Yep, it’s another post about the emergency fund and budgeting for everything, this time from a very personal perspective. It’s also about the importance of preparing for the unexpected. You Never Know When Something Will Go Wrong It’s called an “emergency fund” for a reason. Most of the time, these emergencies are relatively minor stuff, …
The Bills.com Financial IQ test reminded me that I’m not adequately prepared for death or a disaster. I used to be, but my financial affairs have changed over the last few years. I’m also completely lacking some important documents. For the next two weeks, I will be detailing all the documents you need to be prepared for …
There have been a couple of recent high profile losses of large amounts of stolen money. Most of us aren’t in the habit of hiding a million dollars in the mattress, but you probably have a few dollars stashed somewhere in your house. So where are the best and worst places to hide money? Best Places …
As I said last year when Heath Ledger died, my first thoughts always go to the children of the deceased. I worry that stars with young children haven’t prepared for the possibility. In Heath’s case, he hadn’t updated his will to include his daughter. Now we have the even more challenging situation of Michael Jackson’s death. According …
A computer backup isn’t a document, per se, but it’s still something you should include in your emergency preparations. Once you get in the habit of backing up, it’s a quick and easy way to make sure that your data is safe in case your house burns down or your computer blows up. Set a …
If we learn anything from the Haiti disaster, it’s that they can happen anywhere, anytime. According to NPR, most Haitians didn’t realize they lived in an earthquake zone. Given the poverty of the country, there probably isn’t anything the people could have done to prevent the destruction even if they had known. We can’t always …
In case you haven’t heard, you need an emergency fund, and you need it yesterday. In the good times, we could rely on home equity loans and credit cards to tide us through the bad times. Now, HELOCs are gone or shrinking and credit card issuers are reducing credit limits. Unless you want to borrow against …
Next in my series of posts about the documents you need is the advance directive. This basic document ensures that your wishes will be carried out if you become unable to make your own healthcare decisions. Although the documents have been available for years, they entered the mainstream during the Terry Schiavo case. If you don’t have …
If you’ve read any personal finance advice or even watched Oprah for any length of time, you’ve heard of the emergency fund. It goes like this: you need to have at least three to six months worth of living expenses in cash in case a true emergency arises. I can hear you already “Three to …
Before my husband went on disability, we stopped spending money in order to increase our savings. We’ve found that our spending has actually been much lower while he’s been out of work, but we also had a few unexpected events develop where the savings has come in handy. Delays in Disability Pay The first issue is …
