Give yourself time before irreversible decisions after a major shock
After a major loss, be cautious about people promising contact with the deceased, recovery of lost money, a fresh start through resignation, or a new business partnership. The author's practical rule is to postpone for three months decisions involving more than one month's income or a high cost of reversal. Discuss them with someone without a financial stake and avoid deciding on the same day. This is a precaution, not a research-established deadline.
What it takes
No direct cost, although postponement may mean missing an opportunity. It can be hard when an offer feels urgent.
What you may gain
A pause can prevent irreversible financial choices while distressed, such as selling a home, resigning, investing an entire compensation payment or survivors' benefit, rushing into remarriage, or guaranteeing someone else's debt. Such decisions may involve tens of thousands of RMB or a home, so the source rates the potential financial benefit medium. China's social psychological service plan also identifies family changes, unemployment, and leaving education as crisis risks that community services should proactively notice, recognizing that outside support may be needed.
Context & considerations
If no disinterested person is available, talk through the situation with China's 12356 helpline, as in entry 11, or write it down and reread it three days later. Three months is the author's rule of thumb, without evidence establishing that exact duration, hence grade C. For scams targeting older or bereaved people, see chapter 17 on retirement investments and home-based schemes and chapter 6 on fortune-telling. For guarantees and debt acknowledgments, see chapter 8. Do not postpone time-sensitive claims such as provident fund withdrawals, social insurance benefits, or occupational death benefits; see chapter 25 and chapter 19.
Research & references
Author's experience; no direct evidence for the three-month rule. For the identification of family changes, unemployment, and leaving education as psychological crisis risks, see National Health Commission and 24 other departments (2026). Implementation plan for improving social psychological services and crisis intervention, Guowei Yizhengfa [2026] No. 8. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/202604/content_7065035.htm