The post before last, I was out here giving y'all, well somebody, 'financial advice' but the most important thing I forgot to put in was a disclaimer. I hate to state the obvious, but , I am not a financial expert. What's more embarrassing though, my financial decisions are heavily influenced by how bad I would like to leave my job. The moment I will be brave enough to call it quits, all my financial decisions are going to be my safety nets, at least I think they are. Only, that time will tell if it ever comes.
Otherwise, picture this, you've suddenly been taken ill or been robbed of your laptop maybe even had an unexpected death in the family, you're fridge is on it's last run and if we are being honest is only just now serving as a fancy storage unit. All these are unexpected events. So what now? If adulting has taught me one thing, it's prioritizing. Unfortunately, this has also served as a legitimate excuse to procrastinate at least in my world.
Yet another valuable lesson that comes with adulting is, ignoring a problem doesn't make it go away. You can't just sweep your problems under a rag,dust your hands off and proceed like nothing ever happened. The unfortunate truth, you have to step up to the plate and do something about it.
All the problems I stated up there still have something else in common. They all need money to be solved. What if I told you that you wouldn't need to break your bank to get you out of this pickle, would you believe me?
Little story time for you, if you're a natural you probably know of Mahogany Curls. Her affiliate channel Lewis Love and Family is where her husband Jovahn and she, Jess vlog about their daily life. They have two kids, Junior and Belle. A few months ago, Belle fell pretty sick. She's only a year and a few months old but she's been through it, she had tubes coming in and out of her , pumped up on meds and the worst of it saw her put in a medically induced coma. Watching that vlog was quite the roller coaster I can hardly imagine actually going through it. The good news is, Belle pulled through but the even better news, Jovahn has had for a few years a sort of emergency fund. He is quite the financial expert if you ask me.
What I picked up from that vlog though was that they were not digging into their accounts to nurse Belle back to health, but for a long time he had been putting some money aside, you know, for a rainy day. It just so happened his rainy day was more than just a drizzle. I consider myself to be a part of the family, if you watch the vlogs you'll understand that I am not on a super-fan tip, but really just appreciate them and their content. They started a family pretty young and are a military family which I understand, is not the wealthiest. That got me thinking, he has been stacking up these funds for a long time probably without fail, so when "disaster" hit, they were more than ready.
Medical bills add up to quite a lot.Belle was in and out of the I.C.U and the H.D.U. They also had to stay in a hotel near the hospital. Expenses, expenses and more expenses, at least that's what I see. When Jovahn spoke about it in the vlog and how he was handling it all, that was enough to give me a shove in the right direction.
From this post you know I am in an 'emergency' of my own; my tablet going AWOL on me . This wouldn't be such a big deal if I had a smart phone, except I don't. I have been committed to brick phones and only brick phones for the past 2 years. There is a simplicity that comes with them;from the price, it's basic functions, not being a moving target for thieves in the city. My tablet did everything it didn't and this was the perfect set-up. Now, let's just say since its untimely demise I am having to rely on friends to update me on all things school related. They are not my personal assistants so I am not going to blame them or anyone else for missing yesterday's group meeting or any more to come. Yes, friends, it has come to that.
It's time to take affirmative action and set up my emergency fund. Next year I plan to set up another bank account probably with a different bank altogether. I'm thinking the CBA Loop account, purely because the ad' they put out this year was pure fire.Call it shallow, it is. From next year this is meant to be my emergency fund.
How about this year though? I'll have to do the very thing I'm warning you guys against, dig into my main account to get me afloat. This post is taking a direction I didn't intend it to but as they saying goes all that is hidden must come to light.
I haven't had an emergency fund, ever. I always thought they were meant for 'serious' emergencies; being laid off, fired, cut off by your parents, what the movies paint out to be emergencies. By all means they are meant for that and so much more, even the small stuff. I have ignored my problems way too much and way too long and look where that has landed me, in more problems. This is me doing something about it.
Have a good one!
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