Money9 Edit | The individual financial shield in Covid-19 battle

The ferocity of the second wave of Covid-19 has shaken all of us. While the policymakers are grappling with the appropriate response to the impact on the economy, individually we are all struggling to manage our finances, the focus of which is to take care of any medical exigencies, while fortifying the future.

Needless to emphasise, this cannot happen without conscious and careful planning. The first thing one should plan for is an emergency fund. Last year, experts were highlighting the need for such a fund to run the family in case of job loss. But during the second run of the infection, the focus of an emergency fund has shifted to affording healthcare if we, or our near and dear ones, are infected.

With no hospital beds available and oxygen cylinders available for 20-30 times the amount, the cost of medical attention has gone through the proverbial roof. If you have an existing emergency fund, continue building on it. If you are yet to attempt something like it, start setting it up now. Eliminate your discretionary expenditure and start contributing to the emergency fund. Contribute even the smallest amount you would have spent on avoidable expenses and nourish this fund which can turn out to be a lifesaver.

There are two more steps that one should take. First, one should take care to pay premiums of running health insurance policies. If one is not eligible for government-run insurance schemes, one should buy health insurance policies. And if you are already under some privately purchased cover, you should ensure that it is not discontinued. On the contrary, if possible, top it up.

Also, one should buy a life insurance cover to protect one’s family. Term insurance policies, which are relatively low on premiums compare to endowment schemes, are getting popular.