How Money Resilient Are You?

We live in an age of buzz words, and one that I'm hearing a lot at the moment is about being "resilient". No matter what one's age or stage in life, resilience seems to play a part.

When my daughter was 18 months old, I read quite a bit about toddler development and "conscious parenting" and raising "resilient kids".

As with most buzz words, it's easy to forget that they are actually a great word that really does mean something valuable. The short definition of "resilient" is springing back, or rebounding.

Is this a useful trait to have? Absolutely.

Life has a way of throwing challenges in our way, no matter how hard some of us try to avoid them. That's life (profound, I know). How we respond to these challenges and what we then do becomes a key to defining how resilient we actually are. We may think we are, but until faced with something, we haven't tested our resolve, so we're working with theory.

I'm taking this concept and looking at it specifically in relation to money. Financially, how would you manage if you lost your job (or your partner lost his/her job)? What would happen if you suddenly had to buy a new car, or pay for Vet bills, or visit a sick relative overseas, or anything else unexpected?

Granted, there are insurances that will cover you for most of these situations, but they often only cover you for the short term, and don't cover 100% of your expenses or lifestyle.

This is more than just "saving for a rainy day" too. It's how you would mentally deal with any unforeseen circumstances - how you would "spring back, or rebound".

During the COVID lockdowns this happened to my household.  My husband unexpectedly lost his job.  Was it a shock – absolutely!  Did we suffer financially, not too much.  We have been working for years to make ourselves financial resilient, and this really tested us.  In the end it was the mental side that became the main struggle.  Thankfully money issues didn’t get piled on top!  

Don’t get me wrong, it was a really difficult time, yet having the financial resources to know that we would be OK was such a relief.  It meant that I could then focus on the emotional support side.  This also made the years we pulled in the purse strings to become financially secure worth it.

Don’t make “resilience” just a buzz word.  Work towards making your family financial resilient – it feels great and gives you peace of mind!