Your financial success is not always under your control. You can be great at your career and prudent about setting money aside, but recession, new technology, inflation, personal injury or illness, or major changes in your industry can all affect your income and leave you struggling to get by.
There are steps you can take now to help your family get through a rainy day.
Investing in Gold
If you’re worried about the future, investing in gold to mitigate financial uncertainty makes a lot of sense. Here are a few of the ways owning gold can help you out when times get tough:
#1 Gold Is Liquid – It’s fast and easy to sell gold, and 22K and 24K (bullion-grade) gold suffers no loss in value when you quickly convert it go cash. There’s always demand on the gold market.
#2 Gold Is Inflation-Proof – It’s been a decade of low interest rates and low inflation, but back in 1981 inflation was over 11% per year. Imagine losing 11% of your savings in a year, just because you put it in a savings account. Inflation can wipe out retirement savings, but gold prices are historically immune to inflation, rising as currency loses its value.
#3 Gold Is an Alternative Asset – When your other investment options struggle, gold can often be a safe haven in the storm. The gold market is a popular investment when stocks and real estate are no longer good buys.
Starting an Emergency Fund
An emergency fund should be 6 to 12 months’ of living expenses set aside for just that. An emergency is not a purchase you don’t have the money for otherwise, like a new TV or a car. It’s for the rainy days that come after a job loss or an illness that prevent you or your partner from working and earning an income. At a time when so many Americans, even those in the upper-middle class, are living paycheck to paycheck, keeping an emergency fund is one of the smartest moves you can make for your financial health.
Eliminate Your Debts
Are you carrying a balance on your credit card or still paying off a line of credit you used to renovate your home? Pay it off now. Not only does carrying debt cost you a lot more money in interest rates, it can also spiral out of control if you lose your income.
When you enter financial troubles without debt, you’ve effectively bought yourself a long runway to get back on your feet. If you have to start borrowing to cover basic costs (a last resort), you’ll be even worse off if you already have debts you could’ve paid earlier.
Get your family finances in shape to prepare for the worst. Whether it’s a recession or personal misfortune, it pays to be prepared.
