My husband will have to have an organ transplant at some point (he's on the list as of this month! :cheergrl: ), average wait is just under a year but really there's no telling when it will happen. After the surgery he will be out of work for at least 3 months. I believe he does have some sort of short term and long term disability insurance through his work, but I have no idea how much they pay and when they would kick in. I know that for the average person, Dave recommends getting just the $1000 saved up then using the rest of the money on debt, but in a situation like this, wouldn't it be better to have a larger emergency fund because who knows what our family's income will be like?

I would sit down with the person who handles the long and short term stuff at your husbands work and get all the fine points worked out now! Its much easier to plan when you have some idea of what and how much will be coming in. By doing it now you can have some idea how long it will take that first check to come in. See if you can get the paperwork in place now. Save yourself the rush once the time is here. Your hands will be full in other areas plus your mind will be on DH and it will be easier to focus now. In other words blow up your life raft and see if it has any leaks before your in the middle of the ocean.

Laurie in BRadenton

I believe this is what he calls 'storm clouds on the horizon'. In this case, start saving up as much as you can, you know this 'emergency' is coming and can save up for it. I'd put snowballing on hold and put as much as I can into the emergency fund. When your dh is home and healthy, you are able to live on the disability and emergency fund, and when he's back to work with a clean bill of health, if you've got anything left over, save for that $1000, you can then apply that to debts. This all is okay in his book. ;)

Yes, definitely get all the good info like Laurie suggested. :) Better to be prepared, even if you gotta annoy the insurance company, hehe.

Laurie is 100% on the mark. Check with his place of work to find out what the benefits are. I work in the payroll/pension/benefit department at my company and our disability benefits vary according to what government assistance the employee might receive while off recuperating (I'm up in Canada so I'm not sure exactly how things work in the US). We actually kinda prefer when people come in ahead of time to ask questions because, generally, they are a lot easier to deal with** and help since they have more time and energy to devote to the paperwork and general process (as opposed to after the surgery when they have a million things to worry about). And seriously, if you explain that you're a little overwhelmed by it and just want to make sure things go smoothly afterwards they will completely understand.

I would also recommend having more than $1000 in the EF just in case.

Good luck, you'll both be in my thoughts!!!

**by "deal with" I mean help with paperwork, contact over the phone if more info is needed, get organized answers from...I didn't mean to use the term in a negative way...sorry! :)

I agree with the others. Find out about those disability policies and then save as much as you can for your emergency fund.

Wishing you the best for you and your husband.

Absolutely!!! You KNOW you will need money (find out exactly how much), so start saving for it now.

I'm in the same boat. I knew I'd be having foot surgery this year and that most of my 3 month leave would be unpaid (I've exhausted most of my time). So went back to min pmts on the CC. I did pre-pay the van payment until after I'm back at work. And I saved and saved and saved.

It's a good thing too. Not only is my leave unpaid, but I also have to buy COBRA (medical insurance) to the tune of $1100 per month.

Congrats on your dh getting on the list! Praise God and I pray that it will all go smoothly and quickly for him and that he won't have to wait. I know God has his hand in this.

:grouphug2

Now, save as much money as you possibly can right now! Check out the policies. Check to see if you have disability coverage on any loans such a automobile or credit cards also. Don't worry about stocking up on food right now. If worse came to worse, there is always food stamps or food banks for food and you may need those extra dollars for the days or weeks that you spend at the hospital.

Your main goal during this time is having a healthy hubby, paying your mortgage, heating/AC, and your telephone bill. Then make a list of remaining bills and decide what you can't live without.

Best of luck to you both. :grouphug2

I would definitely be putting money into the EF. Here's why: Group disability insurance usually only replaces 60-70% of income and is capped at maximum benefit amount. So, someone at a high income level, probably won't even see 60% of their income replaced. Short term disability is based on a weekly amount, long term disability is a monthly amount, and that is normally how benefits are paid. In addition, there is usually a waiting period for sickness when no benefits are payable. You have to allow time for the claims to be processed, usually separate claim forms filed at different times. Short term disability claims are processed much faster than long term disability claims because the insurance company's liability is limited and a lot less documentation is needed. If it happens to be that the long term disability policy is with a different insurance company (like mine), you'll have an another time lag since they would be basically starting from scratch. Ask the HR person for a copy of the benefit booklets and claim forms so you have them.

Sending best wishes your way.

Yep, save as much as you can as fast as you can. Good luck!

Jennifer

I agree stop snowballing and fund the EF and definitely get on the ball with dh's HR department and find out exactly what his pay will be like, how long til it will kick in, etc... Best wishes to you and your dh.