Does your bank offer mortgage vacations? It may be a good possibility to explore.

No mortgage payments required for several months? Banks are never altruistic… and you’ll end up paying the interest on those deferred payments. But, under the current circumstances, they may just serve a purpose.

A mortgage vacation (aka payment deferral) involves taking a break from your payments by using money that you’ve prepaid. My bank advertises it as a way to go travelling, stay home with a new baby, or go back to school. In truth, it’s just a way of making sure that your diligent prepayments don’t get in the way of them extracting their pound of flesh via interest. And they only offer them if your payments are up to date.

What happens if your reluctance to get a digital id/jab freezes your bank accounts? Or if the financial system collapses? Having a cushion of nonpayments could give you a bit of breathing room to determine your next step, whether it’s selling your home or leaving the country. Or both. Assuming banks honour their arrangements.

A caveat: I’m not a financial advisor, or a bank employee. I may be entirely wrong, and if so, I’d appreciate any shared feedback. Positive or negative.

But if this works, those prepayments could be the fiscal equivalent of keeping an extra bag of rice on hand. Just in case.