What is the purpose of “A Come to Moses Meeting”? Readers are
either introduced, refreshed, or reminded of the importance of monitoring their
finances due to major life events that are sure to occur. By insuring that a reasonable amount of money
is put on the side, we can only hope to be prepared for as many of life’s major
challenges, and are able to recover as effectively as possible.
Inspired by Hurricane
Katrina (August 2005)
For many of us on the southern most coast of the United States ,
who are old enough to remember the impact and the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina, there were many aspects of that disastrous event that will forever
remain prominent in our lives. There
were many life lessons that many of us gained that we cannot keep to
ourselves. For the benefit of our
children, family and friends to come, we need to make sure that they don’t fall
victim to many of the circumstances that befell us.
Whether by accident, intent, or circumstance, the situations
that came about as a result of one of this nation’s most disastrous events,
there were lessons learned in areas of evacuations, housing, recovery,
insurance, governance, and outreach.
Many of those lessons may have been revealed through any number of
avenues. But sadder is the fact that
many lessons will never be revealed. Not
because there aren’t those who are willing to share those lessons, it’s just
that the avenues to share those lessons are limited. Unless compelled to write their memoires
detailing what they had gone through, or went through, the window is
practically closed because it is no longer a media event. But there are still lessons, and I for one,
will share the benefit of one set of lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina.
The set of lessons that I have pared this post down to has
to do with preparation for (a) life-changing event. While this post is Hurricane Katrina
inspired, it should not be presumed that other major life-changing events should not be subconsciously referenced. For example: cancer, bankruptcy, garnishment,
heart-attacks, having a baby, etc. You
can decide for yourself what other life-changing events could turn your life
around, this very day, with hardly half as much warning as a hurricane.
Who should read this
message?
In a prelude to this blog post, I indicated that anyone who fit
any of the following should be aware of this “Come to Moses Meeting”: Just starting out on your own; Newlyweds;
Divorcees; loss of spouse or significant other; sudden illness; new graduates; just released
from prison; fired, laid off or business closure; filed bankruptcy; loss of a
home due to a natural disaster; loss of a home due to a foreclosure, or, having
to rebuild our lives after a major illness.
I suggested this broad a group because at the time of
Hurricane Katrina, it is logical to presume that a number of people were just
beginning their lives whether as married, just graduated from high school or
college. I am almost sure that someone was
just getting out of prison and was ready to start a new life. The point is that Hurricane Katrina’s arrival
was like any other major life-changing event.
It never comes at the right time.
It never arrives because we are ready for our lives to be up-ended by
flooding, tornadoes, earthquakes, or fires.
Each of us, as I sincerely believe, have to be ready when one of these
events occur. By ready, I mean
financially ready. Financially prepared.
Can we ever be fully
prepared for major life-changing event?
The answer is “No!”
We can never be fully prepared because we never know what life may throw
our way. If we are “lucky”, life may
just throw us a wedding, the birth of a child, or the lottery. Talk about major life-changing events! But life is not always kind. Life has a way
of mixing it up. Yes, we may get
married, and have a baby, but let’s throw in a small house fire, or a
cancer. Life may give us an increase in income
into the 6 figures, but, not to be outdone, here is a stroke or two. Can these ever happen? You bet. And how prepared we are may actually be
relative. But not having something in
place, in the event of such an occurrence would be more detrimental.
“Put something on the
side for a rainy day”
Just what is a “rainy day” any way? Old people used to tell us that, and while it
made sense, it didn’t go to the heart of what a “rainy day” was or is. Well, I have learned that a “rainy day” is
getting married, having a baby, a raise in income, but it is also the loss of a
loved one, major illness, and of course, a major disaster such as a hurricane,
tornado, flood, or earthquake, to name a few.
Why put all of these in the same category? Simple:
they are all major life-changing events.
Whether they happen 9 months out, 2 weeks out, or suddenly, our lives
change. Our lives are interrupted, for
good or bad, and it is not a just a matter of going from day to day,
loddie-da-da-da. It’s whoa! It’s
regroup! It’s recover! It’s rebuild! And it is all of a matter of
getting back to what we call normalcy.
Normalcy?
What is normalcy?
Well, until a major life-changing event occurred it was going about our
lives, day to day, doing whatever we had to do to get through the day, and
regardless of the pitfalls along the way, with a song and a prayer, we made it
through the day. Normalcy? It is everything that you may have cursed
about but can’t wait to get back to because now, you have a major life-changing
event that just disrupted everything that you have cursed out, but treasured in
the same breath. How do you get back to
normalcy?
What is a Major
Life-Changing Event?
If the phrase “Come to Jesus Meeting” means come clean, tell
the truth, or, straighten up and fly right, or, literally, “Come to Jesus and
be saved”, what does “A Come to Moses meeting” imply? Well, it could mean any number of things if
we study Moses from the Bible. However, for
the purpose of this message, even this blog, “A Come to Moses meeting” is
intended to focus on an aspect of wealth building, and all that could otherwise
be done to improve our quality of life financially. Or, in this case, determine what it is we
can do to prepare, as much as possible for a major life-changing event. We can’t address every possible life changing
event in this posting. I don’t intend
to. But Hurricane Katrina rose to one of
the highest levels of major life-changing events in our lives. With all due respect to my marriage, the
birth of my son and daughter, grandson, and the loss of my parents, Hurricane
Katrina challenged us on several fronts, at one time. If anyone of the previous situations occurred
one by one over a period of time, they would have been workable, not all easy,
but workable. And while each has had its
impact on me financially, Hurricane Katrina challenged many of us far more than
we could have ever imagined. At least,
those of us who were impacted directly. Here is how:
1. Many
of us had to evacuate our homes (some of us from as little as a week up to, in
some cases, never to return to our homes, physically);
2. Many
of us had to either stay in hotels, with families, or in what we romantically
called “FEMA trailers”;
3. We
still needed a source of sustainable income while either evacuated, or while
our places of employment were impacted by flooding or wind damage;
4. Family
members who required medical care or medication were greatly affected;
5. Family
members died;
How Do We Handle
Major Life-Changing Events?
The fact that so many subsequent activities occurred as a
result of a major life-changing event (Hurricane Katrina), meant that it was
important for us as residents to have had in place several important elements
in order to deal with the aftermath of the storm. While government officials often tried to prepare
us by telling us to prepare for 3 days out of home activity by bringing food,
water, medication, insurance papers, and whatever needed necessities, many of
us found that 3 days was a far cry short of the time that we would be
impacted. Fortunately for some of us, we
had the Red Cross and family. Others of us
had to wait on needed emergency assistance.
What were some of the lessons learned?
In no particular order, here are some valuable lessons that we learned
from Hurricane Katrina:
- Don’t wait until the last minute to evacuate (Make arrangements with family, set up hotel reservations, or get to an approved shelter when directed)
- Gather all necessary insurance documents such as auto, life, and health insurance policies (Be sure policies are up to date)
- Make arrangements for family members who maybe mentally or physically impaired
- Make sure vehicle(s) are road-ready (tires, gas, oil)
- Listen to the most up to date broadcasts on any weather-related activities
- Make a list of emergency contact information for all members in the event separated
- Make sure to secure all other personal belongings that are left behind.
While this information will be repeated over and over again,
particularly in the hurricane zones, one area that presented a problem for
surviving family members: no Will.
You should consult an attorney regarding the specifics of
preparing a Will, but that does not mean we should not discuss why a Will was
an issue after Hurricane Katrina. To
this day, there are families who are unable to move forward on the sale, repair
or acquisition of the family home. What
we discovered after Hurricane Katrina was that a number of families had moved
in and out of a house that had never gone through succession. And there was no Will. The significance of this historical major
life-changing event was that many families cannot move forward without possibly
incurring an insurmountable debt or delay on important decisions because there
was no Will.
Another important decision that needs to be made to help our
families moving forward in the event of a major life-changing event is taking
care of our elderly. With a long term
evacuation, our elderly, who may not otherwise be housed in as structured a
facility as a nursing home, or a facility dedicated to their care, can become
confused or disoriented with a sudden change of scenery that takes them out of
their homes or a place with which they are familiar. Failure to take a pre-emptive position can
cost unnecessary monies. Consult with
your loved one’s doctor to ensure that everything can be done to make them
comfortable, including early ordering of their medicines, if necessary.
Another life lesson comes as a result of what happens in the
event a major life-changing event either destroys our home, or takes the life
of a very dear family member. If a storm
destroys a home, generally, and I am being optimistic here, the bank and the
insurance companies will act with all due speed to help the family to get back
on their feet, in theory. What did not
happened after Hurricane Katrina, for a lot of families was that they did not
get into their homes because they were not prepared, financially. Many did not possess the necessary
protections to minimize the loss of their homes such as flood insurance, or
insurance that protected against wind damage, or fires. On the other hand, many who possessed
policies had to negotiate red tape and/or road blocks that were put there to
keep families from recovering and rebuilding their lives. How could this have been avoided? By establishing a relationship with your
insurance broker and/or financial representative. This may seem insignificant, but it helps in
the event of a crisis that those with whom you have a relationship are more
likely to help us to recover some level of normalcy.
Last but not least, major life-changing events makes us
vulnerable. We would like to believe
that when we are the victims of these types of events, that any and everyone is
willing to help us recover and rebuild our lives. This is never more further from the
truth. Our vulnerabilities are generally
a magnet for those who are looking for the greatest risk for the greatest
reward, meaning that they ask for an equally large sum of money (our insurance
proceeds) for a job that never gets done.
They may ask for equally large sums of money, but do a sloppy job, or
take their time doing the work. If we
come into a large sum of monies because we were able to recoup from our insurance,
we find that more often than not, many of our contractors are the 2 of the 1-2
punch of major life-changing events. Not
all, but many set their sites more on what we have rather than what they can do
for us. We need to be vigilant before
turning over any of our finances.
We can’t cover every possible eventuality here as a result
of a major life-changing event, that would be impossible. But it is important for those of us who have
gone through these experiences to share as much as possible to help those who
may come behind us and encounter similar such circumstances.
In Conclusion
This Come to Moses
Meeting will be one of several designed messages to inform as much as
possible about life lessons. The
significance of these lessons will be designed to inform and hopefully prepare
each of us for eventualities that many of us have experienced and should feel
compelled to make it easy for family and friends to navigate situations that
might otherwise make life very difficult to navigate, financially.
Major Life Changing events may occur everyday. Whether have auto insurance, life insurance,
homeowners’ insurance, or long term disability, knowing the importance of
having these financial instruments are polity can’t be understated. The next major life-changing event is maybe
just around the corner. While you can
never fully prepared, you have an opportunity to take pro-active steps, or
preventative action to make that you are able to resume some level of normalcy.
As always, you are
encouraged to seek advise from a reputable professional as it relates to
insurance, legal advice, or investment opportunities. Information shared here is deemed to be from
reliable sources but not guaranteed.
