When things go wrong
Life's full of surprises - and they're not always happy ones.
No-one wants to look on the down side, but making plans for when things go wrong isn't being negative - it's sensible. It means you can still keep control of your life even when you hit a sticky patch.
- Save as much as you can in the good times. Then you'll have a financial security blanket for the bad.
- Consider extra ways of ensuring your finances won't be swamped by a wave of bad luck. You may have life insurance, but think about health and job insurance too. A financial advisor could help you to decide which are most important to you and your family.
- If you are having money worries, share them. Tell your bank, mortgage lender, the electricity, phone and gas companies - anyone you owe money to or pay bills to regularly. They won't be able to help unless they know you have difficulties.
- Talk about your problem and see if lower repayments can be made for a time or if you can arrange a payment holiday. Why not discuss spreading your bills into more manageable instalments with Direct Debit?
- Remember, you can cancel a Direct Debit at any time if your circumstances change, but don't just let bills build up. They will still have to be paid at some stage.
