Spend Now, Save Later: Avoiding Unexpected Financial Disasters

But in all seriousness, sometimes those situations arise where we just need to shell out a lot of money in order to make our families comfortable, or to solve an issue we are presented with. It can be pretty disheartening to part with such a large amount of money at one time, but sometimes we must. However, what if you didn’t have to do this all the time? They key to avoiding unexpected costs is to predict what costs could hit you and your family, and to take action early to avoid them.

Electronics

The modern family home is a home full of technology – your kids have probably grown up with it. The unfortunate thing about technology is that it has a shelf life – at some point, your TV, laptop or tablet will pack in and simply stop working. Not being prepared for this can be a huge issue in more ways than one. First things first, always make sure you have everything on your computer backed up on a hard drive, or at the very least saved to the Cloud. That way, when it finally dies, you won’t have to spend a small fortune on an engineer trying to get your files and pictures back (plus there’s no guarantee that will actually work). Secondly, many people panic-buy laptops and phones when their old ones have died due to the sheer urgency of requiring them. By anticipating when your devices are nearing the end of their lives, you can start hunting for a good deal on a replacement.

Household

As much as we love them, our homes can often let us down. Quite typically, they tend to only let us down when we need them most. For example, perhaps you hear on the news that a heatwave is expected to hit your town shortly, lasting for several weeks. It’s only then that you go to check your air conditioning unit to find that it’s completely broken. The problem here is that everyone else in the town will be looking into having A/C units fitted at this time too, so you might be waiting a while/looking at a large cost. Get your heating and A/C tested early in the year, and that way you can arrange A/C installation in advance, should you need it.

Cars

When your daily schedule is super busy, a car is a lifesaver for getting from A to B. That’s why when something goes wrong, it can easily turn your whole day upside down. Some car issues we simply can’t plan for, such as a collision or a very rare malfunction. But otherwise, good maintenance should prevent your car from ever letting you down. Regular checks by your local garage may seem like a waste of money at first, but in reality, they can keep your car up and running for much longer.