Financial Fears: Mine and Yours
We all have financial fears. I was reminded of this as I read a guest post by Ashley at Wide Open Wallet on Being Frugal. The post was excellent, outlining some of her financial fears. And it got me thinking about my own financial fears. So, here they are, and what I plan to do about it:
- Losing a lucrative regular gig. I have one client that accounts for a little more than 1/3 of my monthly income. It’s a regular, monthly gig that is quite lucrative. I worry that some day (especially in this economy), the company will decide that getting rid of the corporate blog would be an excellent way to cut costs. In which case I will be in some serious trouble. What I plan to do about it: Look for other, small opportunities that can be leveraged into larger opportunities should the need arise. I also plan to build my emergency fund so that we can keep up with expenses for a couple months while I look for replacement income. It might also help to look at our budget and try to arrange things so that we are living on 2/3 of our income, rather than 3/4 of it.
- Having something happen to the car. We’ve paid it off, and I really, really, really don’t want another car payment. Plus, we only have one car, so if it dies, it makes things sticky. Happily, we have relatives in town with extra vehicles. What I plan to do about it: Set some money aside for a car fund. We were doing this for a while, continuing to make the “car payment” to a savings account. But then we started putting in the yard, etc., etc. and that sort of fell off. We need to revive the practice. Also, we checked our insurance to see if there is coverage for a rental car in the case of an accident. There is.
- My husband will have a hard time finding a job. My husband is working on his Ph.D. right now, and gets a modest stipend. I worry what will happen if he doesn’t get a job within a few months of finishing is degree. The stipend isn’t huge, but it does pay the mortgage and the car insurance. What I plan to do about it: Again, this a job for a better emergency fund and better budget planning. Also, I have encouraged him to attend conferences and make contacts so that he has a professional network in place to help him when he finishes.
What are some of your financial fears? And what are doing about them?
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Economy, Family finances, Personal Finance
15 opinions for Financial Fears: Mine and Yours
jennydecki
Aug 27, 2008 at 3:13 pm
My #1 fear is the same as yours. The difference is my one client accounts for (doing math, one moment please) over 70% of my monthly income. But the gig is time consuming and lucrative and I’d rather throw myself into this gig and build a nice, fat savings account in the event it dries up or disappears.
FFB
Aug 27, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Fear of losing my job is a biggie. There aren’t too many companies in my field so it could be tough to find something comparable.
miranda
Aug 27, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Thanks for sharing, Jenny and FFB!
I like the idea of working hard as long as you have the job, and then saving up as much as you can.
And, of course, I hope FFB never lose the job…I can see why it’s such a big fear.
Jean
Aug 27, 2008 at 4:40 pm
My first thought was my fear of outliving my savings, but in that case, I’d just go on Title XIX and let the state take care of me. I figure by then I’d be old and not need much (except books!) anyway.
My bigger fear is losing my health insurance and having a catastrophic illness that would take away all my savings long before I can spend it down. I hear too many horror stories about companies cutting out health insurance for retirees (my husband is retired and we’re using his health insurance). I’m looking into different health insurance that can’t be taken away (guaranteed by the state), insurance that is not dependent on my husband’s company.
Dreamer
Aug 27, 2008 at 6:00 pm
I watched my parents slide farther and farther into debt, taking care of 2 kids on one LPNs income. I remember eating holiday meals at soup kitchens, cereal with water instead of milk, and christmas presents from the “giving tree” at a local church. We weren’t as poor as we could have been, but we had our hard times.
My fear is being in the same situation with me and my wife. I am terrified of not being able to provide a comfortable living. Nothing opulent or extravagant, but enough that we’re always confident in our next meal. I have literally laid awake at night, unable to sleep, focused on the mental image of not being able to provide for my family.
I’m 24 years old. I avoid almost all debt, unless I have the cash available to pay it off if necessary. I save about 25% of my monthly gross income. I try to donate the maximum to both of our Roth IRAs yearly. I’m always working on school and education to earn more money. Part of this is ambition. The other part is that fear. I always want to have a bigger cushion, more security, more peace of mind about money. I’m not joking when I say that fear drives most of my actions.
miranda
Aug 27, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Thanks, Jean, for freaking me out :) I have health insurance, so I haven’t worried about catastrophic illness. But now I do. What if the health insurance I’ve been paying for all these years doesn’t cover the problem? What if, for some reason, we get dropped. *sigh* Higher premiums every year aren’t enough; now I’m worried about health care, too. Time to boost my savings, or look into an HSA.
miranda
Aug 27, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Dreamer: Thank you for sharing your story. It is very moving. I agree that a childhood lived in poverty can inject fear. My family was somewhat poor (though not as poor as you) growing up, and I always sought for ways to have a little more security. However, I also learned that sometimes we have to learn to relax, unwind and enjoy life a little. Not get extravagant, of course, but take a moment to feel good about enjoying life’s pleasures on occasion (without going beyond means, of course). It is, though, something that many of us (including myself) has to learn and work at — especially if we have been in a position where we were subject to fear.
Dreamer
Aug 27, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Miranda: Thank you for the kind words, but the funny thing is that I never really considered that “poor”. We always had some sort of food and a roof over our heads. We ate at a soup kitchen once on a thanksgiving (and volunteered our time to pay it back), and although we didn’t get a lot of stuff we wanted, we got everything we needed. My biggest fear is of living on that precipice, where you’re never sure how you’re going to make it next month, or which bill to pay. My parents trashed their credit making sure that we weren’t “poor”. I just don’t want to ever be in that position. It would make me feel like a failure, and far too much of my self confidence is tied up in that arena.
miranda
Aug 27, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Ah. Thank you for clarifying. I agree that it can be rough to live on that edge. My parents didn’t go into debt for much of anything. I had a great childhood, but I did worry about money sometimes.
Different Directions – No Map : Beyond Mom
Aug 28, 2008 at 3:43 pm
[…] diversify their workload to make sure there isn’t a crazy-weird drop in income over at Yielding Wealth yesterday. (What a clunky sentence, […]
Curt
Aug 29, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Interesting article, thanks for sharing. I just read about how most people that go into foreclosure try to hide it from friends and family because their worst fears have come true.
miranda
Aug 29, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Thanks for sharing your insight. That is an interesting point. I wonder how many of us hide our financial troubles.
Inkthinker | Freelance Writing Blog » What’s Your Biggest Financial Fear As a Freelancer?
Sep 2, 2008 at 11:14 pm
[…] Miranda’s top financial fears: […]
Update: Search Engine of Personal Finance Blogs
Sep 3, 2008 at 12:18 am
[…] Financial Fears: Mine and Yours […]
inkthinkerblog.com » What’s Your Biggest Financial Fear As a Freelancer?
Oct 18, 2008 at 10:30 am
[…] Miranda’s top financial fears: […]
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: