{"id":487,"date":"2020-03-26T07:35:40","date_gmt":"2020-03-26T07:35:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/?p=487"},"modified":"2026-03-18T11:46:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T11:46:46","slug":"five-steps-to-prepare-for-lifes-surprises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/2020\/03\/26\/five-steps-to-prepare-for-lifes-surprises\/","title":{"rendered":"Five steps to prepare for life\u2019s surprises"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-490 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/importance-notice.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/importance-notice.png 600w, https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/importance-notice-300x100.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>They say two things are certain in life \u2013 death and taxes. But if there\u2019s one thing the \u2018Life Surprises\u2019 survey conducted by Sanlam a while ago has taught us, it\u2019s that life will also throw us some curveballs.<\/p>\n<p>This survey, conducted among South Africans over the age of 50, found that 78,5% had faced at least one unexpected life surprise.<\/p>\n<p>It also found that the events felt most severely \u2013 both financially and emotionally \u2013 had financial implications, such as loss of savings, a business closure or a retrenchment. The survey also showed that most people weren\u2019t well prepared for these events.<\/p>\n<h4>Here are a selection of respondents\u2019 comments:<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>\u2018I lost my job because of illness. I couldn\u2019t provide for my family when I lost my job.\u2019 Male, Pretoria.<\/li>\n<li>\u2018Losing my job put me into uncertainty, and depression followed afterwards.\u2019 Male, Cape Town.<\/li>\n<li>\u2018My father\u2019s death at a very young age left us with no breadwinner.\u2019 Female, Cape Town.<\/li>\n<li>\u2018I lost my house and savings and had to start again at 42.\u2019 Male, Johannesburg.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Five ways to cover yourself<\/h3>\n<h4>Start and maintain an emergency fund<\/h4>\n<p>This should be equal to between three and six months of your monthly salary. You need to be able to access it quickly so an investment such as a money market account is appropriate. This won\u2019t solve all your problems, but will provide a healthy cushion in an emergency.<\/p>\n<h4>Have a financial plan<\/h4>\n<p>Work with a professional financial adviser to draw up a holistic financial plan for your life \u2013 in the short, medium and long term. As part of this process, think through some of the most financially adverse events that you may face \u2013 such as loss of income through illness, retrenchment or loss of a family breadwinner. Factor these into your planning so if they happen, the financial impact is mitigated \u2013 and in the process, the emotional impact too.<\/p>\n<h4>Have the right risk cover in place<\/h4>\n<p>This forms part of the financial planning, but is worth discussing separately. Risk cover is designed specifically to help you provide financially in case of unexpected events. Included in this category of insurance products are life, disability and severe illness cover, as well as cover to provide an income if you\u2019re unable to work due to sickness, disability or injury. Having your financial needs covered if a big event takes place is essential for your future well-being, and that of your family.<\/p>\n<h4>Ensure you\u2019re saving adequately<\/h4>\n<p>Many people see saving, for instance for retirement, as a grudge purchase when in fact it\u2019s a process that actively builds up assets and can contribute measurably to your lifestyle and financial position. Making the right provision to save is another way to mitigate the effects of life\u2019s unexpected events and can help you avoid becoming a burden on your loved ones.<\/p>\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-489 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/first-step.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"601\" height=\"251\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/first-step.png 601w, https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/first-step-300x125.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 601px) 100vw, 601px\" \/><\/h3>\n<h3>Maintain an up-to-date will<\/h3>\n<p>A will protects your family from the fallout of a big life event. It should clearly state your wishes so your family isn\u2019t placed in a difficult financial position when you\u2019re no longer here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>They say two things are certain in life \u2013 death and taxes. But if there\u2019s one thing the \u2018Life Surprises\u2019 survey conducted by Sanlam a&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-innov8ions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=487"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":493,"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487\/revisions\/493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}