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I think you can think you are doing everything right, trying to max out 403B and Roth before saving for kids' college (you/they can borrow for college, can't say that about retirement), have EF, live way below your means, house and car paid off. As a single mom nurse, I thought I had done pretty well with modest means. I paid for a supplemental short term disability policy, I actually canceled it after a short time, too expensive. Became seriously ill, for some reason that company offered to let me stay on if I gave them $250 and they gave me a decent chunk of change back dated to when I first became ill. Saved my butt and I do not know why on earth they did that.
so things I didn't do that I should've done now that I'm facing serious illness and cannot work while waiting for SSDI decision:
1. have short term disability insurance
2. seriously consider long term disability insurance. i could not afford this but I get it from my employer so thought I'd be fine. However, it has been reviewed by my lawyer and is a "junk" policy, unlikely to ever pay out. They have been horrible to deal with. I should've bit the bullet and gotten decent LTD, not through work
3. don't fail to plan if something happens to the main breadwinner. Luckily/hopefully, my retirement savings can be used now at a rate monthly to theoretically make the principle last forever. But will do everything humanly possible to not touch this money in anyway for as long as possible. I do not have debt. My kids are close to being launched, my town house was too big for me despite being low cost. My mother is terminally ill. We all of a sudden decided to join forces two years ago to save costs, get a handicapped accessible home and make it easy to care for my mom. We talked about, saw houses the next day, found a new construction adapted house buyer backed out of, bought it the next day. That was 2 yrs ago, plan didn't exactly pan out. But me getting sick in a handicapped adapted home with family trying to take care of each other, that is a blessing beyond belief. I could not have stayed in my home alone
I was a hospice nurse, I saw daily how illness destroys families emotionally and financially. You would've thought I'd do anything not to make mistakes I'd seen some families make. But I was 45 and healthy, what could happen to me? Let me and all my former patients be a lesson for you. Hope for the best, PLAN for the worst.
so things I didn't do that I should've done now that I'm facing serious illness and cannot work while waiting for SSDI decision:
1. have short term disability insurance
2. seriously consider long term disability insurance. i could not afford this but I get it from my employer so thought I'd be fine. However, it has been reviewed by my lawyer and is a "junk" policy, unlikely to ever pay out. They have been horrible to deal with. I should've bit the bullet and gotten decent LTD, not through work
3. don't fail to plan if something happens to the main breadwinner. Luckily/hopefully, my retirement savings can be used now at a rate monthly to theoretically make the principle last forever. But will do everything humanly possible to not touch this money in anyway for as long as possible. I do not have debt. My kids are close to being launched, my town house was too big for me despite being low cost. My mother is terminally ill. We all of a sudden decided to join forces two years ago to save costs, get a handicapped accessible home and make it easy to care for my mom. We talked about, saw houses the next day, found a new construction adapted house buyer backed out of, bought it the next day. That was 2 yrs ago, plan didn't exactly pan out. But me getting sick in a handicapped adapted home with family trying to take care of each other, that is a blessing beyond belief. I could not have stayed in my home alone
I was a hospice nurse, I saw daily how illness destroys families emotionally and financially. You would've thought I'd do anything not to make mistakes I'd seen some families make. But I was 45 and healthy, what could happen to me? Let me and all my former patients be a lesson for you. Hope for the best, PLAN for the worst.
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