A change of year is an opportunity to try for a change in habits, fate and life in general. How much stuff changes remains to be seen. A lot changed for us in 2017, and quite honestly we can do with some stability for some time now.
It would be a shame to not summarise all the practical stuff we learnt last year, and while we hope no one has to go through what we went through, let's be honest here..life happens. When it does, you would want to be as prepared as possible.
So here goes my list, in no particular order of priority
1. Get insurance. Health and life. Yes, that stuff works. If you have corporate, get well acquainted with it and top up if required. Saying this because there are many young working couples out there who have no clue about this stuff and probably only buy for tax saving. And this is not just one person's job, all grown ups in the family should be able to handle this.
2. Save some buffer. Since many of us are not doing the above, you need buffer funds to ride through the time you take to figure point 1 out
3. Keep your friends close, but your doctors even closer. Let's face it, our lifestyles and environment aren't taking us in a very healthy direction. Don't be a hypochondriac but read up about medicine and what's going on in the world. Have a circle of trustworthy doctors in your city. Get yearly checks. And don't pop pills erratically or without consultation. Don't take antibiotics until prescribed.
4. Google is your best friend, and your worst enemy. It will help you find amazing solutions, people, doctors and hospitals and much more. But do remember that according to Google, any headache is probably a brain cancer.
5. When the worst hits you, reach out to those more knowledgeable or experienced and willing to help. Ask questions. We didn't know what to ask when cancer happened to us, now we know we can help others to some extent when they are just puzzled by what hit them.
6. Don't get bitter. When things don't go your way, in any form, try not to think why me. Because well, no one is going to give an answer and you are going to end up feeling worse.
