Have you ever experienced an emergency that drained virtually all the savings you have? It could either be an accident which somehow was not covered by your insurance, or a sickness that was just too expensive. God forbid that these things should ever happen to you, but we still need to be prepared for these kinds of situations just in case.
Keeping a budget is a pretty easy way to manage the family's finances. Even kids know how to budget their allowance and save some for future use. It keeps you on top of everything in your home and makes sure that all bill are paid on time and all services are available whenever you need them.
Planning for something in advance is a good way to prepare for anything that might come up. You don't have to be specific about what your saving should be for, you just have to know what it could be for. There is a major difference between being prepared and being just plain paranoid. You need to learn what this difference is.
A good way to keep on top of the financial systems of your household is to set aside a percentage of your monthly income for savings. The optimal way of doing this would be to save a quarter of what you make every year. That should cover any sudden accidents or change of plans that might take place in the near future.
You should also try and keep an emergency stash of cash that covers up three months' worth of expenses. In case of huge financial drawbacks, at least you're giving yourself and your family a three month headstart to get thing right back on track again.
We can never tell what thu future holds for us. Being an optimist is a good way to look at life, but if we are truly to survive, we have to look forward to certain things that might bring us down.