If you had a dollar for every time an unexpected expense sprouted out of nowhere, you’d never need to worry about unexpected expenses again. Unfortunately, life doesn’t work like that, and instead of getting money for nothing, you have to spend money, all the time, every day, forever.
Which isn’t ideal, but what can you do? Well, you can expect the unexpected, and you’ll never find yourself struggling when the next big disaster strikes. But what are the most likely things to happen? Here are the three most significant emergencies you will encounter and how to prepare for them when they arrive.
Family Health
You want to keep everyone in your family healthy, but with the potential for bugs and injuries always prevalent, especially during the winter, there’s only so much you can do. There’s the chance of them getting hurt when playing or while driving to work and reminding them to be careful is only half the battle.
You’ve also got to think about your pets who could suffer illness or injury at any time. Often, these fees are even worse than regular hospital bills. But, you love all of them equally, so don’t act like one is more important than the other.
Home and Garden
If your home is your pride and joy, you will always worry about potential problems. These issues can range from burst water pipes to broken water heaters to damaged floors and broken locks.
Thankfully, most of these problems are easily fixed. You can find a locksmith service to repair your doors if damaged in storms or following break-ins which aren’t too expensive. But water damage will be much more of a problem.
To protect as much as you can, try to isolate the issue as effectively as possible and then seek professional help to fix it.
Travel Dilemmas
If you’ve decided to treat you and the family to a little vacation – even on a budget – you’re no doubt excited about getting away from work and school and all the responsibilities that come with it.
The last thing you want when going on vacation is stress, but there’s always the risk of delayed flights, lost luggage, and illness in a foreign country. It’s easy to let such problems affect your trip, and it’s easy to get disheartened with such things, but it need not be the end of the world.
Instead, make the most of what you have already. Enjoy the hotel that comes with a delayed flight. Pack a spare set of clothes for everyone in their hand luggage. Let anyone who gets sick rest while you wait for proper treatment.
How to Prepare
While you can’t prepare for everything, you can think about how you will overcome issues when they arise. This includes keeping money in a safe place to use in case of emergencies as well as having the proper insurances to cover property damage or loss. While these won’t solve all the problems you encounter, you’ll at least have a comfortable buffer to keep you going in case the worst happens.
The Never-Ending Expenses
It might feel like your emergency expenses will never end, but if you’re smart with your money and can anticipate what could go wrong next, you’ll be in a much better position the next time something goes wrong.