It happens. You are driving home from work one night and stop at the red light. You wait your turn, the light turns green, and you proceed, but the other car runs the light and t-bones you. Your injuries are substantial. You lose time at work, time with your family, and most likely you vehicle. The loss in time healing and away from family and friends is enough to make anyone sick, but on top of everything else, you lose loads of money that could be better spent on necessities and savings. Here are a few ways to handle that.
Know Your Job’s Policies
When you apply for a job, it is a smart thing to make sure that you are aware of how the company you work for handles leave of absence due to personal injury. Will you have to come up with another source of income? So they have paid time for this kind of situation? Will you have a job to come back to when you heal? These are all very important questions to ask when signing up for a job.
Rainy Day Fund
It’s never a bad idea to save for a rainy day. Unfortunately, a car wreck is one of those things we never plan on happening, but that sometimes pop up to say hello whether or not we wave back. Make sure that you save a little money out of every paycheck for instances like this. It is a common rule to put back about 10% of everything that comes into your house as savings. Put it in an account that draws interest and that has a three day waiting period for withdrawals. This allows you to think twice about those impulse buys.
Have A Lawyer on Standby
You just never know when you will need a lawyer. It helps, greatly, to already have an open conversation with a law firm. Of course, ask about prices. Get to know the lawyers in the firm by talking to them about how they view their clients and the particular corner of law they practice in. This way, should anything happen that you need a lawyer, you are prepared with a firm that you feel comfortable has your interest in mind and not the bottom line.
Make Sure You Are Insured
Having insurance will guard you from having to pay out of pocket for medical bills and for the damage to your car. Without insurance, you could be looking at bills upwards of 50,000 + dollars. Most of us don’t carry that kind of extra cash.
Hopefully, this will help you prepare for yet another of life’s little curve balls. It’s not an easy feat to navigate the sea of personal injury, but with these tips, you can at least survive the struggle with a little more peace.