What a question! This is not about the famous TV commercial. It’s about being ready when the need arise. I am sharing this story about a friend who has been through an ordeal in the midst of having to take care of a very sick child. I thought of sharing it because it has made me think and somehow rearranged some priorities.

This friend of mine comes from a wealthy family, married to a guy whose family also has it (proof of which they have an 8 bedroom home in Forbes Park). Their wedding was a huge affair with 2,500 guests which created monstrous traffic within the area of the reception. Six months prior to the wedding was a grand engagement party held at one of the best hotels in Manila with 1,500 guests. They happily settled in their newly constructed home, in a well appointed neighborhood given by the parents after a month long honeymoon in the USA and Europe. The union is blessed with two sons and they have been living as one typical family where the couple work of course, for their family corporations. The look of one happy family living with all the extras and luxuries in life.

Then one day, tragedy struck. One of the sons got diagnosed with a life threatening disease. They (the family) have the money, and they want the best care for the child. Off they flew to the US and sought medical treatment. Treatment that lasted for 6 years. Yes, all those six years, my friend stayed with the son living in a rented apartment with a live-in househelp. She had to learn how to drive(her father bought in cash, a brand new van)as she never drove before because she’s always been driven around.

Lucky, right? WRONG!!! Yeah, she appears to be very lucky because they live with all the extras and the family afforded the cost of health care. But when this happened, they have to swallow their pride and take all the blows from their parents. Will it be okay with you if you have to account for all your expenses and put everything in writing including the cost of a measly pack of sanitary napkin? Will it be alright if you are asked to list down the food you bought from the supermarket so that at the end of the month, you will be able to balance and account where the money went? Will it be fine to skip haircuts for six months because you’re afraid the cost is not reasonable as far as the financier is concerned?

The ordeal is over and they’re back home. The kid is in remission, thank God. Can you even begin to imagine how much money they spent for all those years? My point here is, a lot of us are guilty in living in the moment. We are earning a lot, and we are spending a lot. Right now, we can afford all the luxury goods out for grabbing, take exotic vacations and totally forget about investing and saving up. How many of us has at least six months worth of living expenses stashed safely and ready to be used if the breadwinner suddenly losses their job? I can honestly say, we do. But how about when tragedy like this one knocks? Do we even think about it? That’s where savings/investments comes in handy. I’m not talking about the house, the roof over one’s head. I’m saying this because a lot of Americans even had already taken the path of regarding their homes as ‘cash cows’. I’m talking of solid investments that’s there when one needs it.

Seven years ago, this story changed me. Yes, I still love nice stuff. We still take nice vacations, we still enjoy the fruit of labor of my husband, but we continue to build up and set aside a good chunk of that earnings. Yeah, we can easily say, our parents are there, they will be there to help as they are capable of helping like what I have just shared. But NO… we’re not counting on that. At the end of the day, it’s nice to go to sleep and say, “we’re fine, and we’ll be okay.”

So, my question is: “will you be ready?”. Let’s all try to be ready.