Many professionals earn an income that is only sufficient for their living. They work hard in order to have money to finance their daily activities. From this income they take the payments for their bills, personal expenses, foods, transportation, hobbies, as well as their savings and investments. They need income in order to survive. But their income is only sufficient for daily living. What if they need money to finance their unexpected losses or expenses? Where do they get this money in order to pay all of these bills?
Other people would borrow money from their friends or colleagues and pay it with interest in order for them to pay for these unexpected payments. Others would take money from their savings; some would pawn their jewelry and some do worse than that: they steal money from other people. But there are ways to obtain money for these kinds of contingencies that are not costly as these other ways. Some of it can be attained from a loan in an insurance policy if the policy has its existing cash values. The other source of money for contingencies is what we call cash from structured settlements. This can help you sell your structured settlements and convert it into cash in the times of uncertainties.
In this unpredictable time, we should prepare for the unknown. We should set aside money that will be available in times of contingency. We should put up a contingency fund in our investment portfolio. This will serve as our other source of fund in times that we need money. These funds should be separated from our savings and investments. Most people do this. They save money, but when the time comes that they feel they need it, they withdraw it from their investments. The greatest enemy that we are facing in this kind of approach is ourself. Eventually we’ll end up saving nothing at all.
In handling funds, we should be systematic about it. If we want to be prepared in the face of uncertainty, we should have a separate account intended only for contingencies so that it will not mixed with our savings. In this case, we can control our withdrawals and eventually we can save for the future.