What If You Get Sick and Miss Work?

It's always tough when you get sick for an extended amount of time and need to miss work. If you develop an illness or are involved in an accident that leaves you disabled, call your employer as soon as you can.

I'm lucky and have only had one major event occur that caused me to take off time from work for an extended period.  After getting my tonsils taken out, I had to have emergency surgery to fix a complication and was out of work for a few weeks.  It was a difficult period of time, but was a good learning experience for how to handle that kind of challenge.

Included in most benefit packages is disability insurance, which usually ranges from 40 to 80 percent of your income. It is important to notify and provide your company with the documentation they need right away in order to initiate the process.

Make sure to be friendly with your doctor, the hospital staff, and your HR department at your company because at any moment you could need one to call another in order to provide claim information and you want it to go as smoothly as possible. If it will be several weeks before the disability pay will kick in, scrutinize your vacation package and sick leave package to see if your company can pay you until disability kicks in.

If this won't work and you don't have the savings to help you by, you may have to look into finding another form of work during the interim.

What if You Lose Your Job?

Recently I was past of a massive layoff at my employer of six years.  It was a traumatic event and brought into question many of the recent choices I had made regarding my budget. Had we not prepared to deal with a few months of less income it could have led to disaster!  Luckily we were prepared and a massive job hunt yielded some new work.

If you lose your job, don’t give up on your budget! Chances are you feel angry, betrayed, overwhelmed, lost or all of the above. The important thing is to remain focused and remember that you will be alright. It is important to keep your wits about you, formulate a plan to get back on your feet, and to get started.

One of the most important aspects of your plan will be the financial aspect. Every decision you make, down to whether or not to purchase your normal morning coffee could mean the difference between a sinking budget and a successful budget.

So try to cut as many expenses as you can, regain any composure you may have temporarily lost, and begin searching for a new position immediately.  You may get lucky and find something sooner than you think!

Planning for emergencies is critical to maintaining a successful budget and building a strong financial foundation.

Keep Budgeting!

Chris

BuildMyBudget.com