What unexpected event in life has dented your personal finance?

Non-investing personal finance issues including insurance, credit, real estate, taxes, employment and legal issues such as trusts and wills.
Post Reply
Topic Author
workingovertime
Posts: 376
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2015 7:06 pm

What unexpected event in life has dented your personal finance?

Post by workingovertime »

I probably carry a lot less liquidity than I should. I'm too eager to invest as much as possible and as early as possible... I invest more $ this way but in return, I risk more in case something happens and I need more money right away. Worst case scenario would be something like having to withdraw from my Roth IRA or something.

What kind of unexpected life event has happened to you personally that dented your personal finance?
Did you prepare? Were you as prepared as you thought you were? Would you do anything differently?
123
Posts: 10387
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2012 3:55 pm

Re: What unexpected event in life has dented your personal finance?

Post by 123 »

I've been layed-off a couple of times due to mergers/corporate down-sizing. Since I've always been a saver and LBYM it didn't bother me at all. I had a friend who told me he would be "sweating bullets" if it happened to him but he lived paycheck-to-paycheck and frequently boasted of how many credit cards he had.
The closest helping hand is at the end of your own arm.
stoptothink
Posts: 15368
Joined: Fri Dec 31, 2010 8:53 am

Re: What unexpected event in life has dented your personal finance?

Post by stoptothink »

Divorce. Since I had just, literally within weeks, finished liquidating almost my entire life's savings paying out of pocket for my (now ex) wife's undergrad and dental school when we separated; no, I wasn't in any way prepared. Nearly 6yrs later I have recovered, thanks in part to my current wife, but I'd be looking at WAY early FIRE if the first marriage had worked out differently (or better, simply never happened).
User avatar
obafgkm
Posts: 711
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2016 8:12 am
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: What unexpected event in life has dented your personal finance?

Post by obafgkm »

workingovertime wrote: What kind of unexpected life event has happened to you personally that dented your personal finance?
Did you prepare? Were you as prepared as you thought you were? Would you do anything differently?
I've mentioned this elsewhere, but my wife dying unexpectedly hit my finances. We had just moved, and still owned the old house (and therefore two mortgages). The old house has since sold, but it was a scary time (still is, at some level). Social Security survivor's benefits to my child helped keep me going (and not putting as much into my 403(b) as I would otherwise have done). I had some (financial) help from family right after the death.

While we had good finances and were fairly frugal (maxing 403(b)s and IRAs), the two blind spots in our personal finances were that (1) we should have had life insurance beyond what our employers gave us (we have a elementary-school-age child) and (2) we should have had an emergency fund (we had depleted it for the down payment on the new house). What life insurance we got from my wife's employer and the survivor's benefits to my child have helped. The life insurance (high five figures) is now the source of an emergency fund.
"I'm investing in stocks... chicken, beef, and vegetable. It's risky, but I know one day it'll pay off & I'll be a bouillonaire. Who knows, I might even open up a Broth IRA."
FB01
Posts: 689
Joined: Fri May 20, 2011 12:36 am

Re: What unexpected event in life has dented your personal finance?

Post by FB01 »

I was diagnosed with
Last edited by FB01 on Sun Sep 25, 2016 8:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Thanks, | FB
User avatar
Crimsontide
Posts: 729
Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2013 5:32 pm
Location: DFW Metromess

Re: What unexpected event in life has dented your personal finance?

Post by Crimsontide »

Wife's cancer, nuff said...
User avatar
kellyfj
Posts: 283
Joined: Tue Mar 27, 2007 12:41 pm

Re: What unexpected event in life has dented your personal finance?

Post by kellyfj »

Having a child diagnosed with lifelong special needs.

Wife had to give up her job.
Health costs skyrocketed - $10k+ per year not covered (Several health insurance companies consider "biological" brain problems not covered).
Then had to hire an educational advocate and then a lawyer.
Was about to spent $125k in one fell swoop on a private school outplacement ($75k per year) and lawyer ($50k) but the school system saw we were never going to back down and that we would win the lawsuit and so they picked up the placement.

No way to be prepared for all of that but good prior saving habits, low costs, more cutbacks and being continuously employed in Tech was a God Send.
Things are much better for the whole family - had a minor miracle in getting treatment that worked.
Wife is back to work part time doing . . . guess what . . . advocacy for kids with special needs :-)
firstwordproblems
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 4:10 pm

Re: What unexpected event in life has dented your personal finance?

Post by firstwordproblems »

Imagine your family member, (brother sister parent) calls and tells you they can't afford to live without help or they lose the house.
User avatar
alec
Posts: 3178
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2007 1:15 pm

Re: What unexpected event in life has dented your personal finance?

Post by alec »

Having child five years earlier than planned, and having special needs child.
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!" - Upton Sinclair
malbecman
Posts: 102
Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2016 4:49 pm
Location: CA

Re: What unexpected event in life has dented your personal finance?

Post by malbecman »

I think it is always the unexpected thing (as evidenced by the previous posters) that blindsides you and hits you so hard in the wallet as well. That is why you save.....its for the unplanned, unexpected events. You'll never be fully prepared.
msk
Posts: 1470
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2016 10:40 am

Re: What unexpected event in life has dented your personal finance?

Post by msk »

I have been very lucky and never had a major catastrophe during my seven decades of life. For many people the catastrophes are health related, but I spent all my life in countries with tax-funded health care, so to the OP I would advise that it is critically important to have satisfactory health insurance, be it private or tax-funded. Beyond that, at a young age just go whole hog and invest in the stock market and the equity in your dwelling. You have to be extremely unlucky to get a financial catastrophe occurring at the same time as a market bottom when the negative impact on your investments is maximum. If the catastrophe happens during an average, stable market, then, be it stocks or bonds, you simply pay and get on with your life.
treciegal
Posts: 44
Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2008 7:50 pm

Re: What unexpected event in life has dented your personal finance?

Post by treciegal »

The death of my husband -
He was an artist and we sold only originals.
Business was a team - he created; I sold. - that way for over 30 years.
He died, business died with him for the most part although I have created a royalty stream somewhat.
Could have added a whole lot more to those personal finances if he could have stuck around . . . . . . but it was not to be.

We saved well cause we were either too busy to spend it or too tired to spend it !
Saved so that we could have some fun in our older age . . . . . just didn't work out as planned - but it was fun while it lasted.
Nothing was the same in my life after his death.
flyingbison
Posts: 1363
Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 8:52 am

Re: What unexpected event in life has dented your personal finance?

Post by flyingbison »

Divorce
Career change
Job loss
User avatar
Toons
Posts: 14459
Joined: Fri Nov 21, 2008 9:20 am
Location: Hills of Tennessee

Re: What unexpected event in life has dented your personal finance?

Post by Toons »

flyingbison wrote:Divorce
Career change
Job loss


+1
:mrgreen:
"One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity" –Bruce Lee
Post Reply