There are numerous events that occur throughout life which can put a lot of financial stress on you and your family. Some of these will be planned and can be easily prepared for to reduce such anxiety, and other events can come out of the blue. In order to ensure that you have enough funds to cover all eventualities for every important life event, there are a number of ways to successfully navigate them.
Expecting a Baby
Recent studies suggest that the cost of raising a child born in 2016 has risen to over £230,000 ($280,000) in total. This is a staggering amount, equivalent to buying a new home in some cases. Therefore, it is important you have thought about your finances before pregnancy and planned to make cuts in your budget to provide for the new baby. Finding second hand baby clothes, prams, and other items is a popular and easy way to save.
Marriage
The tradition of the father of the bride paying for a wedding is slowly dying out, meaning more and more couples are having to afford their own weddings. Much like having a baby, the costs are continually increasing for weddings but there are a number of ways to cut the costs and still have a great day. Check out this article we did a while back on 16 ways to save on your wedding. From getting friends and family to help make the cake, invitations and more to finding local bargains, it will all help to allow you to keep more cash in your emergency fund.
Divorce
Going through a divorce can be an incredibly stressful time, especially if you have children. It can also be financially damaging when the divorce proceedings do not run smoothly and bring up an element of uncertainty. There are not many things that can damage your finances as badly as a divorce. This can be hard to prepare for, as nobody gets married expecting a divorce, but using lawyers and financial services should help.
Death
Life insurance is the best preparation to help your family out in the event of a sudden death, and will significantly reduce any financial worries you and they may have. Other financial planning services can help prepare for the worst and the unknown that comes after it.
Unexpected Events
It is always important to have a backup fund in case any of these important life events come about suddenly, and to deal with any other expensive yet vital eventualities. Planning as carefully as possible is the best option, but understandably there are many events that you will not expect, such as illnesses, so having a backup (emergency) fund and plan is very useful.
Reducing the Financial Stress of Key Life Events – Final Thoughts
If you have been managing for finances for a while, then you know to plan to expect the unexpected. The question isn’t whether or not an unexpected event will happen, but when will it happen. Following these above tips can really help you bulk up your backup/emergency fund so that you’ll be able to weather the financial storm when it comes. Having that extra bit of cushion will surely reduce the stress that comes along with these financial bumps in the road.