EMERGENCY!!! (Houston, we have a problem!)

Have you ever had one of those money emergencies that just takes your breath away? Not figuratively, but literally. I had that moment recently.

So FEMA remapped our area and has decided that we are in a high risk flood zone. So now we have to get flood insurance. So I’m thinking no big deal. It’ll probably be a fraction of the cost of Homeowner’s Insurance. Oh how wrong I was! To make a long story short, our Flood Insurance costs almost 1 ½ times the cost of our Homeowner’s Insurance! I was floored! How could this be? It seemed so illogical. It only covers water damage. Homeowner’s covers everything else. So I was officially speechless. And for those who know me, that is no small feat.

So I was totally freaking out for about 28 minutes. I spoke to the agent about increasing the deductible and not covering personal contents. I could not believe that this was being sprung on us in the middle of tax season (yes, we owe!) I’m trying to keep from crying as I think, “Who has over $1,000 just waiting to be spent?” And we only had 45 days to secure the insurance. Then that still, small voice reminded me of our emergency fund. We did have the money to cover this unforeseen event. And then I calmed down.

What started out as a def-con 4, full-fledged assault, turned into a minor inconvenience by simply being prepared. Yes, my first instinct was to freak out, but then I realized that following the Baby Steps had really paid off. Baby Step Three was to save three to six months of expenses in an Emergency Fund. Since we had done this, we were able to handle this emergency.

Then I began to imagine those people who received the same notice that we did, but are not as prepared. What will they do? Could you imagine your monthly escrow requirement increasing by $100 or $200 per month? Could you pay out $1,200 in 45 days if you needed to? If you lost your job, how many months could you pay for necessities before you began to fall behind?

Are you living paycheck to paycheck? If you are, I’m here to let you know that you are living on the edge. Or at least way too close to the edge. You need to have some sort of cushion between you and life. And this is what the Emergency Fund provides.

Ladies, let’s not live an over-extended lifestyle. Let’s not spend everything we make. Let’s live on less than we make and with wisdom plan for the future. Let’s change our family tree by changing our spending habits. “Wise people's houses are full of the best foods and olive oil, but fools waste everything they have.” Proverbs 21:20.




Peace & Blessings
Sharon

I will have more for you on Monday, April 5th! Until then keep working your plan for financial peace and freedom.


Tuesday's Blog: Rise'& her 11 kids.... "Wampler Zoo"