Emergency Planning

     After reading several recent post on emergency planning, it has me thinking of ourselves and our children and what a variety of scenarios might look like. It is conceivable at any time that due to the lack of precautions and resurgence of hospitalizations, the economy might contract further or again depending on how you look at it, regardless of if businesses choose and are allowed to remain open. We continue to hold our own as is my daughter, though for either my husband or daughter, change could happen without notice. I guess my position is not guaranteed, as we need to make enterprise wide cuts of 5%, which will hit some areas harder than others. Our son is literally hanging by a thread as his industry has minimal projects as no one wants to outlay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a production to only be forced to shut down before completion. I've casually been running numbers in my head, but feel I need to take a harder look at where our finances are and where we can draw from if required.

     We have a certain amount of untouchables,  and to ensure the four walls, house, utilities, food, and transportation are in place. Not to argue with Dave Ramsey, health has to be there as well, so my house I guess is a pentagon. We are committed to our daughter's college education. We also can't jeopardize our retirement future so need to continue to contribute the max, or as close to as possible. 

     Within the four walls, we can make different choices and cut down some expenses. Then there is a whole bucket of optional expenditures. Here's where I will cut if and when the need arises. I'm also using July to see if there are natural places to save. 

House: Nothing to save here. We own our house outright with no mortgage and can't control property taxes, and support the common good for our community they support anyway. DH is a master at reviewing our insurance policy to  make sure we have the best price for the protection we need. Our bet money saving bet I to stay on top of all the things that potentially can cause issues that result in expensive fixes. 

Utilities: I admit that with working from home and the very hot weather we have had, the air conditioner is getting a work out. I turn it lower so I can sleep at night, but move it up or off  during the day until it gets stifling. We can watch and see if we can tweak these temps a bit more, and on any low humidity days, make sure we are turning off. When fall comes, I'll be stickler for slippers and sweaters rather than increasing the thermostat. I've been trying to use my washer and dishwasher at non-peak hours, but this will need to be a given, not a try. Same goes with line drying clothes. 

Food: I've proven it is cost effective to make the occasional trip to Aldi, even with driving out of town. That combined with continuing to not waste food, cooking from scratch, and taking advantage when there are stock up prices might help me get closer to what my pre-pandemic spending was. If true emergency budget, take out will be nixed entirely. This is where I learn to use that Instapot and expend our variety of food we eat. 

Transportation: Last Thursday I shared how much wear and tear money I've saved and true gas money. Now is the time to make sure we use any coupons or points and fill the cars when prices creep low to avoid having to put gas in the car if running low and gas is higher priced. DH saved money on car insurance policy for our daughter, but she may need a car at school this year due to her classes, and potential volunteer opportunity that would greatly help her resume and job prospects post graduation. We could look at  our rates on my car though since even later I will be commuting less. Like the house, car maintenance will be essential to not  incur expensive repairs. 

Health: This is as much preventative as savings. I have excellent health insurance and we are foolish to not use it, including getting the free flu shots, and other health perks to keep us well. Little things like changing pharmacies and earning points towards existing expenses or searching for a less expensive OTC products (prescribed as part of our care) might only save a few dollars a month, but in emergency planning, it all counts. 

Entertainment: In emergency mode, we need to cut the Direct TV cord entirely. We also should consider eliminating some of the streaming services, that collectively run $50 a month. We would keep Amazon Prime, because of the  delivery and streaming services, and my daughter's Spotify as with her student rate it is only $5 and gives her the music service plus the free HULU. Gone might be Netflix, Acorn, and BritBox, saving $30 a month. Any other entertainment would depend on the state of the health crisis, but I see the bulk of it fitting in with food and transportation budget, like meeting up with friends and family, and exploring new outdoor places. 

Clothing: This is an easy one-we'll all just make do with what we have. Shoes and undergarments would be the exception, but would replace as needed. 

Gifts: I think everyone in our circle of friends and family understand that in challenging financial times, there should be no shame in dialing back in this category. I already picture Christmas being more limited, and with practical gifts that will help people ride out the tough economy. Case in point, the very early B-Day Instant Pot for my son or hiking boots for my older daughter who needs that physical release for her mental health. Time with each other will be much more meaningful than stuff anyway. 

Gadgets and Things: Needless to say, we won't be buying the latest version of anything, and thinking hard before replacing any item that needs replacing. My phone is going on five years old, has limited storage, but it works for calls, texts, and web access. I'l keep using as long as it works, and then get the lowest cost version needed. I remember a point in the Tightwad Gazetter series about only buying something when it costs money not to have. I'll keep using my daughters  HP lap top for now as it does not make sense to replace my last one that died after 18 months when her's is sitting unused. 

     Cumulatively and on average, these could tally up to several hundred dollars starting this month. Even without further hardships on our household budget, that loosens cash to help family. Part of emergency planning is also knowing where you have cash and assets to draw upon. We are fortunate to have in liquid form, and if worst came to worse assets that could be tapped into, though with penalty. We could stop retirement contributions, though that likely provides less real cash as we'd experience a bigger tax bite, creating a double jeopardy. Our options are different from other families, as well as non-negotiables may be different. My hope though is like other bloggers did for me, raising the topic of emergency financial planning perhaps helps readers to start doing their own if they haven't yet.