How to Protect Yourself From Unexpected Medical Expenses

There are many unexpected expenses that crop up in life. Unfortunately, some of the most costly expenses are related to healthcare.

There is good news, though. With a little bit of preventative maintenance, you can avoid those unanticipated medical expenses. In a worst-case scenario, you can be financially prepared for the additional expense.

Here’s how to protect yourself from unexpected medical expenses.

Start a Medical Emergency Fund

It’s a good idea to build your emergency fund for several reasons, not the least of which is an unexpected medical emergency.

Even if you have insurance, you might find that a medical emergency will still require you to pay your share of the deductible. Depending on the type of insurance you have, that deductible can be costly.

Be sure that you’re regularly contributing to an emergency fund. It’s a good idea to keep your emergency fund in a savings account so that it earns a little bit of interest while you’re waiting for your emergency. If life treats you exceptionally well and you never need the money for an emergency, then you’ve at least got some additional income from the interest.

Get Disability Benefits

Remember, there can be expenses beyond medical-related costs when you have a medical emergency. You might have to deal with the “expense” associated with not getting paid because you’re missing work.

That’s why it’s a good idea to open a policy for disability insurance. You’ll at least have some income while you’re unable to work because of a medical emergency.

Keep in mind, though, that the income you receive from disability insurance almost certainly won’t cover your entire salary. So you’ll still need to pinch pennies. Even so, some income is better than none.

Know Your Body’s Signals

The most expensive doctor in the world doesn’t know your body better than you do. You’ll often receive “signals” from your body when you’ve done something that your body doesn’t like. Pay attention to those signals and let them act as motivators to encourage you to change your behavior to something that’s a little more healthy.

Note: if you work out, you can expect your body to send “signals” that it doesn’t like what you’re doing to it. However, those are different types of signals. Whenever you push your body to its limit during a cardiovascular or strength workout, your body should throw off a few pain signals.

Know That You’re Human

If you’re one of those people who has an “I’m invincible” mindset, get over it right away. You’re a human being who’s subject to illnesses and accidents just like anybody else.

If you don’t want to browse through medical credit cards to look for ways to pay for an expensive health-related procedure, take steps to keep protect yourself and keep yourself healthy.

Medical expenses are some of the highest costs you’ll ever encounter. Unfortunately, health-related expenses continue to rise every year. Make sure that you’re financially prepared for medical emergencies and that you apply some preventative maintenance to minimize the risk that you’ll need for healthcare costs.