Have you heard all the news about crash in the price of crude oil and it’s consequence on many economies like Nigeria? When you hear news like that, what do you do? A man doesn’t plan to buy an umbrella whilst in the rain, he plans before the rains set in. Are you prepared?
How do we prepare for the storms of life?
A life storm can take the form of a Hurricane or a Tornado. Hurricanes, allow time to prepare. However in a tornado, there’s very little warning. But then, tornados don’t just drop from the sky on a normal day.
So if you don’t prepare for the storms of life, it’s your own fault that you have to deal with the aftermath. A change of perspective may be necessary.
Financial Storms
They can come in many forms depending on the state of our finances. Maybe you haven’t experienced a financial storm in your life yet, but let me tell you that it will happen, sooner or later. The best way to prepare is to get on a budget, get out of debt and save money.
Crisis in our life happens, we cannot run away from it – and often it is at times when we least expect it.
Challenges of life, such as accidents, illnesses (emergency or terminal), or deaths are costly in more ways than you can imagine. They affect our health, emotional stability, work, income and even our ability to cope with everyday life. You won’t imagine what you take for granted until you are in these kinds of situations. One can’t predict.
How do you then prepare financially for a crisis? And what can you do to protect yourself and your family at these times?
Introspect
While you’re fit and healthy, it’s pretty hard to imagine life any other way. However, questions need to be asked, like: what would I do if I am not able to earn an income because of an illness or if I became handicapped due to an accident? How will I protect my assets, business and continue with my financial responsibilities?
Get a Financial Plan
A well-articulated financial plan will address these kinds of questions and more. Everyone needs a detailed financial plan, especially one that prepares for emergency.
Create an Emergency Fund
It is advisable to set aside between three and six months worth of living expenses in an emergency fund. This amount is dependent on your specific situation- how many children you have, what debt you are carrying, and the type of insurance cover you have in place.
While we are at this, let’s look at other types of storms we sometimes have to deal with.
Physical Storms
‘Living temple of God’, that’s what we are. Our human bodies can only take so much and the more we take care of them, the greater our chances of weathering a physical storm. Does that mean that we won’t get sick? No. Can we possibly prepare for every single illness? No.
But we can prepare by eating right, exercising, and ensuring those yearly check-ups. Make the choice and go to the doctor as soon as something is “not right”.
Being able to weather physical storms is to make sure all of the insurances are up to date- Health insurance and Life Insurance.
Taking care of your body is important while you’re alive and looking out for your dependants. Speak with a qualified health and life insurance person to make sure you are prepared.
Spiritual Storms
Is this is a touchy subject? It shouldn’t be. Our belief in God reinforces the need to make sure that our spiritual foundation is solid.
When life gets stormy, be sure that your faith is not also stormy. Sometimes, from storms comes greater faith but while you are in that storm, you need “something” to help you get through it. For me, that something is my faith in Christ.
My faith is not what I would consider “rock solid”, as my relationship with God is a constant work in progress but I have learnt that with each storm, its easier to just let go and let God.
So how do we weather spiritual storms? Well, I think a spiritual storm is when something happens that make you question – Why me?
There are many examples of things that could happen to make us question our belief system. So how do we prepare for the spiritual storms? I think it is by spending time building that unshakable foundation. God’s word- the Bible and personal experiences of some storms will teach us.
In the end whether the storm is physical, financial or spiritual, the good news is we have an anchor and if we prepare, we will get through to the other side. The question is; are you preparing?
Inyang Sami-Orungbe