My Mother died, this day, 10 years ago. She was 49 years young. I was 26 years old and a second year medical student. I remember everything about that moment when I found out. The feeling of disbelief, of time-slowing, and of my whole world and purpose bursting like a balloon.
I lost a lot that day and honestly I was not prepared for the next few weeks that would come.
The reality is, all life eventually ends and we do a bad job of preparing for it. I left home at 17 with the goal of providing for my family. I wanted to lift us out of poverty and change the direction we were headed in. My brother had the same goal. The day prior to my Mom’s death, I thought we were doing pretty well considering where we started in life. However I was wrong.
My Mother died in poverty. That’s a hard fact to accept, but she did. I failed at my goal. I didn’t adhere to the promise I made to my Grandmother and I didn’t know enough about personal finance to pay attention to the small details and as a result I learned very quickly how wrong I was about taking care of others.
The average funeral cost in California can range from $2,700 to well-over $10K depending on the services, casket, burial plot, etc. As a medical student I did not have an emergency fund to cover this expense, however I coincidently had a Roth IRA, which I was forced to start at 20 years old while at the Academy. To be honest as a medical student I didn’t truly understand what a Roth IRA was and what purposed it served, however I was thankful for being able to take an early withdrawal to cover the funeral expenses.
Every year since her death, I think about what could I have done differently. What could I have done to protect my Mother’s legacy and every single time, I ask myself, why didn’t she have life insurance?
63% of Americans had life insurance in 2011. My Mom, was one of the 37% who didn’t. Life insurance wasn’t something I had paid attention to while making sure my Mom had enough to live on. However this was a mistake, and should have been the first thing I obtained for her when I left home at 17.
Today sucks. It’s going to suck every year. I hope you learn from my pain and failure to make sure your family is protected at the end. Please ensure you and your loved ones have an estate plan. That plan will help you when things happen unexpectedly and can help alleviate the stress of terrible moment.
As always if you have questions or concerns regarding creating an emergency fund, investing, real estate, insurance, or planning for the future, don’t be afraid to speak with qualified financial advisor. Smart Asset has a great tool to find an advisor in your area or feel free to email me (contact@surgifi.com) to help you on your path to financial independence.
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