Plan Ahead for Short Term Emergencies

August 22, 2012 By 3 Comments

An emergency may be unexpected, but it is not necessarily unforeseeable. If you’re not planning for life’s emergencies ahead of time, you may end up turning to short term loans as your only way to finance them. However, there are other ways to stash away emergency cash for when life hand’s you one of its little emergencies.

Medical Expenses

Health insurance is one way to plan for medical problems you can’t predict, but are due to happen. To plan even further to pay for co-pays and the deductible, you can also set up a flexible spending account with your company. The funds are automatically deducted from your paycheck on a pre-tax basis each pay period and they can be used for health items like eyeglasses and dental care. Not only is the saving painless, but it also can give you more savings due to the pre-tax status. If you work for yourself, you can set up a Health Savings Account (HSA) instead, and roll over the savings if you don’t use them that year.

Repairs and Maintenance

Owning a car or a home can come with unexpected repair and maintenance costs. You might not know when you’ll have an emergency, but you know it will eventually happen. To avoid having to take out short-term loans that may be difficult to repay, you need to plan ahead and save now. Get registered for a home maintenance plan that can be as low as $50/month and cover major repairs like electrical problems in the home or bad appliances. Having a savings account set aside and using direct deposit to direct a portion of your paycheck to it can help you prepare for those emergencies.

Building an emergency fund is not difficult. It just needs to be consistent. If you have extra consider loaning it to family and friends, so that when your turn comes around they’ll be there for you, too.  If you automate savings and plan ahead it removes the stress of being caught short when bad things happen. It can be a wonderful feeling to know that the money is in the bank for a repair or replacement when the air conditioner fails during the height of summer or something else occurs that you may not have foreseen, but you were wise enough to plan for, regardless.

Filed Under: Reader Suggested Tagged With: , ,

Is it too late to get an MBA?

February 27, 2012 By 11 Comments

Education

What an interesting week last week, now back to the grind of things.  Today we received a question from a reader who asks, “Is it too late to get an MBA?”  Let us define what the reader considers too late, they consider their mid 40′s too late to obtain the advanced degree.

What is his dilemma?  Mark is a mid level manager who strives to take that next step but all of the upper echilon have advanced degrees.  Some organizations only recruit talent for upper level positions if they have an advanced degree, his organization is one of those.

Mark has his bachelor’s degree and is at the glass ceiling for his current credentials at his organization.  He wants to move up and he knows he can do the job, but he just doesn’t have the degree for the next step.  The time to obtain the advanced degree may take a few years to complete.  The reward after the completion of the degree when he is able to move up the corporate ladder is going to be substantial for him.  He definately gets my vote to pursue the degree.  Would you pursue the degree if you were Mark?

Some people think that you have to be going for something to continue your education for advanced degrees or just another degree.  This is a misconception and many people take courses that they find interesting or that they find may benefit them in some way in the real world.

When I was taking my MBA courses, there was a gentleman in the class that had already received a Harvard Law degree and was corporate council for the multinational organization he worked for.  I was talking with him one time and questioned his presence in the program and he said he takes the courses for fun and likes to keep his mind sharp.

Whatever your reasons for pursuing and MBA or any other advanced degree, I say you should definately pursue it.  I am a big advocate of education for all.  Said by one of my buddies Benjamin Franklin, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”

 PHOTO BY: Bathe in Light
Filed Under: Financial Advice, Reader Suggested, This and That Tagged With: , , ,