A parent is diagnosed with cancer. A loved one becomes disabled. A friend dies and leaves his estate in shambles. I've got to fix this. Short of a tragedy, then, it's easy to procrastinate.
People say they are too busy.
Parents don't want to have to decide where their child will live if they die in a car crash. Young adults don't want to save for emergencies because they think they can't spare the money. Or retirement seems too distant. Lezlie Puglia, deputy director of marketing for California State Parks, plunged this year into one form of contingency planning. Worrying about long-term job security, she said, prompted her and her husband of six years to cut back on spending and boost savings.