Posted on 09/11/2012 12:19:42 PM PDT by Kaslin
Dear Dave,
One of my relatives just discovered she has cancer. She’s a single mom with two young kids, and I’m not sure if she’s prepared to face something like this. What are the best steps she can take financially at this point?
Shannon
Dear Shannon,
I’m really sorry to hear about this. I know cancer is a scary thing to hear, but please remember to pray and be there for her all you can. God willing, things can still turn out okay.
When people ask if a person has their affairs in order, they’re usually asking a couple of different questions. Are you right with God? Do you have life insurance and a will? Another important thing is to have all the paperwork of your life organized and in a safe place, so someone you trust can handle the details if things don’t turn out well.
Everyone should have a good term life insurance policy in place. My advice is to have a policy worth 10 times your annual income. When it comes to a will, make sure it’s state specific. Probate and estate regulations are not federal laws, they’re state laws. So any will should be drawn up according to guidelines for the state in which you live.
Make sure, too, that she has made arrangements for any minor children. It might be a good idea to sit down and talk with two or three trusted family members or close friends and decide who will take them if the worst should happen. Whoever this is should be incredibly responsible and caring, and willing to love and raise these kids as if they were their very own.
Good luck, Shannon. And God bless you and your family.
—Dave
Dear Dave,
My wife just received news that her company will experience significant layoffs in the next two months. On top of all this, she’s one of the newest workers there. We’ve been trying to follow your plan, but what should we do with the possibility of unemployment on the horizon?
Tyler
Dear Tyler,
It’s a pretty safe bet that your wife will lose her job, especially if she’s new to the company. If what she makes right now is a significant portion of your overall income, my advice would be to press pause on your Total Money Makeover and build up your savings as much as possible.
I love that you guys are trying to take control of your money, but right now there are storm clouds brewing in your financial lives. Sit down together and come up with a seriously belt-tightening budget. Scrape together every nickel you can from every area of your lives and put it into savings. Things like going to the movies or eating out are going to be a big no-no for a while. And you may have to look at the possibility of cutting some other non-essentials, like television. There’s nothing good on these days anyway!
If they do lay her off, she might be looking at a severance package, but at this point you can’t really count on that happening. So batten down the hatches and prepare for the worst while hoping for the best. The best way to do that right now is save, save, save!
—Dave
Unless your method of birth control is abstinence, pregnancy is a possible result of sexual behavior.
Men and women even after sterilization procedures have become pregnant or fathered children.
People can be in accidents even when paying attention, and pregnancy can occur unexpectedly or even when trying to prevent it.
Maybe if Dave renamed his "Emergency Fund" to "Unexpected Fund" you'd feel better.
So if I find one person on Dave Ramsey’s forum who was surprised to find they were pregnant, you will be satisfied?
This started when you claimed that Dave Ramsey stated that pregnancy was an emergency. If you want to cherry pick words and quote out of context go ahead.
If you substantiate your actual claim, I will be satisfied.
Your claim was not “one person” but “half”.
Would two be enough?
It’s called “Stork Mode” which is the same as “Emergency Mode”. You pile up cash and pay minimums on debt.
You call it "Stork" while in Dave's terms he uses "Emergency". But they're the same thing. Now I understand... have a good day.
Now, that got my attention. I don't know the situation with women but my urologist checked for sperm in the ejaculate for two weeks after the surgery. It would seem to me that any reputable doctor would do the same. This ensures that the vasectomy was effective. Now, problems could occur (the tubes could re-connect) but that would be really, really unusual.
As I noted earlier, my surgery was done in 1971 and it WAS effective. I'm 72 and there are no children hanging around.
I didn’t claim it happened in all cases. I am speaking of possibility.
It is a rare instance, but it does happen.
http://www.ivillage.com/vasectomy-my-wife-pregnant/6-n-138362
Is “two” equivalent to “Half”?
Yes.
So out of only four posts on the subject, you made a broad sweeping judgment on the whole board for the opinions of two people?
And yet, the four posts have not yet been presented. Let’s see them.
Would four posts be enough to satisfy you?
So out of only eight posts on the subject, you made a broad sweeping judgment on the whole board for the opinions of four people?
And yet, the eight posts have not yet been presented. Let’s see them.
Will four be enough to suit you?
So out of only eight posts on the subject, you made a broad sweeping judgment on the whole board for the opinions of four people?
And yet, the eight posts have not yet been presented. Let’s see them.
Given the simplicity of substantiating your claim, I wonder that you have failed to do so.
So how about 3? Would that be enough? You need to quantify your baseline.
You’ve already qualified it. “Half”.
50%
.50
1/2
You have since been backpedaling from your own claim; a curious stance, if it were indeed demonstrable.
Is 4 enough?
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