Protecting a Family Nest Egg

Many young couples would rather not think about the “What if’s” in life. What if I lose my job? What if I have a medical emergency? Yet every couple with children should be planning for those emergencies you hope never happen. In today’s economy, many families are living pay check to pay check. When and if something happens do you have money in your nest egg to help cover those expenses? Some families are just one emergency way from having the rug pulled out from underneath them and financial woe.

Here are a few of my tips and hits to plan for those unexpected emergencies:

1)Savings account. Seems simple right? Just put a little bit a way each pay check in a separate account to keep on hand for an emergency. Well, sometimes that does not happen and you need a little extra to help get you by. So you transfer money over with the intention to “pay it back” later. Then of course you forget or never do. Simply put, your saving account becomes your personal ATM. What you need to do is have one or two separate saving accounts. One for every day needs, like those just to get you by. And one for those big ticket items such as medical emergencies or a vacation. Have your paycheck automatically transfer say $100 to your savings account. Out of sight out of mind. If you can’t find the extra money try to brown bag your lunch or make your own coffee. You’ll find that having that a full "nest" is comforting!

2)Insurance policy or plan. This is a no brainer people. You should always have the following insurance policies: Life, health, and auto insurance. Yes, these policies can cost a pretty penny and it’s all based on the “What if”. This is a simple way to plan ahead thus, protecting your family and financial nest egg. With medical insurance you’ll only have to pay a small percentage of the medical bills. I was recently in a car accident in which my SUV was totaled. Just by having insurance it covered the remaining balance on my car, took care of the rental car, and helped get us back some equity as a down payment for a new SUV.

3)Get out of Debt. Enough said. You can’t really start saving in your nest egg unless you pay off all your credit cards and start living in a cash only mentality. Credit can be good for emergencies but not when you want to buy a TV that you can’t otherwise afford. We are slowly paying off our debt and making cash only purchases. Any extra money we have at the end of the month goes toward an extra payment for one of the remaining credit cards.

4)Invest in a 401k plan. Sure you invest your money but did you stop to think about where it goes? Take the time to review your 401K plan to see where your money is being allocated. Face it; the market is pretty unsteady at the moment. If you have all your eggs in one basket who’s to say it won’t all be taken away. Invest wisely and spread out your money.

Do you have any special tips and hints to help protect your nest egg and your family? It’s always important to be prepared, especially for your family.

About Allstate Life Insurance
The Allstate Corporation is the nation's largest publicly held personal lines insurer. Allstate is reinventing protection and retirement to help more than 17 million households insure what they have today and better prepare for tomorrow. Consumers access Allstate insurance products (auto, home, life and retirement) and services through Allstate agencies, independent agencies and Allstate Personal Financial Representatives in the U.S. and Canada, as well as viawww.allstate.com and 1-800 Allstate®.

Did you know that half of Americans say they are under-insured? That’s 58 million* of us. And 70%* of people with kids under 18 say they would be in serious trouble if something happened to the primary breadwinner.

Experts say a good rule of thumb is to insure 5 to 10 times your income. It sounds like a lot, but it’s really not. Think about what you’re really worth. Life insurance will help cover the cost of your mortgage, medical & funeral expenses, continuing childcare, living expense and college tuition.

How many people would have to be hired to do all the things you do for your family? Salary.com estimates the average stay-at-home mom would earn $117,867 per year if she were paid for all the work she does.

Most people feel overwhelmed when they think about this stuff. Your local Allstate agent can talk you through your situation and help you plan for the future today. Allstate and their agents have been helping customers protect their families for over 50 years.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Allstate blogging program, for a gift card worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here.