Are you currently in a good financial position? That’s a good thing. But financial freedom isn’t always stable. The reality is, there are a few threats to your wealth levels that you may or may not be aware of. In this article, we’re going to have a look at them along with how they might affect your situation should they arise.
Once you know what to look out for, and what the different risks are then you’ll be better equipped to protect yourself if you have to. Financial stability is something you always need to be on top of to make sure you’ve got everything in order. Don’t ignore your finances or let certain problems get bigger over time. Check out these threats to your financial stability so that you know what to look out for, and have an idea of how to best protect against them in the first place or deal with them if they happen. If you want to know how to protect your wealth, then keep reading…
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Job loss
One of the biggest things that could impact your financial stability is if you lose your job. Most of your finances will be built on you earning a certain amount. If you suddenly lose your job, you might not earn anything for a while. Although you could have a redundancy payout, this might not go as far as you think. You could be put in a position where you have to take a lower-paid job just to have some money coming in.
Things like mortgages and other bills will depend on you continuing to earn what you earn now. if that changes, you could be in trouble. How can you protect against job loss?
The first step is not to overextend yourself with what you can afford. If you have maxed out your mortgage and all other expenditures, then any change in earnings could have a big impact and even mean you have to move homes. If you’ve got a bit of leeway, then you might be able to afford a bit of time without any money coming in or be able to afford to take a lower-paid job.
Another way to protect yourself is by negotiating a longer notice period or agreeing to a better redundancy package. You could also consider payment or earning protection insurance.
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Mortgage rate changes
Another thing that could affect your financial stability is the mortgage rate increases. Interest rates have been low for a while now, but this might not last forever. If you’re on a variable rate mortgage, you might need to be careful.
Again, you can protect against this sort of thing by making sure you aren’t overextending yourself. DOn’t get the biggest mortgage possible and make sure you’ve got a bit of extra money each month to pay for any increases.
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Unexpected expenditures
Things like boilers breaking or your car being damaged can be expensive. Depending on how much savings you have, they could actually affect your financial stability. You don’t want to be in a position where you need to take out a loan just to pay for unexpected costs like these, as that could put you in even more trouble further down the line. To protect yourself against these sorts of costs, make sure you have some savings, or consider comprehensive insurance.
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Credit card and other debt
If you’ve got lots of different debts, things can soon get out of hand. Especially if you miss payments and interest keeps spiraling. Always try and pay for things upfront rather than on credit, and try and pay your credit cards in full each time you get a statement. That credit can be appealing, but it could put you in financial trouble further down the line.
Not only can debt get expensive, but it could negatively affect your credit rating and lead to you having a hard time getting other financial products or even a mortgage. Make sure you always keep on top of your debts and try not to take out payday loans or other high-interest options at any time.
If you have multiple debts that you’re struggling to keep up with, you can always consider renegotiating the terms with the lenders. Some of them might be more understanding than you might think, as they would rather have some money back than you default on the loans or declare bankruptcy. You can also consider debt consolidation services that can put all your payments into one easy-to-manage sum.
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Negative equity
If your house value is going down, you could be put into something called negative equity. This might not present a direct problem to your finances, but it could if you have to sell your property any time soon. There isn’t much you can do about negative equity, but you could try making improvements to your property or simply waiting for the market to turn again in your favor.
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Increased costs
Another thing that could affect your financial stability is simply increased costs. When food or fuel starts going up in price, it could impact your ability to be able to afford the same lifestyle you had before. Costs are going up all the time, and wages aren’t always increasing as much. This can present problems for people who are only just about earning enough. To save against this, you could try getting a new job, or making adjustments so that general cost increases don’t impact you too much. Try buying fewer luxuries or making savings at the supermarket.
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Stock decline
If you’ve got investments and they go down in value, this could affect your assets or general overall net worth. While this in itself might not impact your monthly finances directly, it could if dividends from these stocks also go down. Some people rely on these dividends to help them live a well-off life. Make sure you don’t put all your financial eggs in one basket and have a good idea of what you’re doing in the stock market if you choose to invest there.
