, you will have out of pocket expenses that build up. And you still have to pay your bills and your mortgage.
|
Being Financially Prepared for Emergencies and Disasters
The first thing you must do to prepare for emergencies and disasters is to develop an emergency fund. Financial Planners generally agree six months net income is the absolute minimum. That gives you six months to find another job or recover from an illness or accident. That is cutting it close, however. It is safer to have eight months income in your emergency fund.
Where can you start? Look at your discretionary expenditures—those things you do for fun, etc. This is where you can probably find a few dollars to start your savings program. For example:
- Do you have more than a basic cable package? Do you have premium channels? You could cut back here and have $10 to $30.
- Do you have DSL internet service? Most providers offer various levels of speeds. Could you drop down to a lower speed (most can’t tell the difference in the lowest DSL speed and the highest)? Savings could be as much as $25.
- Cell phone: See if you can go to a less expensive plan. That could save as much as $50.
- Eat out one time a week less. That will save, for a couple, $20 to $60 a week.
This gives you at least $100 a month to save. That’s a good start on a savings program.
Interest bearing checking and passbook savings accounts are not where you want these funds. The interest is miniscule. But you need this fund to be immediately available.
Your best bet is a money market fund, hopefully one that provides tax free earnings.
Now that gets you started on your emergency fund. But you also need to develop a catastrophic fund. Your emergency fund will be used up in eight months. If you—forbid—suffer that long term illness or accident, you may go through that. And whatever happens you do not want to tap into your 401k or any retirement funds. Those are for later years only.
CDs are fine for your catastrophic fund because you can probably arrange for them to come due at various terms. However, these days CD rates are not very attractive. A good mutual fund or again a money market fund may suit your needs better.
Help with Disaster Planning
These situations and processes I’m sure appear daunting. And they are. That’s why it is vital that you seek professional advice in developing your emergency and disaster plan. A Financial Planner will look at your specific financial situation and develop a program that meets your needs and fulfills your requirements. To try to do this yourself is folly.