How to Prepare for the Next Financial Crisis

4 Ways to Protect Your Family’s Wealth

More storms are coming. None of us are immune to difficult times. Especially financial times. If you are a grown up chances are high that your family has, at one time, experienced a financial crisis? Housing crash? Covid. Post-covid. Job loss. Divorce. These devastating times touch all of our lives, whether directly or indirectly. And as much as it would be nice to say, we survived them and now we’re good to go, any mature adult knows, that simply isn’t true. At some point in our life time, and on more than one occasion, we will ALL experience the trials of yet another economic or financial crisis.

And what I encourage you today is to be prepared. Begin now setting your family up for financial success, as you navigate any storm that maybe coming. Today I want to share with you some of the steps my wife and I are taking to be ready for the next drought; the next famine. The next emergency or crisis. If they have worked for those before us, perhaps they will also work for us.

Table of Contents

• #1 – Lead with Tithe
• #2 – Eliminate ALL Debt
• #3 – Store up an Emergency Fund
• #4 – Save into Retirement

Let’s dive more into each one.

#1 – Lead with Tithe

For those of you who are not professing Christians, I hope you’ll stick around and hear me out on this one. The bible clearly states that God blesses those who tithe. It is also very clear that tithing is a tenth of your income. I remember a pastor once responding to the question, “Well, what if I only did like 5% of my income. Is that okay?” And in jest the pastor responded with, “Well, sure, as long as you are okay with receiving only half of the blessing.” And although the bible doesn’t necessarily specify what happens to those who tithe less than the 10%, it clearly speaks on what those receive who give and tithe obediently.

And if I may I’ll add one more thing. A story to investigate yourself, in the bible. The story of Cain and Abel, in which God is very pleased with Abel’s offering yet displeased with Cain’s offering. Read this story and decide for yourself how you approach tithing.

Me and my family, we aren’t taking any chances. I don’t know about you but, I want God on my side. I want to receive all of His blessings. I don’t want to miss a single one, if I can help it.

I don’t know about you but, I want God on my side.

Begin with tithing my friends.

#2 – Eliminate ALL Debt

In 2019 my wife and I eliminated all of our debt – credit cards, car loans, student loans, medical debt. All of it, gone. The bible is once again clear that the borrower is slave to the lender and, it’s bad enough during good times, feeling like a slave to those whom you have borrowed, but during the storm? No thank you!

We freed ourselves from that chain. We will NEVER put those shackles back on. Don’t corner yourself or your family for upcoming times of financial difficulty. Get out of debt now so you can put a more solid ground beneath your household to weather the storm.

Be sure to check out Episode 7 Part 1 and Part 2 – $1,000 Emergency Fund in 30 Days (30 Ideas for Creating an Income)

#3 – Store Up An Emergency Fund

Again, let’s put some more supports in place. Let’s build our home on the rocks rather than the sand. Tough times are sure to come. Financial crisis. Job loss. Divorce. Medical issues. Position yourself to be able to weather the storm of a 3-6 month crisis by stocking away 6 months of your typical expenses.

There is strength behind an emergency fund. It tends keeps the bad guys away. And when they still find their way through, suddenly and almost magically the emergencies no longer become emergencies. They become annoyances. You deal with emergencies differently when they are just annoying rather than, “the sky is falling!”

There is strength behind an emergency fund. It tends to keep the bad guys away.

After you have given your best to God in the form of tithing, after you have eliminated all debt, save for an emergency fund.

#4 – Save Into Retirement

And the fourth thing my wife and I did, and are doing, saving toward our retirement. As the years have progressed we’ve saved more and more. The closer you get to your retirement years you DEFINITELY begin to feel the weight of needing to save. At this point in our life we are saving nearly 15%. We save into our Roth IRA, we receive our employer’s match, I save into a mandatory pension plan and next, above this would be a Traditional IRA and from there we would talk BIG time investing – buying real estate to use as rental properties.

Now is Time, Prepare for the Storm

Now is the time, my friends. Start getting ready. Don’t live each day in worry in fear yet manage your finances wisely. You know the day is coming. It’s just a matter of when, right? Ask yourself, what do I need to do today to be ready for tomorrow? Be prepared for the different challenges life may throw your way.

If You Like This Article You May Also Enjoy:

Episode #10 – Why Credit Cards are the Worst

How to Get Out of Debt in 2023

Featured Image: Photo by Luis Villasmil on Unsplash

Holding Money Photo Credit: Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash

Couple sitting at beach Photo Credit: Photo by James Hose Jr on Unsplash

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Kopans is here to share ideas for helping 1 million people reach a million dollar net worth by using money principles he’s learned over the years. Let’s talk money, budgets, becoming debt free, financial wisdom, financial principles that work.

money, budget, marriage, biblical wisdom