Unfortunately, financial emergencies are an inevitable part of life. Although – hopefully – they don’t happen that often, from time to time everyone can find themselves having to cough up some money for an unexpected expense whether it be a broken down car in need of repairs, damage to a property, or appliance breakdowns in the home to name just a few. Thankfully, there are a few useful things you can do in order to make sure that you’re fully prepared should any such event happen.
Savings
For the most part, people prefer to have savings to use rather than turning to borrowing money because it’s easier to manage, and there’s no obligation to pay it back. However, the problem with this is a lot of people just don’t have enough spare income to save as much as they’d like. If you’re worried about being able to afford savings, the best thing to do is start small. Or, you could cut out things that you tend to spend a lot of money on without even realizing – for example, if you buy a £3.50 Starbucks coffee on your way to work in the morning, you’re spending £98 each month that could go into your ‘emergency fund’ instead.
Credit Cards
Even if you are not a big fan of borrowing money, having a credit card on hand for emergencies only can be a life-saver. When you take out a credit card, you don’t actually have to start paying the money back until you’ve spent some of it, meaning that you could easily leave it in a safe place and never use it until an emergency situation arises where you find yourself needing quick cash. Some credit cards offer great bonuses such as loyalty points, air-miles and even money off in your favourite shops, so it could definitely be something worth looking into if you haven’t already.
Family and Friends
Although most people don’t like asking to borrow money from family and friends, sometimes it can be an inevitable evil. However, you could make this easier by coming to an agreement with a friend or family member to lend money to each other in your respective times of need. This way, if you do encounter a financial emergency and need to ask for help, you won’t feel as bad about it as your friend/family member has already agreed that they’d be happy to help you out if they can. Borrowing from family and friends can often be like borrowing from the bank – if you pay them back in full and when agreed, they’ll usually be happy to help again in the future.
Short Term Loans
Last but not least, personal loans poor credit accepted can often be extremely useful during a financial time of need. These small loans are designed to provide you with quick cash when you need it most, and will usually require you to repay them when you next receive your salary so that you’re not worrying about how to pay it back.
How do you stay prepared for financial emergencies? Leave your response in the comments.
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