BP shows us what NOT to do

The scope and seriousness of the oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico are astonishing. Even more astonishing is the way BP has handled the mess after their oil rig exploded.

More precisely, it's astonishing that they have no way of handling it. It sure seems as though the company had no real plan for what to do in the event of such an oil leak, almost as if they believed it couldn't happen. If you are drilling 5,000 feet down into a resevoir of oil that can send 20 to 40 million gallons of oil into the ocean in six weeks, don't you have some kind of emergency plan in place?

If it were me, I'd have contingency plans for my contingency plans. BP doesn't seem to have any contingency plans, and that's a big lesson.

I am not a pessimist, but thinking like one on occasion can help you make plans for bad situations you might find yourself in at some point. I don't think you should plan ON the absolute worst thing happening to you, but you should plan FOR the worst that could happen.

If you own a business, put cash away when times are good. Plan ahead as if you know bad times are coming, and plan for them to last a while

If you're an investor, plan for the market to turn for the worse. Know where you will move your money BEFORE you lose it.

What is the worst thing that could happen to your household's financial situation? Plan for that. What will you do if you lose your job? What will you do if your spouse loses his or her job?

Look, life's "emergencies" happen all the time. Some things, like a sudden illness or a bad car accident, can't be foreseen. But other things, like loss of income, CAN be planned for. Your life's plan needs to have contingencies built into it.

Since the oil rig exploded, BP's share prices have plummeted. The company has lost $63 billion of its value, and it has also spent nearly a billion more dollars trying to control the leak. Of course, nothing so far has worked, and it might be months before a solution is in place. No one knows the ultimate impact the disaster will cause, but you can be sure it wouldn't have been as bad if BP had had some sort of preparedness plan spelled out ahead of time.

There is too much at risk to not be prepared for potential disasters. BP has certainly taught us that lesson.

Comments

[richardwilson]

dont you think bp and the govt should make an atempt to remove the oil from the water as it survaces.they could eliminate a lot of environment damage by pumping this oil into barges or tankers as it comes out of the pipes.this was an idea that was submited by an executive from the oil company which is a competitor.obama needs to take some advice from those in the industry.

[Pete Vossler]

Lack of a plan for long term security has derailed many in our country. But it is never to late to start. Let's hope that we can all learn and create for ourselves a brighter tomorrow.
P.S. Real Estate has been our lifesaver in this down economy