I jolted awake to the sound of vomit hitting the floor beside me.
The bedside clock’s glowing numbers read 2:37AM.
Head fuzzy with sleep, heart pounding with fear, I heard my dog whimpering.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Every dog-dad’s worst nightmare.
I rushed to the car in my jammies, barely taking the time to grab my wallet.
By the time I got him to the emergency vet, my dog could barely stand, shivering in pain.
The vet took him back immediately.
I sat in that waiting room for 90 minutes, staring at my phone, not seeing anything on the screen.
Praying: Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay.
Finally, the vet came out.
"We need to do emergency surgery. Your dog has a twisted bowel and if we don't operate soon..."
He didn’t need to finish the sentence.
Three hours later, my dog came out of surgery.
Groggy, confused, but alive.
And then they handed me the bill.
$8,347.
Every pet parent knows you can’t put a number on your little one’s life.
Hell, we’d all probably trade places if we could, and I wouldn't have cared if it was $18,347.
But here's the thing:
I have pet insurance.
(I am the financial preparedness guy after all…)
So when I submitted the claim, they covered pretty much all of it.
Now, I'm telling you this story not to brag about being prepared.
Or to get sympathy.
My dog is fine.
Super happy.
Chillin' by my desk while I write this.
No, I’m telling you about this because a lot of you out there have pets that aren’t insured.
Cars that aren't insured.
No emergency fund.
I'm telling you this because I need you to understand something:
Emergencies don't ask if you're ready.
They don't wait until you "have enough saved."
They don't care about your budget.
They just happen.
And when they do, you either have a plan or you don't.
People without pet insurance?
They're not bad people.
They're not irresponsible.
They just didn't think about the "what if."
What if my dog gets sick?
What if my car breaks down?
What if I lose my job?
What if my AC dies in the middle of summer?
What if?
And here's the brutal truth:
Most of you reading this right now are one emergency away from financial disaster.
You don't have 3-6 months of expenses saved.
You don't have the right insurance.
You don't have a plan.
You're just hoping nothing bad happens.
I've done hundreds of Financial Audits.
And you know what I see over and over?
People who are "fine,” right up until they're not.
One medical bill.
One car accident.
One job loss.
And their entire financial life collapses.
Not because they were reckless, but because they weren't prepared.
So here's what I want you to do:
Stop hoping you'll be fine.
Stop assuming emergencies happen to other people.
Stop putting off the boring parts of financial planning because they're not sexy.
Take 2 minutes and figure out where you're actually vulnerable.