Life is like a game of snakes and ladders. You never know what the next roll of the dice is going to give you. It could be a snake(threat) that could cause you to regress in your financial life. Or it could be a Ladder (Opportunity) to take you to the next financial level of success.

So, if life is so uncertain and the world, we live in now is so uncertain how do we mitigate the risk or the snakes in our financial future?

The first step is recognising what some of the potential snakes(threats) could be in your financial life. Once you have recognised what they could be, you can start to plan and start putting measure in place to ensure these snakes do not set you back but rather teach you valuable lessons and help you plan for the future more successfully.

We will not all have the same snakes (threats) in or lives as we are all in different life stages. You will see I have added have a child as a financial threat. Some might say that this is not a threat but a blessing. I agree as a mom of 3 but as a mom to 3 teenagers, I’m perfectly aware how planning for and having children impacts my financial life.

So, threats you might need to consider now:

• Divorce
• Death
• Having a baby
• Starting a business
• Loss of income/loss of a job
• Reduce income with the same expenses
• Lack of financial knowledge
• Addiction
• Disease or illness

Many of the snakes listed above can be managed with the correct type of insurance and savings in the bank. We will get more into saving in our next article.

Now let’s look at some of the ladders (opportunities) in our financial lives. When we get given a ladder (opportunities), it’s so important to ensure that, the ladder(opportunity) does not turn into a snake (threat). You will notice some of the snakes can also be ladders.

• Furthering your education
• Starting a business
• Marrying a rich spouse
• Winning the lotto
• Getting a better paying job
• Good divorce settlement

Recognising ladders is just as important as recognising snakes in our financial lives and ladders can very easily turn into snakes. Let me give you an example:

You take out a loan to start a business. That business fails and you do not pay your loan back. You will be blacklisted and have a poor credit score and no longer qualify for any further loans and you might be forced to liquidate. This will have a serious negative impact on your financial life and future. So even when life is giving us ladders, be sure to put measure in place to protect yourself and your financial future.

Sit down today and ask yourself what the potential snakes (threats) and ladders (opportunities) could be in the next 10 years. If a hereditary illness in your family is something to worry about get an income protector and funeral and life cover to protect your health and the wellbeing of your family. If there is a threat of losing your job, start your saving now and ensure you have 6 months’ worth of living expenses saved up in the bank.

Plan for the worst and hope for the best.

Have a money savvy day!

Kathryn Main

Money Savvy Enthusiast