The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the world to a standstill. Never have we seen a situation arise where a medical calamity of a global scale has required the response of everyone in the ways they can contribute and for the rest by staying where they are and not leaving home for anything but the most urgent of needs. As a result, a lot of people have landed in very tough situations.
With uncertainty looming over businesses, the jobs market, and almost all aspects of the economy, the last thing you would want is to battle the rising healthcare costs, that too amid a pandemic. So, the biggest question now is—how prepared are you to face a medical contingency? How do you plan to manage your medical expenses in the wake of a crisis? Here are some ways to consider and based on your situation, prepare for an emergency:
- Rely on your medical insurance first:Medical insurance is your first line of defence against any kind of medical need, be it an emergency or a planned medical treatment. Medical insurance policies by most companies tend to provide cover for COVID-19 but you may want to be careful about relying solely on medical insurance for coverage of your treatment. There are the inherent limitations of policies such as not covering all medical expenses, upper-limit caps etc. This means that you will still need to make arrangements for extra funding. Plus, if your medical plan is family floater type, it leaves other people with reduced protection.
- Using your savings:Using your savings is a very good point to consider and it also is the most obvious one. Let us weigh the advantages and disadvantages of using your savings. The first and most obvious advantage is that it is readily available, you do not need to worry about not having money when you need it in an emergency. The second advantage is that you are using your own money so there is no interest to be paid. The main disadvantage is that if you are using up all your savings, you will be left with nothing if things go from bad to worse.
- Liquidate your investments:All of us have some long-term investments which we make for our future. These can be in the form of investments in stock markets, bonds, fixed deposits, gold bonds or even actual physical gold. You can rely on liquidating them for your financial needs in COVID times, but they also bring the same advantages and disadvantages as using your saving. Plus, there is also the problem that liquidating investment can be slow and take some time. Moreover, there is also the catch that you might have to bear losses on investments along with the problem of erasing your long-term savings.
- Take a cash loan from an app:Medical loan can be a good way for you to manage your COVID treatment expenses, particularly when you run out of all other options like by having used up all the medical insurance and all your savings. You can use an instant cash loan app for medical borrowing purposes because their processes are very fast and simple. They charge reasonable interest rates and have low to no processing fees. Plus, the whole process can be done in a matter of minutes. Actually, if you are sure of your earnings, you can even rely on this as a way to protect your savings for the long run.
- Ask for help from friends and family:This is another last-minute resort where you can rely on people in the family and friend circles for your financial needs. This comes with its own limitations like your friends or family may not have that much money ready to use or in cash form at home. Another big risk is that since the spread of COVID is fast and unpredictable, they may also need the money for their own use. Asking for money from friends and family can be a bit hit or miss and of course, it can even be deeply embarrassing and can cause long-term harm to your relationship as well.
- Use credit cards or withdraw cash from credit cards:This should be your absolute last resort in your financial options. While you can charge your card, or withdraw cash from your card account, this should be done with great care. Remember that cards are an immediately available option you can rely on for meeting a medical expense, but their big problem is that their interest rates are extremely high. In fact, if you take a medical loan from an quick cash loan app, you will be getting a much better deal. They are almost as fast as credit cards and will not end up costing that much.
These are tough times, and you need to be very careful about all aspects of your physical, mental and financial health. It is very important to not make emotional decisions with long-term negative impacts. You do not want to be in a bad situation in both the long and short term so be mindful of your choices and make decisions with patience. Remember that all of us are in this together and it is only together that we can come out of it.
