4 Emergencies to Budget for with Your Family

An emergency can happen to any family at any time. Some family emergencies can be expensive to manage, and you can prevent a lot of stress and financial trouble if you are able to budget ahead and establish an emergency fund. 

Here are four types of emergencies to budget for with your family.

Loss of Job

Loss of a job is a big financial emergency. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in more than 22 million Americans losing their jobs as of April 2020. Unemployment takes a while to kick in, and not everyone qualifies for this compensation. Consider having six months' worth of living expenses saved in case of a job loss.

Car Breakdown or Accident

Most people need a car to get to work. If your car breaks down, not only could you find yourself out of a job, but you also have to come up with the money to arrange for an unexpected car repair. According to Legacy Auto, a provider of car repair services in Boulder, CO, it is a good idea to have a maintenance and repairs fund for your car. 



As cars get older, they are more likely to need pricey repairs, such as new brakes. If you are in a car accident, you could also be subject to a deductible before your coverage kicks in. Consider budgeting so that you have at least the amount of your deductible available for a car emergency.

Medical Emergency

Medical emergencies are one of the most common reasons why people go into debt. Many people have high-deductible insurance plans that only kick in when they reach a large out-of-pocket threshold, such as $10,000 or even more. Even if you do not have a high-deductible plan, a medical emergency can still be catastrophic to your finances. 

If possible, the budget for your out-of-pocket maximum expenses. You could have this money in a tax-free FSA or HSA. Some of these plans allow you to roll over the funds you do not use in a given calendar year.

Major Household Repairs

Major household repairs can take a big bite out of your bank account. If your furnace or heat pump suddenly fails, you could be looking at a $3,000 to $6,000 replacement cost. A sewer line failure or burst water pipe could cost thousands of dollars to repair. 

A sudden crack in your home's foundation might necessitate extensive repair work costing tens of thousands of dollars. Masonry and electrical repairs are also essential and expensive. If your home needs a new roof, you could be looking at a $5,000 or more expensive. 



A failure of your refrigerator or oven could also be pricey to handle. Several websites list the average lifespan of different parts of your home and home appliances, and you can use that information to plan when they will need to be replaced. 

Some emergencies might be partly covered by your homeowner's insurance, such as a hailstorm that damages your roof. However, you will need to have the cash on hand for the deductible. Insurance companies also factor depreciation when compensating you for covered losses.

Other Minor Emergencies to Consider

Above are four major emergencies that you should budget for as a family. However, a series of minor emergencies could also have a considerable impact on your budget, explains U.S. News and World Report. 

If you had to take an emergency trip out-of-town for a funeral, travel, and lodging could be pricey. A sudden move can also be expensive. Perhaps your landlord decided to sell the house you're renting, or maybe your job decided to relocate you to another city. Maybe you have to take in a niece or nephew, grandchild, or parent. 

The cost of living increases can also impact your finances, especially if your health insurance or car insurance premiums, rent, or utility costs go up without a corresponding increase in your paycheck. You also need to have a budget and plan in place for these situations.

These are not the only emergencies that could impact your household, but they are common. It is wise to expect the unexpected and have a plan in place for anything that might happen. Planning and budgeting give you some peace of mind that you can weather an emergency without having to go into a lot of debt.

How to Talk to Your Adult Children About Your Finances

As we get older, we start to think about managing our financial assets for the future. Adult children should have some basic information about our monetary resources so they can assist in the event of illness or death. 

Talking about money may seem difficult for some, but the following tips can help you to take a proactive approach to inform your kids about your long-range plans and preferences.

Prepare Financial Documents

Whatever your financial situation, you should have a Last Will and Testament that explains how you want your assets handled when you pass on. The Will explains who will receive what, and under which circumstances, after your bills and expenses are paid. 

Having a tangible document that lays out a clear-cut plan for your adult children to follow will make it easier for them to take care of things financially when the time comes.

Discuss Finances Directly

Instead of dropping hints or making your adult kids wait to open your Will and find out your wishes, it is a good idea to update them now when you can answer questions and explain where all your accounts and assets are located. 

You don’t have to give them all the details, but a general idea will provide some guidance and save time when they need to take care of things.

Consult a Financial Planner

It makes sense to optimize your monetary assets so you can earn income from investments over time as well as leave something for your children or heirs. You can ensure your finances will be well-cared for by meeting with financial planners for information and ideas about the best ways to save for the future. A planner may recommend starting a stock portfolio. 

Or you may be interested in buying a rental property. There are many ways to build financial security and even wealth, and a financial planner can offer suggestions or experienced guidance to help you make wise choices with your money. You may want to take one or more of your adult children to a meeting with your financial adviser to keep everyone in the loop.

Update your Estate Plan

Over time, changes may occur in your financial circumstances or among family members that lead to changing your financial goals. Inform your adult children of major changes that will impact them so they can avoid surprises later.

You may decide to discuss your finances with adult kids incrementally instead of all at once. That works, too, as long as they have an idea of what to expect and how to proceed in the future.

4 Strategies For Planning Your Family Finances This Summer

Summertime brings new challenges to stretching your family's budget. Expenses like buying groceries, paying for air conditioning costs, and saving cash to take a vacation can take a negative toll on your household's bottom line. 

Rather than barely get by, you can enjoy your summer break by using these four smart and simple strategies to plan your family's finances.

Cut The Cord

Cable TV subscriptions continue to become more expensive. Many families find themselves paying $100 or more each month for a bunch of channels that they do not watch.

Instead of shelling out big bucks for cable, you can safeguard your family's budget by cutting the proverbial cord. Cutting the cord has become an agenda embraced by many households that want to plan their finances better and save big money.

A recent study published by CNBC showed that 52 percent of respondents said that they canceled their cable TV services in favor of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. 

By subscribing to online TV and movie streaming services rather than cable TV, you can keep cash in your budget and have more money with which to support your family this summer.

Take Advantage Of Travel And Vacation Specials

Your summertime vacation does not have to break your budget. When you have a limited amount of money to work with, you can still plan a trip that you and your family will enjoy by taking advantage of travel and vacation specials.


Oftentimes attractions near hotels will offer special or birthday party packages, like these kids birthday parties in Las Vegas.

Shop Discount And Dollar Stores

Dollar and discount stores are becoming more popular with American families. These stores have long shed their dubious reputations and have now stepped into mainstream awareness where they compete with big name retailers like Walmart and Target.

Dollar and discount shops offer clothing, groceries, and a wide array of household products for rock bottom prices. The quality of the inventory is on par with what you would find at department and big box stores. 

Some of these shops also take manufacturers' coupons, allowing you to get name brand necessities like laundry soap, shampoo, bread, and a host of other everyday items for pennies.

When you struggle to stretch your grocery dollars during the summertime, you may head to your local discount and dollar stores to check out their selections. You may find that you can get double the groceries for half the cost by shopping these stores instead of big name retailers.

Be Energy Efficient

Finally, you can lower your cooling costs and keep your home comfortable during the hottest of weather this season by using some common sense energy efficiency strategies. 

Simple measures like running your washer and dryer after the sun sets or keeping your window blinds and curtains closed can go a long way toward trimming dollars off your utility bills.

Likewise, you can keep the temperature on your AC steady by using an oscillating fan to circulate air in your home. These basic tips help you keep your house cool and your bills lower during a season in which many families struggle to pay their utility costs.

Summertime can be a season of increased expenses for which you might find yourself unprepared. Rather than run out of money before you get paid each week or month, you can better plan your family's finances with these four simple strategies. 

These tips help you enjoy your summer without the money worries you may normally experience each year.

What to Do When Unforeseen Events Hit Your Family & Your Finances

A severe car accident. A broken furnace. An unexpected opportunity to travel and work abroad. What do all these seemingly unrelated things have in common? They all have the potential to alter your family’s life and your finances. 

While sometimes these unexpected events can be good, as in the case of the job opportunity overseas, they’re often not positive. And either type of event can cause significant stress. 

If you’re dealing with the aftermath of such an event, or you just want to be prepared for some future event, try implementing the following four tips.

1. Prepare for it Mentally

To put it frankly, bad things just happen sometimes. Because you can’t always avoid such situations, knowing that they can happen and mentally preparing for such events can give you peace of mind. 

To help you prepare, visualize different situations and think about how you would handle those situations. Where would you go to for financing? How much money would you be willing to put towards certain events straight out of your pocket?

2. Save More Ahead of Time

Saving money for a rainy day can be one of the best ways to improve your finances this year (or any year), according to a Forbes article. 

If you’re saving with an emergency in mind, you’ll want to have two kinds of savings plans, a short-term and a long-term one. In the short-term, you’ll need between $1,000 and $2,000 for emergencies like a blown furnace. 

For the long-term emergencies like a job loss, you’ll want to save enough income to live without an income for six to nine months.

3. Get Help from a Professional

Some emergencies are so bad, you can’t dig yourself out of them by yourself. One of the best things you can do if you find that this is the case is to get help from a professional. 

As Clearfield & Kofsky points out, it’s difficult for the untrained to deal with the potential legal matters that can arise from events like an accident or a bad fall. Of equal importance is to find some support for your mental health as well. 

You can’t really make good decisions if your thinking has been skewed a bit by the accident. Having a professional around to guide you just makes sense.

4. Get Good Insurance

Having good insurance can go a long way to help you recover from an accident or other mishap. It also helps to ensure that tragic events won’t completely wipe you out. 

It’s okay to not know where to start when it comes to this. In fact, you should go ahead and shop around for a good policy. Doing so can save you some serious financial heartaches in the future.

The best way to handle emergencies is to be prepared for them. Just like cities and states have an emergency plan in place for when trouble strikes, so can you. 

Getting money put into a savings account and lining up some good insurance are some good first steps. Additionally, it’s critical that you know how to get professional advice when the need arises. 

Finally, know that everyone has challenges. If you prepare for them, however, they don’t need to wipe you out financially or emotionally.