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Last Updated on September 18, 2021
Young couples are just beginning their life’s adventure. They have their youth and beauty and health and a sense of invulnerability that leaves them ready to take on the world. At least, that’s what they think. Young couples are usually the least capable of dealing with emergencies because they don’t expect them. Every crisis comes as a shock to them. Instead of keeping calm in a crisis, they panic and show their inexperience. To be fair, a lot of more mature couples don’t handle emergencies any better. Age is not the deciding factor.
The bigger factor is preparation. The reason we have fire drills in schools and workplaces is so that in a real emergency, there will be something like muscle memory when it comes to reacting properly. They say that in a fire, you aren’t thinking properly and you can’t see through the smoke. Your once familiar home becomes a weird nightmare maze that is impossible to navigate. The 25 steps it would normally take to get to the front door are like a walk across a desert. If you practice getting out of your house often enough, you might be able to overcome the panic in the event of a real emergency. Prior preparation is a crucial part of the equation. Here is what else you need to survive an emergency:
Insurance
Sometimes, there is nothing you can do to avoid a bad situation. The best thing you can do is be prepared for the aftermath. Part of that preparation is knowing how you are going to pay for the recovery. That is where insurance comes in. It is the financial help you need when the disaster has hit the fan.
Do you know what happens if you don’t have health insurance? If you find yourself with a debilitating disease or injury, you will quickly discover that nothing good comes from being without insurance. Some states have tried to mandate health insurance while levying fines to those who do not comply. The biggest problem does not come from fines, but from credit-wrecking medical bills.
In the US, healthcare is not free. Someone has to pay the bill. While you cannot be turned away from an ER due to the inability to pay, you can be denied certain treatments if you do not pay up front. You will probably get enough care to survive the initial crisis. But you can still end up financially ruined if you do not have insurance or some other form of emergency financing.
Emergency Power Source
Many are still digging out from under a devastating flood that left them without homes or positions. The lucky ones just found themselves without power. If you find yourself without power for a protracted period of time, you will not feel lucky at all. You will feel the inside of your fridge getting warmer as $500 worth of groceries spoil. You will feel cold if it happens in the winter and there is no heat. And you will feel hungry when there is no way to cook.
Besides needing some type of emergency power source, you are going to need an emergency food supply. Ideally, it is something that can be cooked over a fire. Since peas last for the better part of forever, learn to perfect your Instant Pot black eyed peas recipe and adopt it for an open fire. You can survive with no power if you plan ahead with staples and a generator.
First Aid Kit
Do you know the items you should put in a first aid kit? The time to figure that out is now, not after the emergency. You already know you should have some type of bandages and something for cleaning and disinfecting a wound. But how about a rescue inhaler if someone in the house happens to be asthmatic. You should also have an epipen in case of a dangerous allergic reaction. Do you know CPR? If not, take a class at your local Red Cross and get certified. Someone’s life you hold dear could depend on it.
Preparation is the key to surviving an emergency. Be prepared with insurance, supplies for riding out a storm, and a well-stocked first aid kit.
