Page 12 - Book11E

Doing what you always did gets you what you always got.
—Barbara Lyons
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• Do you have a life insurance policy and do you know how much it is for?
• Are your taxes up-to-date?
• If you have a home, do you know where your mortgage paperwork is?
Where Do I Begin?
Making a plan for saving is as important as making a plan for the money you save. If you haven't yet begun to save money on a regular basis, there are four types of savings plans you’ll need to put in place as a single
parent.
In this chapter, we define what those sav- ings plans are. Don’t be discouraged by thinking you have no way to save money because of the expenses you have. Other chapters in this volume will help you
look at ways to find the small extra amounts you’ll need to get started. Here we provide an outline of what to aim for down the road. Begin with the first savings plan and the others should follow sequentially.
1 . Emergency Savings Fund
All of us face emergencies now and then, and they usually come at the most inopportune times, which is why we call them emergencies. All too often, we are not financially prepared when the car breaks down, the furnace gives out, or a child breaks a bone. Most of the time, these financial emergencies are unexpected and unplanned for, especially the broken bones! Cars and furnaces may have given signs that trouble was ahead, but we chose to ignore the signs because we thought we could get by for just one more month. When the inevitable happens, we’re too often forced to put those expenses on a credit card or take out a loan to cover them.
Financial Tips for Single Parents