While smack-dab in the middle of an emergency is kind of the worst time to start preparing for one, for most of us it’s the upheaval and chaos of just such an event that opens our eyes to the value of marshalling our resources before the next one hits...

In this episode we talk about practicing for an emergency (kind of like a fire drill), what happens when an emergency hits after you’ve started preparing for it but before you’ve finished, and speculate wildly about how many people view withdrawing from their emergency fund as an event almost as bad as the emergency itself.

TL;DR emergency preparedness is good

3:23 When you’re preparing for an emergency that arrives too soon4:46 What Sandi did automatically when Seth’s boss stopped paying him9:26 What constitutes and emergency, anyway? 17:11 The most stressful life events18:46 Giving yourself permission to respond however you can 33:23 The rules are great until they’re not36:10 What John did automatically when Kelly got sick43:06 Playing the stress-test game on your lifestyle44:06 What a prepared family looks like and how increasing flexibility & practicing what you’ll do creates emergency superstars