How to prepare for the unexpected
What do you think about when you hear the words “financial responsibility”? Write it down. Yeah, for real! You might see images of the following scenarios:
✅ Paying bills on time✅ Putting money aside for college✅ Adding money to savings accounts✅ Having a budget
While those are all valid or you might even have different ones, let’s look at financial responsibility in a new light 💡 (kind of like John Mayer’s hit single (“New Light”)
I believe that financial responsibility includes those but also should be thought about even when one is not able to provide due to an illness or passing away. Let’s take a moment and really imagine the next scenario. Really put yourself in that persons shoes.
Xperson, is a 45 year old healthy, mother of 2, wife, teacher and avid runner. She goes for her regular screening and turns out she gets diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. She’s stunned for the rest of the day and then has to tell her spouse the news. Everyone at work is supportive and they even do a 5k to help her family out during this tough time.
She starts doing medical treatments, a few months pass and is now unable to continue teaching as she used to before. Her spouse works, but one salary is not enough to pay for all the bills and the money raised at the 5k is almost gone. Savings have been depleted, the mortgage is still due, electricity, water bills, car payments. Plus everything else such as groceries, gas, you know the basics. How will they make those payments?
They set up an online page and some friends, family and a few strangers help out. Xperson, survives the breast cancer and is doing well but still unable to work. She survived physically but her and the family have been left financially devastated.
What if there was another way to deal with the unexpected?
Xperson, is in the same scenario as above but instead of having to deal with online support pages and her co-workers doing a 5k and more importantly being left financially devastated, her and her family had prepared for the unexpected.
You see, when Xperson and her spouse had their first child at age 35 they decided it was financially responsible to buy life insurance since now that they not only depended on each other financially but a child did as well. They bought a policy with something called accelerated benefit riders or living benefits.
This provided additional peace of mind that they could accelerate the death benefit if either were to be diagnosed with a critical illness such as cancer and many other illnesses as well. Now Xperson, is age 45 and when she’s diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer she is still emotionally and physically devastated but her and her spouse are not worried about continuing to pay bills while she’s recovering because they planned ahead of time.
Being financial responsible is also being responsible if the unexpected happens. This is something not just for millennials or young people. Hopefully, you won’t need to use these living benefits but it’s good to know that it’s there for you and your loved ones if something does happen. For a complimentary financial protection review please visit the website below. https://www.malmins.com
Lorena Tomasini is the owner of MALM Life and Health Insurance Agency where together with her mom they help families and business owners with their financial protection needs. Lorena, is also the host of the Twelve Minute Talks Podcast where other business owners and entrepreneurs share what they help solve in a short time period.
