It is easy to crawl into a ball and just let fate take its course when it comes to financial setbacks, and boy does like seem to give us a lot of financial setbacks. Just when you think everything is going good, a broken car, broken boiler, and a school trip all seem to hit you at once. It’s as if a higher power is waiting for a bit of calm before it hits you in the face with a storm. Things like this don’t happen often really, but when they do it can be really scary. Struggling for money is never nice, but struggling for money when you have a family is even worse. Those three setbacks should be rare, but there will be daily setbacks that seem to stop you from getting on the path you should be on. We’re going to explore a few of them and try to give you some sound advice on how you can ride the wave to financial freedom once more.
Daily Setbacks
First, we need to talk about the smaller things in life that can really create some massive financial setbacks. We understand that not every job pays the best wage, and not everyone is lucky to get a job good enough to comfortably support themselves and their family. This is where daily setbacks become a problem. The major ones that so many of you struggle with are household bills and expenses. We say expenses because it isn’t just the bills that set people back, it’s the even smaller things that come with running a home that can have a huge knock-on effect. But let’s talk about bills and how you can get those down first.
With a family, the main reason why things such as electricity and water bills are so high is purely down to the fact your children aren’t educated in how to be efficient within the home. They are the worst culprits for leaving the light on for hours when it’s not needed, having the TV on all night because they fell to sleep, or having showers that last longer than a monsoon during the rainy season. So the best thing you can try and do is educate them on the importance of conserving water and electricity. Teach them ways to be more efficient, and your bills should drop.
Often the home is too big for the family living within it, and it is the monthly mortgage payments that can get people down. If this is the area you struggle with the most, then the answer is obvious, see if downsizing is an option suitable for you. A smaller home with being more efficient to run, the monthly payments will be smaller, and it’ll be more comfortable all around in terms of cleaning etc. Finally, the weekly food shop is something a lot of you will dread, especially those with two or more children. Suddenly you’re an extortionate amount, but there are ways to avoid it. The main one is couponing. It’s a chore to find the best coupons, but the money you can save is incredible. It’s a trick that so many people miss, but one we really want you to give a go.
Time Off Work
This is a major setback for a lot of people. We’re not just talking about time off because you’ve got a cold, most companies will pay you for this unless you’re on a zero hours contract or self-employed. We’re talking about the time off you might need to have when things go badly wrong. You’d be surprised to learn how many people are injured, either through an accident at work, car accidents etc. This injury can see you off work for weeks if serious enough. Now, whilst a lot of companies will be willing to pay you for a week, there aren’t many that will do more than that. So your only option is to try and win a claim from whoever caused the accident. Legal experts for personal injury will be able to guide you through the whole process, and will hopefully make the whole experience of your time off work a lot easier. It is, however, a stressful situation, and there will have to be a lot of evidence in order for a claim to be successful. If you know you’re going to be off work for awhile, you could consider doing a bit of work from home. This can either be done through the company you currently work for, or on your own little venture.
Preparation Is Key
Financial setbacks are so scary because you’re never really prepared for them. As we’ve said, they seem to just hit you in the face when you’re least expecting it. So what is the answer to this? Savings. Savings are so important, whether you have a family or not, it is always important to get some money behind you for a rainy day. But at the same time, we understand how hard it is to put money aside when it is so easy to dip right back into it. One way of being strict with yourself. Set yourself a monthly target to meet and have a reason to do so. Hopefully, that reason will be to protect yourself against unexpected payments. Talk to your bank and figure out what the most effective savings account will be for you. It might be one that is locked, and can only be opened a certain amount of times a year for withdrawals. Savings can also help you to prepare for the future in terms of your children. As they grow, so do their needs and expectations. They’ll have big birthdays and potentially big demands for presents. It would nice to be able to work hard and save to spoil them once a year.
Hopefully, after reading this, you’ll feel a little more confident when it comes to dealing with financial setbacks. We all have them, we all struggle with them, but we all get through them eventually.