What is Storm mode? Also known as Crisis mode or a crisis budget.

When something goes wrong in your life we should all have our emergency fund to help protect us but another tool in financial our arsenal should be your ability to enter into storm mode.

This is a temporary change to your spending, saving, and financial plan to batten down the hatches during or in preparation for an emergency. These emergencies can be anything but tend to be bigger unexpected expenses or losses to income. Things like pending job loss, medical expenses, or car repairs can be triggers for your storm mode budget.

The first thing to do when encountering one of these situations is to take a look at all your spending, you should be tracking this anyways. (For a great spending tracker and budgeting app check out We Money.) Then from there we radically cut down our expenses. This means cutting all or most of your wants and reducing your needs.

Start with a list of your Living Needs, Housing, Food, Transport to and from work, Utilities, etc. This list should not include subscriptions, treats, or any extras. Remember this is a temporary budget to reduce the strain on your finances, it’s not forever.

Then start looking at that list of needs, can you squeeze out any more money from there? Can you use the heater or aircon a little less this month? Could you a pantry challenge and drop your food budget, compare your insurances and phone bills, see if you can get a better deal.

Now you have your basic crisis budget. 

Next, where can you make a little extra money this month? Do you have anything you can declutter? Hit a few survey sites, do a bank offers, or return your cans and for cash. (See my Side Hustles video for more ideas on this.)

Breathe and remember this is all temporary, once you’ve covered the expense/ or refilled your emergency fund you can go back to your normal budget. You might be surprised where you can cut expenses and your budget may evolve after this.

We’ve done this multiple times over our financial journey, it has helped us through, job losses, car breakdowns, and an unexpected 9k surgery.

Emily

AussieDebtFreeGirl

Emily is a 30-year-old mother of two, who posts all about saving money, living frugally, and building wealth on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. 

Disclaimer:

Any advice or opinions contained in this Blog post are general in nature and should not be taken as financial advice. When seeking advice on your personal financial situation please do your own research and seek professional advice.