By Cheryl Sperling
For the past few days, the disaster that struck in Cagayan De Oro, Iligan, Dumaguete, and other places is dominating the news. Tropical storm, Sendong, is the culprit! A lot of our Filipino compatriots lost their loved ones, and their homes and belongings, and to those who survived will contend with cleaning the aftermath after the storm! It won't be easy with all the thick mud all over the place plus almost all the stuff in the house are either damaged beyond repair, so has to be replaced .... or those that are still usable needs money for that needed repair especially the electrical outlets as it would be dangerous with all the mud and other debris lurking on it. I don't live in CDO or the other places mentioned but I could relate to what they are experiencing now as I was a victim myself of another storm, Ondoy, which wrecked havoc also in Luzon in 2009.
For the past few days, the disaster that struck in Cagayan De Oro, Iligan, Dumaguete, and other places is dominating the news. Tropical storm, Sendong, is the culprit! A lot of our Filipino compatriots lost their loved ones, and their homes and belongings, and to those who survived will contend with cleaning the aftermath after the storm! It won't be easy with all the thick mud all over the place plus almost all the stuff in the house are either damaged beyond repair, so has to be replaced .... or those that are still usable needs money for that needed repair especially the electrical outlets as it would be dangerous with all the mud and other debris lurking on it. I don't live in CDO or the other places mentioned but I could relate to what they are experiencing now as I was a victim myself of another storm, Ondoy, which wrecked havoc also in Luzon in 2009.
Create an emergency fund! It is in times like these that emergency fund is a very welcome relief. If you have the much needed money to be used for all the needs at hand during calamities in your life, then living would be quite stress-free. I know most, if not all, of our fellow Filipinos don't have home insurances which could have covered protection for their homes and properties. I was one of the lucky ones who took insurance on my house so when Ondoy came I was able to claim insurance money for my property which helped me rebuild my home after the storm. Maybe asked me then, how much does a home insurance cost? Well, not much really. I paid a premium of barely P6,000- in 2009 (before Ondoy) and my claim was about P400k! Not bad to restart anew, right? Although, now my house premium is about P9,000- already just because of Ondoy!
Okay, where else do we need an emergency fund aside from natural calamities? Well, how about for medical emergencies and when our car breaks down, etc. We all know that if one gets sick, hospitals asks for cash deposit so we should have cash ready as well, in case we don't have a health care insurance.
The ideal size of your Emergency Fund should be at least three (3) months of your salary/income or most experts say to have 3 to 6 months worth of expenses available in case of loss of income or other financial emergencies.
This post is from the series Six Steps to Financial Freedom. You can read the start of the series by clicking here.
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