It only takes a moment to change everything and displace plans that took painstaking time and effort to create. These moments create ripples that can quickly escalate into financial tsunamis if you don’t have a plan for dealing with them as they come. The better you understand the various long-term disruptions that can arise, the more prepared you can be for when and if they become realities. These tips will help you cope with the financial reality these long-term disruptions create.

Types of Long-Term Disruptions

The unfortunate truth is that there are many different types of long-term disruptions you need to plan for. The following are among the most common.

• Loss of a job.
• An unexpected family addition.
• Divorce.
• Death of a spouse or financial (and emotional) partner.
• Long-term illness or disability – or the illness or disability of a spouse or child.
• The loss of a home through financial means or disaster.
• Automobile breakdown or accident.

Each of these disruptions alone can cause a financial shock. Their effects extend beyond the event, causing repercussions lasting for months, years, or even longer.

Financial Preparedness

You will hear the term “rainy day fund” until you’re sick of it in financial planning circles. The reason is simple. It is the most helpful thing you can do to insulate your family from much of the pain that would otherwise occur along with any of these long-term disruptions. The disruptions are painful, and adjusting to a new financial reality only exacerbates the pain. Financial preparation, beginning (and not ending) with a rainy-day fund, is the best practice to establish. Other financial preparations are also essential, including buying insurance, reducing your debt burden, building a better credit score, and establishing a budget your family can live within – even if it means scaling back your current lifestyle to some degree.

Employment and Business Continuity

While there is nothing you can do to guarantee you’ll always have a job, it is possible to continuously enhance your skills, knowledge, and employability – even if you must consider switching fields or changing vocations amid a long-term disruption. Your goal is to be highly employable as an employee or profitable as a business. You also need a plan to generate passive income if you become incapacitated or unable to work for some time due to illness or injury.

Housing and Living Considerations

One of the most fundamental needs is housing and the ability to feed yourself and your family. With that in mind, the best bet is to have savings of at least six months of living expenses. That can help most families weather the average long-term disruption with the opportunity to recover – or at least create a path to recovery. It’s not only about having savings to tide you over, though. You also need to have a list you can turn to for community resources designed to help families facing long-term disruptions.

Health and Wellness Preparations

Live your best life by taking care of yourself. Take advantage of wellness checkups and health visits. Eat healthy foods and enjoy less healthy foods in moderation. Find paths to move and exercise that don’t feel like necessary chores but disguise themselves as something fun and entertaining to do. You only get one body. It is essential to take care of that body to the best of your ability to be better prepared to battle unexpected health conditions as they arise.

Insurance and Safeguards

The design of insurance isn’t to prevent long-term disruptions, but it can be instrumental in helping you survive them. From helping you find lodging in the aftermath of natural disasters to helping you manage the costs of catastrophic injuries or illnesses, insurance is a crucial tool to keep in your toolkit for battling life’s little (and not-so-little) emergencies. Did you know you can also purchase insurance that will help you pay some of your bills if you lose your job (through no fault of your own)? All sorts of insurance products are available to help you manage various risks. Work with a trusted advisor to learn more about managing risks effectively according to your current means and risk aversion preferences.

Legal and Contractual Considerations

Long-term disruptions can upend your life, necessitating the management of various contractual and legal obligations. While some parties may cooperate, believing in the benefits of a good relationship, others might refuse any adjustments. Understanding your legal and contractual obligations and proactively addressing potential issues before they escalate can help maintain cordial relations and foster mutually beneficial solutions.

Takeaways

Disruptions are a part of life. Long-term disruptions will eventually end, even if it doesn’t seem like it now. These tips will help you prepare for and manage these disruptions as they arise. Use them well to make your way through with as few adverse effects as possible.