Emergency fund. The recession has underscored the importance of an emergency fund. Be sure to have at least six months’ worth of living expenses in your emergency fund. That means it’s money that can easily be accessed in case crap happens. The job situation today hints that a years’ worth of living expenses as emergency fund isn’t that bad. Replenish it before spending your money on other things.

Insurance. Aside from your emergency fund, you can also protect yourself and your stuff through insurance. While many might claim that these can be an unnecessary expense, my own experience has taught me to value insurance. Prioritize getting health, life, home, and car insurance policies. Just shop around to get the best deals.

It basically boils down to two popular choices – term life insurance and whole life insurance.

You may initially purchase a term life insurance which costs the least but it is only valid for a specified amount of years. Once this period is over, you would need to renew your insurance for higher rates.

A whole life insurance may cost higher but they are kept at a set rate until everything is paid off. The only time the premiums change is when the one covered by the insurance decides to discontinue the coverage but later on comes back.

Another consideration for death insurance is if it accrues money or not. This is the reason that term life insurance costs less. You are paying for the term, in most cases about $100,000, and though you may be paying for fifty years, that amount will never increase.

The deciding factor would actually be your financial situation. If you have more money, go for a whole life insurance. Although it’s more expensive, it will be much better for your family in the end. However, if you’re tight on the budget, a term life insurance is a good-enough alternative until you save more to upgrade your policy.