No matter how careful you are as you navigate through life, it can be incredibly challenging to make it through unscathed. Now and again, emergency situations are likely to pop up, and when they do, they can often cost you a pretty penny. The problem here is that shelling out for emergency expenses can throw your short- and long-term financial plans off track, especially if you have no contingency plans in place to deal with emergencies. There are times when unexpected expenses aren’t much more than little inconveniences to deal with. You might get a $30 parking ticket, or maybe some food went bad prematurely and you need to stock up sooner than expected. While any money spent on things that could’ve been avoided can be annoying, these things may be more of a small blip on your financial radar as opposed to a serious problem (depending on your situation). Having said that, there are plenty of emergency situations that you can find yourself in that can do some serious damage to your financial situation. They come in all shapes and sizes, and what constitutes an emergency can certainly vary from person to person. Still, there are some unexpected expenses that may come up more frequently than others. With that in mind, we’re going to take a look a look at a list of unexpected expenses examples that may be a bit more common than others, and explore some things you can do that may help you to deal with them.
6 Common Unexpected Expenses Examples
Like we’ve mentioned, there are plenty of different types of emergency expenses that can weasel their way into your life, and some may be more serious than others depending on your situation. Here are 6 unexpected expenses examples that may show up more frequently than others.1. Emergency Car Expenses
Depending on what your work, family, and living situation is, your car may be one of the most integral parts of your daily life. You might need it to pick up your kids from school, drive to work, or just make it through a lot of the tasks you need to do in a normal day. However things stack up for you, there’s a chance that going without a car for any significant amount of time would be a huge blow.
For anyone with a car, you probably know that they’re not a cheap tool to keep up with. This goes beyond just the price of purchasing one in the first place. All of the costs of maintaining one can be a huge blow to your bank account. This can include things like insurance, regular tune-ups, gas, and more. So, if you need to add on the cost of an unexpected expense on top of that, it can be a challenge.
2. Emergency Home Repairs
Just like cars, homes aren’t cheap to maintain. In addition to all of your regular expenses like utilities, insurance, mortgage payments/rent, and more, there are all sorts of opportunities for unexpected expenses to work their way into your home. They can take the form of things like electrical problems, plumbing issues, faulty appliances, and more. This can be a huge added burden to deal with on top of your usual household expenses.3. Emergency Family Expenses
When a family emergency pops up, it can be a frightening prospect to confront, depending on what it is. When this happens, it’s often a good idea to deal with it immediately. These types of emergencies can include things like a death in the family, raised tuition costs for your child’s school, or some sort of financial debt of a family member that you need to take on. When it comes to your family, the implications of emergency expenses can often be serious.4. Emergency Animal Care
As much as we love our furry little friends, paying for their typical needs isn’t cheap when you consider the cost of vaccines, food, grooming, and whatever else they need. If your pet falls ill or needs some type of emergency medical care, these expenses can start to get steep, quickly. While even a single visit to the vet can cost you hundreds of dollars, more extensive medical care, like surgeries, can get into the thousands.
5. Emergency Medical Expenses
If you need to deal with some type of emergency medical issue, it often won’t come cheap. If you have insurance, that can help to mitigate some of the cost, but it may not cover the entire expense. Or maybe your particular issue isn’t covered at all. If you don’t have any insurance, the cost of your expense can be even higher.6. Natural Disaster Emergencies
While natural disaster damages may not immediately feel like something worth worrying about, these emergency expenses may be worth accounting for as things like floods, earthquakes, and tornadoes become more common. This can be especially true depending on where you live.3 Ways to Help you Manage Emergency Expenses
Understanding how to handle unexpected expenses isn’t just about knowing what to do in the moment; it’s also about understanding what you can do to prepare ahead of time. Here are some things you can do that may be able to help you in both cases.1. Build an Emergency Savings Fund
If you’re sitting down to organize your budget for the next few months, don’t just focus on the expenses that you already know are coming. While the specific amount is going to vary depending on your personal situation, try to allot some percentage of your income to be put aside for the specific purpose of dealing with any unexpected expenses. You’re not going to be able to know how much they’ll set you back, what form they’ll take, or if they’ll even come at all, but it never hurts to prepare nonetheless. With that in mind, if you’ve put aside some cash for an emergency that never arrives, this can be the starting foundation of your emergency fund. All this is meant to be is a specific savings account designated for emergency expenses. Make sure to use this money for this purpose only. While the specifics are going to change from person to person, for most people, it’s wise to set aside multiple months’ worth of living expenses. If some sort of significant change happens, like you get into an accident that forces you to take time off work or you lose your job altogether for whatever reason, having some savings to tide you over can be a huge help.2. Consider Applying for a Line of Credit
While your emergency fund should be your first line of defense when faced with an unexpected expense, there may be situations where it’s not enough, or you get caught without one altogether. If you find yourself in this kind of situation, you may want to consider a personal line of credit for an emergency loan. With a line of credit, you’ll be able to draw funds from a credit limit on a continuous basis, assuming your application is approved. As long as you have available credit, you’ll have access to a flexible borrowing option that will give you some agency in terms of the amount you want to draw at any given time. Just remember to make sure you’ll be able to pay back what you’ve borrowed (and don’t forget to account for interest and potential fees) before you apply for this personal loan.3. Slow Down your Credit Card Spending
Most people with a credit card probably know how useful they can be on a day-to-day basis, but those same people may also be familiar with how much damage they can do to your financial situation if you’re not paying attention.
If you’re not considerate about the large (or small) expenses that you’re charging to your credit card, and you’re not paying it down in time, the interest charges can be steep. On top of the extra expense, you may be doing some serious damage to your credit score. As with all forms of credit, you’re going to want to make sure that you’ll be able to pay it off in time before you actually apply for it/use it in the first place.
