If you’ve watched the news, read the newspaper or glanced at the Internet you’ve probably seen some type of story about someone who has recently been impacted by the recession. Before last night it never really hit me how easy it would be for a financial crisis to effect our family.

We have been very blessed and so far have avoided any negative consequences of the down economy, other than the 50% loss of my 401k. We both have stable jobs and no consumer debt other than one average car payment. I would like to think that even if one of us lost our jobs we would be able to restructure our finances and survive until we found another job.

However, after hearing a story last night I realized how easy it would be for anyone’s financial world to come crashing down. Even though it’s the number one cause of debt I didn’t even think about it. Medical bills are the number one cause of bankruptcy in the United States.

The news story talked about a couple who’s son was diagnosed with cancer. Their insurance capped out at $2,000,000 at which point nothing was covered under their policy. The good news is their son fought the cancer and is in remission, but not before another $900,000 in uncovered medical bills.

Most people strive to save $1,000,000 for retirement and this middle aged couple gets to start with almost that much in debt. You can’t put a price tag on life, especially your child’s life, but it’s sad to think about trying to dig out of this debt.

Think about how easy it would be for something bad to happen to someone in your family. There really isn’t any moral to the story, but it sure makes me appreciate what I have and how blessed I am.