But what if...?

So many people lose sleep each night because they just don't know what they would do if something bad happened... such as a redundancy, a terminal illness, a death in the immediate family, a car accident.

There's so much that can keep us awake at night, and yet what do we do about it?
Lose sleep again tomorrow night, drink away the worries so you don't have to think about it, or make a plan?

I'm in the make a plan camp (if you didn't already guess :))

Ask yourself this - what's the worst that could happen?

If you were made redundant, what would happen?  It would make your self-esteem / ego feel a bit deflated, but it would also give you the opportunity to try something new.  A different town, a different job, a new hope.  It may mean uplifting the whole family to start again, as a new adventure, or it might be staying exactly where you are and having a well deserved break for a bit.  Instead of living in fear of something that "might" happen, how about exploring your options now.  (Note - this will NOT jinx you and make it happen)  By exploring your options now, it allows you to take time to come up with all of the different options, so that if it does happen, you already have a list of options.  And if it doesn't happen, that's ok - it's fine to dream!  

Then talking about money - what would this look like?  How much money would you need to relocate or move house?  What would your living costs be in another town (research rent prices as an example)? 

We've been recently relocated by my husband's employer, so some of this is very current for me.  The fear, the grief, the not knowing what's going on.  The acceptance that it is happening, and then the planning.

Planning is so much easier when you are calm and in control.  Planning when you are stressed can limit your options, because you can't think clearly.  So talk to your partner about what they might be stressing about, and come up with a plan now, so that you don't have to make decisions when you are stressed.

In Money Matters, you get a series of questions that will help you and your partner determine what's stressing you out the most, and the opportunity to plan for it.