--- title: Dealing with the unexpected description: Life has a habit of throwing us a curve ball every now and then – something unexpected appears out of the blue and we have to deal with it. Mark recently wrote about his experiences of having to arrange for his Mum to move into aged care at short notice. image: https://blog.centrepointalliance.com.au/hubfs/2019/Images/RYD%20Blog%20Images/RYDBlog-20180920.jpg --- [![Realise-Your-Dream-Logo](https://blog.centrepointalliance.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Realise-Your-Dream-Logo.png?width=175&name=Realise-Your-Dream-Logo.png "Realise-Your-Dream-Logo")](https://blog.centrepointalliance.com.au/realiseyourdream) # Realise Your Dream ![](https://blog.centrepointalliance.com.au/hubfs/2019/Images/RYD%20Blog%20Images/RYDBlog-20180920.jpg) # Dealing with the unexpected By Peter Kelly on 20 September 2018 Life has a habit of throwing us a curve ball every now and then – something unexpected appears out of the blue and we have to deal with it. Mark recently [wrote about his experiences](http://blog.cpal.com.au/realiseyourdream/realityit-easier-giving-advice-opposed-making-decisions/) of having to arrange for his Mum to move into aged care at short notice. On more than one occasion, I am sure you have found yourself having to deal with something unexpected. If you are unprepared, this can cause stress – both emotionally and financially. My wife Kerry and I are currently in Sydney. We travelled down from our home in Brisbane to attend a four-day seminar and decided to add a couple of extra days to catch up with some old friends. On the first day, Kerry mentioned she had a bit of an ache in one of her back teeth. Months ago, her dentist said he would need to replace a rather large previous filling with a crown, but at the time there was no urgency. Like most things in life, our body doesn’t take a great deal of notice about what time of day it is or what our diary might look like. If the body reacts to something, it will do so when it wants to, and often at the most inconvenient time. On Sunday morning – it always happens on a Sunday! – Kerry had a little more pain and she was determined to attend the last day of the seminar! A couple of painkillers throughout the day eased the problem at least[[1]](https://blog.centrepointalliance.com.au/realiseyourdream/dealing-with-the-unexpected#_ftn1). We got through Sunday and first thing Monday morning, after a little ‘googling’ (is that really a word?) we found a nearby dental surgery who had someone who could look at Kerry’s problem tooth that morning. By early afternoon the problem had been fixed with a brand-new crown – just before the gum around the tooth became infected. But dentists don’t come cheap, do they? Kerry was quoted just on $1,800 for the job. I know crowns are expensive, but a bit of quick googling suggested that this figure was probably in the ‘normal’ range, albeit at the higher end. Fortunately, we have health insurance and that covered about 40% of the cost. But it still left us with having to find a lazy $1,000 to cover the difference! So, how did we cover this unexpected expense – credit card, zipMoney, sell the kids? My employer pays me monthly but out of habit, I like to be paid fortnightly. I arrange for my monthly pay to be deposited into a separate bank account and then each fortnight, amounts are automatically transferred from that account to cover regular bills, living expenses, discretionary spending, and emergencies. Kerry and I keep a separate bank account just for emergencies – a trip to Bali for a friend’s ‘destination wedding’ isn’t an emergency but urgent dental treatment is. Our emergency account has gradually built up over time so when it came time to have to find  $1,000 to pay the dentist, the money was there. And the entire episode was remarkably stress and pain free – well for me at least – I wasn’t in the dentist’s chair! So, what is the lesson that comes from this little ‘curveball’ example? Living within a budget that includes putting a little money aside on a regular basis for unexpected expenses seems to make a lot of sense. Some say that an ideal emergency account should be sufficient to cover 2 – 3 months of living expenses. This would certainly cover contingencies like getting the car repaired so you can get to work, paying for unexpected medical treatment, and covering living costs in the event of a job loss. While this is aspirational, even having a $1,000 set aside could make the world of difference when an unexpected expense arises. Having money available to cover emergencies, and not having to rely on credit cards or even zipMoney (19.9% interest + a service fee!) seems to me to be a more financially savvy way to go. What do you think? Please feel free to provide feedback in the comments box. [[1]](https://blog.centrepointalliance.com.au/realiseyourdream/dealing-with-the-unexpected#_ftnref1) This is not medical advice. As they say, if pain persists, seek medical attention! Share this with a friend: [![Share on Facebook](https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/522195/SphereOne/SVGLogoNew/icon-fb.svg)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.centrepointalliance.com.au%2Frealiseyourdream%2Fdealing-with-the-unexpected%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on LinkedIn](https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/522195/SphereOne/SVGLogoNew/icon-linkedin.svg)](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.centrepointalliance.com.au%2Frealiseyourdream%2Fdealing-with-the-unexpected%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dlinkedin) [![Share on Twitter](https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/522195/SphereOne/SVGLogoNew/icon-twitter.svg)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.centrepointalliance.com.au%2Frealiseyourdream%2Fdealing-with-the-unexpected%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.centrepointalliance.com.au%2Frealiseyourdream%2Fdealing-with-the-unexpected%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=Dealing%20with%20the%20unexpected) [![Share on Pinterest](https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/522195/SphereOne/SVGLogoNew/icon-pinterest.svg)](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.centrepointalliance.com.au%2Frealiseyourdream%2Fdealing-with-the-unexpected%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dpinterest&media=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn2.hubspot.net%2Fhubfs%2F522195%2FSphereOne%2FSVGLogoNew%2Ficon-pinterest.svg) [![Share on Email](https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/522195/SphereOne/SVGLogoNew/icon-mail.svg)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fblog.centrepointalliance.com.au%2Frealiseyourdream%2Fdealing-with-the-unexpected%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%20&body=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fblog.centrepointalliance.com.au%2Frealiseyourdream%2Fdealing-with-the-unexpected%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail) ##### comments 0 ![Peter-Mark](https://blog.centrepointalliance.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Peter-Mark.png?width=800&name=Peter-Mark.png "Peter-Mark") ### About Us ##### Peter Kelly PK believes people have the right to accurate, affordable and unbiased information that addresses all aspects of their preferred retirement lifestyle, thereby giving them the opportunity to make informed decisions that will empower them to live out their lives with dignity, certainty and security.   ##### Mark Teale Tealey’s ambition is to change how people think about their retirement, he wants people to dream, plan and realise retirement is not defined by a magical age prescribed by the legislation. ### subscribe Please fill in the form below to subscribe to our blog ### Recent Posts ### blog categories - [Retirement (94)](https://blog.centrepointalliance.com.au/realiseyourdream/tag/retirement) - [Lifestyle (73)](https://blog.centrepointalliance.com.au/realiseyourdream/tag/lifestyle) - [Age Pension (59)](https://blog.centrepointalliance.com.au/realiseyourdream/tag/age-pension) - [superannuation (57)](https://blog.centrepointalliance.com.au/realiseyourdream/tag/superannuation) - [Financial Planning (54)](https://blog.centrepointalliance.com.au/realiseyourdream/tag/financial-planning) ### Connect with us Follow us on social media [![Share on facebook](https://7528309.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/7528309/hubfs/raw_assets/public/mV0_d-web-default-modules_hubspot/img/facebook-color.png?width=24&name=facebook-color.png) ](https://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.centrepointalliance.com.au%2Frealiseyourdream%2Fdealing-with-the-unexpected%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on linkedin](https://7528302.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/7528302/hubfs/raw_assets/public/mV0_d-web-default-modules_hubspot/img/linkedin-color.png?width=24&name=linkedin-color.png) ](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.centrepointalliance.com.au%2Frealiseyourdream%2Fdealing-with-the-unexpected%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dlinkedin) ### Search This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. Copyright © 2021 Realise Your Dream ---   This is a publication of Alliance Wealth Pty Limited (AFSL 449221) and Professional Investment Services Pty Ltd (AFSL 234951), wholly owned subsidiaries of Centrepoint Alliance Ltd. **General Advice Warning** The information contained in this article is of a generally nature and does not take into account your particular objectives, financial situation or needs. You should therefore consider the appropriateness of the advice for your situation before acting on it. You should obtain and consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and seek the assistance of an authorised financial adviser before making any decisions regarding any products or strategies mentioned in this publication. **Disclaimer** While all care has been taken in the preparation of this blog, to the maximum extent permitted by law, no warranty is given in respect of the information provided and accordingly, neither Centrepoint Alliance Limited nor its related bodies corporate, employees or agents shall be liable for any loss suffered arising from reliance on this information. ![](https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=194802264386661&ev=PageView&noscript=1)