New Yorkers panic when faced with the so-called dangers leaving the city. Had we listened to them we might have expected danger when B got off the plane.
Yes, B was bitten by a horse. On vacation.
It happened like this: B loves animals and he let a horse sniff and lick his hand. Oh, how cute….Then the horse took a big chomp’n bite. Nearly missed a joint.
See what happens when you leave the city?
The horse bite  although unpredictable, and now wrapped in gauze  reminded me to expect the unexpected (and here we were, thinking mere unemployment is the unexpected!). Here are some tips to keep the horse bites (and the financial bites!) under wraps:
1. Do you have an emergency fund? They are easy to set up and can work wonders even if you’re contributing just $10-$20 a week. (That’s money you blow without knowing it anyway, right?) Do yourself a favor and set it up so you’re automatically prepared. Even if the cushion is small, it’s better than nothing. I find it is easier if I send this money to an account not connected to my regular checking account. This makes it harder to liquidate during a night out when I could be tempted.
2. Do your budget, but in reverse. Me, I hate numbers. I hate budgets. Rather than budget items, I’ve found that the best solution is to “budget in reverse”. By that I mean, I know how much I need to pay all my various household bills and other living expenses each month. Tally up your essentials. Come up with your “number” and then backtrack from there. If you work freelance, you know that one project has to cover rent, another to cover food, etc. Sounds obvious, but until you come up with your number life is a lot harder.
3. Get health insurance. Okay, no joke: health insurance is very, very expensive. If you’re lucky you’ll never need it… and you’ll be tempted to stop the payments. Trust me, I lived without for a long time. Don’t be stupid like I was and risk your finances and health by going without insurance. Look for better deals via your professional associations. Personally speaking, I purchase inexpensive, bare-boned emergency coverage at FracturedAtlas.org. They should float me a free year for telling so many people about it.
4. Stay on top of it. Being aware of your financial situation (whatever the situation is!) makes you better able to plan for the unexpected. Why? Because you know exactly where you are and aren’t just guessing. Use the tools here at Geezeo to make that process easier. My favorite feature is the tagging capabilities.
5. Stay away from horses. That probably isn’t a requirement to avoid unexpected expenses. But can’t hurt.
February 12th, 2008 at 11:32 am
[...] medical situation in our household thus far was on a trip to Cincinnati, Ohio. My boyfriend was bitten by a police-mounted horse. (I mean really… that’s kind of funny..! What’s not funny is he doesn’t have [...]