4 Major Life Changes Nobody is Prepared For
Change is one of the few constants in life. As the years pass by, you’ll have to deal with new challenges. Some of these life changes are easy to prepare for. Others aren’t.
Below are four of the biggest financial changes you’ll see in your life, and you really won’t be able to prepare for them until you hit those major milestones.
Moving Out On Your Own
Nothing’s more freeing than the first time you step into your own place. Whether it’s your first apartment or your first rental home, one thing’s for sure—you aren’t ready for the financial reality of being on your own quite yet.
You’ll be surprised by all the things you don’t have or all the money you’ll need to spend on utilities. The best way to prepare for the expense is to make a checklist before you move—if you’ve got an idea of what you need, you’ll be able to save money. The experts at Midwest Moving & Storage Inc. suggest organizing this checklist by when certain tasks need to be completed.
Twelve weeks before you move, for example, is the right time to go through garages and attics and get rid of items you definitely don’t need. While one week before the move is a good time to take care of meal planning.
Buying Your First Home
After renting, you might think you understand the financial pain of being on your own. Nothing’s more surprising, though, than owning your own home.
Suddenly, the need for budgeting will become even more apparent. You don’t just need to budget for your mortgage, but for all the repairs that can go wrong in your home. Open a savings account for home repairs and fund it every month to stay ahead of the potential problem.
Your First Child
Kids are expensive. While you might know this intellectually, nothing will prepare you for the future. Look at your current living expenses, and multiply your personal budget by at least a factor of two to understand your potential costs.
The best way to prepare for a child’s impact on your finances is to get an early start. Open an interest-earning account to prepare for college and start building up your savings account—you’ll need it.
Losing/Changing Jobs
The era of staying at one job forever seems to be over. As frightening as it might sound, the odds of losing your job or changing fields is higher than you might think.
If you want to stay prepared for the hit to your finances, you should endeavor to keep at least one month’s worth of expenses in your savings account at all times. This might not be enough to see you through a lengthy period of unemployment, but it will take some of the pressure off of you.
Category: Family
