According to Forbes, 40% of Americans don’t have enough funds to handle a $400 emergency.
The main method used by people to avoid taking on additional loans or obligations is to accumulate an emergency fund. You could be in financial trouble if you don’t have any extra cash on hand.
If you’re terrified to look at your credit card account, it’s time to stop using plastic. Building a solid emergency fund with at least six months of savings is the main method people use to avoid taking on additional loans.
Where To Find Emergency Financial Assistance?
Listed below are some sources that you can opt to get emergency financial assistance—
1. Crowdfunding
We’ve all seen the crowdfunding platform pitches on social media. A new business or artistic endeavor may raise funds on several crowdfunding websites.
Users are increasingly using other websites to handle unforeseen financial difficulties. It is financially imprudent to rely on a crowdfunding website to protect oneself in an emergency.
For personal and charitable campaigns, some crowdfunding platforms do not charge a fee; however, some charge a payment-processing fee of 2.9% and 30 cents per gift.
There are several possible legal considerations when utilizing crowdfunding websites to launch a business.
In fact, you can raise emergency funds in Cryptocurrencies as well. To learn how you can use Cryptocurrencies to meet your financial needs, visit the bitcoin loophole.
2. Payday Loans
A payday loan might help you meet your short-term financial obligations until you get your next salary. As a result, loan places like speedy cash become valuable options for a quick and easy loan amount.
These tiny, pricey loans often have three-digit annual percentage rates (APRs), and payments are normally due two weeks after the loan is disbursed.
Paycheck loan regulations vary from state to state, placing restrictions on how much you may borrow or how much the lender can charge in interest and fees. Every year, almost 2.5 million American households take out personal loans.
According to the CFPB, the typical payday loan has two weeks and costs $350. Payday loans, however, might range from $50 to $1,000, depending on your state’s rules.
3. Asset-Based Lending
Because the borrower’s assets secure the loan in asset-based lending, the interest rate is reduced. Accounts receivable, inventory, marketable securities, and property, plant, and equipment are some assets that can be used to secure a loan (PP&E).
Compared to unsecured loans and lines of credit, asset-based loans are simpler and quicker. In addition, they have a lower interest rate than other funding choices and are less hazardous since they are secured by an asset (or assets).
If the borrower doesn’t pay back the loan, the lender might seize the items that served as collateral and sell them to cover the debt.
4. Government-Assisted Programs
Even after a financial emergency, it can be challenging to make ends meet and avoid going into debt. Individuals and families can get assistance from public and private initiatives to deal with unforeseen expenses.
These initiatives seek to assist with basics, including shelter, food, utilities, and other things. In addition, there are charitable programs and grants available in addition to these ones that assist people with shelter and food.
A wide range of services are available to individuals in need thanks to the United Way’s 2-1-1 program. Every year, Community Action Partnership assists more than 148,000 families in finding a safe, affordable place to live.
The HealthWell Foundation assists those without health insurance in paying their premiums and out-of-pocket hospital expenses. In addition, low-income people can seek medical care at any of the 1,200 clinics run by the National Association of & Charitable Clinics in the US.
5. Getting Help From Kins And Friends
Contrary to popular belief, asking for financial aid is a typical tactic. You won’t likely be subjected to interest or other costs from friends and family, and they won’t want to return within two weeks.
You may meet your daily costs with their assistance while gradually repaying them. But, on the other side, payday loans might completely ruin your financial future.
Create a repayment strategy to demonstrate your intention to borrow the funds for a predetermined time.
You may say that you’ve attempted to obtain a second job, requested a personal loan, or sought government aid, for instance. If you can provide anything in exchange, you’ll feel more comfortable taking their assistance.
Financial Emergencies Your Business Should Prepare For
Financial emergencies can happen anytime. Sometimes when you least expect them to happen. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared for it. If you can plan ahead and think about the situation in which you can find your business, you will have a solution beforehand.
Here are a few financial emergencies for which your business should be prepared.
Losing A Client
Every business has one big client that is consistent with work and is the reason behind the major portion of your business’s revenue every month. Losing your biggest client is one of the challenging phases of your business financially.
Even though you feel they will work with you in the future, always consider the possibility of losing them the next day. This way, you will start finding different clients to replace your current major clients.
The departure of your company’s major client can leave your business high and dry. As a result, all your future plans and growth fall into jeopardy.
How can you go about this?
There are a few key things that you can do to lessen the burden on the business when any clients leave.
- Having a diversified client base: This means that your business has a mix of different levels of business (small, medium, and large). If one leaves, your business doesn’t crash. Yes, revenue reduces, but you get the time to stand back again.
- Having a strong retention strategy: Having an effective retention strategy is the backbone of growing businesses. To increase your retention rate, you need to constantly engage with your client.
Investment Failure
Investment failure is one of those crises that businesses need to be aware of all the time. Investments are vital for the company because they provide the capital a business needs for growth.
However, investment can also fail. And when they do, the whole business infrastructure leaves a massive dent. This is where you need to have multiple investors. If one investment fails, you will have another to fall back on.
Technology Issues
Security breaches are among the common issues for business-related inline data. When a company experiences technical issues, it can lead to a loss of productivity. And a drop in productivity directly affects revenue and profit.
To protect your business from experiencing something like that, keep your system up to date with the latest security, updates, and patches.
Plan Your Finances
As we mentioned five great sources of getting emergency financial assistance, now you know where to find support during an emergency. However, you must take care of your finances.
It might be time to review your spending habits if you need help to develop your savings or if you frequently dig into them to make ends meet.
So get together and manage your money so that you always have enough funds to support yourself during any emergency!
