Cutting Costs: 4 Common Emergency Household Expenses and What to Do About Them
Household emergencies are going to arise no matter who you are and what your status is. The key to surviving them is preparing yourself for when they happen. The following are four of the most common household emergencies and their prevention and resolution tips.
The Hot Water Heater Gives Up
Water heater failure is a common occurrence and, unfortunately, it happens at the most inconvenient times on occasion.
It can happen because of faulty heating elements, line leaks and thermostat issues. You can prevent this from happening by having your water heater serviced regularly and ensuring that you regulate the controls.
Be sure to ask technicians questions about proper maintenance and prevention methods for your specific unit.
Additionally, putting a little money away into a savings account can help you with this and other rainy day mishaps.
The Car Dies
Automobile problems are additional expenses that seem to creep up on auto owners. Some of the most common problems that arise are power losses, transmission failures, and oil leaks.
You can help avoid disaster with your motor and transmission by hiring a respectable automotive maintenance shop to do regular maintenance tasks like oil changes and transmission fluid swaps.
This will help spot problems before they become costly emergencies.
Learning a bit about your car could also help in emergency situations. However, you don’t have to wait until something happens to do something.
Take a class or invest in lessons so you know how things should be working and how to perform simple repair tasks.
This will help you spot issues and fix things to the best of your ability until you can get an expert to solve your car problems.
You Get Sick or Injured
Illness and injury can catch you by surprise at any time and the only thing you can really do is go to a healthcare professional.
Aside from protective gear and exercising caution, you can’t really prevent such things from happening, but you can prepare yourself.
Making sure that you have excellent benefits is a great way to shield yourself. Health insurance, HAS accounts, and savings can all help you through difficult times.
A Utility Gets Shut Off
Utility disconnection is another common household emergency that occurs. You can do several things to shield yourself from a utility disconnection.
Keeping a digital calendar with reminders will help you stay up to date on your bill payments. You have options if you ever get behind such as contacting the utility company to make a payment arrangement.
Many utility companies are willing to give you a chance to make payments before they cut your service.
You can also apply for special discounts and governmental assistance that can help you pay for your electric.
The “rainy day” savings account will shield you in case of an emergency.
Now you have the knowledge to lift yourself up from misfortune and mishaps. Use the tips mentioned above to give yourself protection from falling into financial trouble.
Category: Retirement
