Financial Protection

A wise person is one who is prepared.

It’s all very well thinking about the nicer aspects of watching your investments grow and planning for a good retirement, but what if something happens to you or a loved one unexpectedly?

A wise person is one who is prepared just in case things go awry through serious illness or even premature death.

Ask yourself what would happen if such an event were to arise, here are some examples:-

Young and just starting out

• Could you afford to take time off work to recover from illness?
• How would you continue to pay your mortgage, rent or bills?
• Would your debts start to become overwhelming?
• Would you be forced to spend your hard-earned savings?

Expecting a baby

• Would your mortgage quickly become too much for the family?
• Would you need additional or full-time childcare?
• You may have savings, but how long would they last?
• Could you still afford your credit card or loan repayments?
• Could you deal with the financial worries?

Found your dream home

• How long would it be before you got behind with your mortgage?
• How quickly would your debts build up?
• How quickly would your savings disappear?
• Might you be forced to sell the property at a loss? Property doesn’t always go up!
• If your partner was left on their own, how would they cope financially?

Sole parent

• Who would look after your child or children whilst you recovered from an illness?
• Would you be able to afford additional child care?
• How long would it be before the family home became vulnerable?
• How would the loss of income affect your children’s lifestyle?
• If the worst happened how would you leave money to provide for your children?

Because raising a family costs more than you expect

• Would you be able to keep the roof over your head?
• Would your family be able to maintain its lifestyle?
• If you had to downsize, would your children be able to remain at their school?
• If one of you became seriously ill, would the other be able to work and still do the school run?
• If you needed extra childcare and care for one of you, how would you pay for it?

Want to leave a lump sum to your family?

• Could your partner manage in later life without you?
• How would not being able to work due to ill health affect your retirement plans?

And at the end of your life…

• Would you have enough set aside to pay for your funeral costs?
• Would you be able to leave a gift for your grandchildren?