Emergency Fund Related Topics 
Family Balance Sheet
MARCH 26, 2021
Life suddenly changed for most of us in March 2020 and this past year of the pandemic has reinforced how important an emergency fund is. If you’re able, maybe use some of your stimulous money to put towards building an emergency fund. What is an Emergency Fund?
Family Balance Sheet
APRIL 1, 2021
Emergencies happen when you least expect them. Our emergency fund has saved us countless times and it will save us once again with the truck. If you can’t answer with the word, CASH , then please, set yourself up for success and build an emergency fund.
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Prairie Eco-Thrifter
AUGUST 12, 2013
Personal financiers will frequently advise that you have an emergency fund of 3-6 months of expenses in your bank account at all times. I remember a few months ago when I hit my $10,000 emergency fund target. I was so ecstatic for a brief moment, then I realized that the money was there, and it would stay there until I had an emergency, so other than my monthly interest accrual, there’s not much to be excited about.
Family Balance Sheet
FEBRUARY 11, 2016
You see, we learned a valuable lesson many years prior about the importance of an emergency fund. Our saving grace was the money we had saved in our emergency account. If not for that fund, we would most likely have used credit cards to survive. We reduced our spending where we could that year, but the money to pay any shortfall each month came from our emergency fund. That emergency fund saved our business, our sanity, and our marriage.
Family Balance Sheet
FEBRUARY 16, 2016
Emergencies happen when you least expect it. Our emergency fund has saved us countless times and it will save us once again with the truck. If you can’t answer with the word, CASH , then please, set yourself up for success and build your emergency fund. Follow these three action steps and the list of ideas below to find the cash for your fund. 3 Action Steps to Set Up your Emergency Fund. 3 – Commit to funding the account.
Family Balance Sheet
OCTOBER 13, 2014
Both instances could have brought us down and we could have reached for a credit card, but thankfully, my husband and I are pretty adamant about having an emergency fund and I want you to become adamant about having one too. Had it not been for the money in our emergency savings, we would most likely have used credit cards to survive. We reduced our spending where we could, but the money to pay any shortfall each month came from our emergency fund.
Family Balance Sheet
FEBRUARY 22, 2011
What got us through.our emergency fund. Had it not been for the money in our emergency savings, we would most likely have used credit cards to survive. We reduced our spending where we could, but the money to pay any shortfall each month came from our emergency fund. How Much Do You Need in an Emergency Fund? What is considered an emergency? An emergency fund is really a necessity account. It is for emergencies.
Family Balance Sheet
MAY 6, 2020
Our emergency fund. I am totally paraphrasing the year, but had it not been for the money in our emergency savings, we would most likely have used credit cards to survive. Today, we don’t have to worry about our non-mortgage debt payments and we have an emergency fund.
Prairie Eco-Thrifter
JUNE 11, 2014
You might be saving up for a vacation, while at the same time building up your emergency fund and creating a fund for car maintenance and repairs. So, if you have $500 to put into savings this month, and you are really focusing on getting ready for baby, you might put $350 toward your baby fund and only $150 toward the vacation. I do this with my emergency fund. One of the mistakes that we often make when saving is putting everything into one account.
Family Balance Sheet
NOVEMBER 5, 2014
Because we wanted to get out of debt as fast as possible, we stopped saving money after we had an emergency fund in place. I focus more on the big picture (saving for a house, vacations, emergency fund, etc.) We made the habit of now needing or spending the money we put toward debt and now we use that to put toward our emergency fund, vacations, and a down payment on a house. An emergency fund with 6-8 months’ worth of expenses it.
Family Balance Sheet
JUNE 24, 2021
Years ago, April sent me into a panic and a scramble to find the funds. This savings account should strictly be your Personal Escrow Account and these funds are only to be used for the bills that you have identified in step #1. This is not an account to fund anything else–ever!
Prairie Eco-Thrifter
JANUARY 1, 2013
Lack of An Emergency Fund . One of the most common disastrous finance mistakes is not having any sort of financial back-up for emergencies. Experts recommend an emergency fund of at least six month’s salary as essential, especially if you are struggling to make ends meet. Remember, this account is for emergencies , not to make up the shortfall at the end of the month. Make an allowance for a small amount of savings, in addition to your emergency fund.
Prairie Eco-Thrifter
JUNE 30, 2014
My fiancé’s financial goal is to save up money for incidentals and emergencies (over and above our current fully-funded emergency funds), and then buy a really good truck and perhaps a boat with anything extra that hasn’t gone toward retirement or the emergency funds. If it’s $200 each, then I could put that $200 toward a future travel fund, and he could put it toward his own goal.
Prairie Eco-Thrifter
JULY 16, 2014
I keep a healthily funded emergency account at all times. Assumption #4: You’ll never have an emergency. Emergencies happen…to everyone. When it comes to emergencies, it’s not so much a question of if, but rather, when. So build up the emergency fund now, so that the when doesn’t catch you before you’re ready for it. Emergency or otherwise, unexpected expenses arise all the time.
Family Balance Sheet
OCTOBER 22, 2014
So if you could use some extra cash for your emergency fund , or save for Christmas presents or any other activity or need, then you must read 31 Days to Find $1000. Welcome to 31 Days to Organize Your Finances. By the end of the month, my goal is to help you have a detailed financial plan for your family. We’ll talk about cash flow, budgets, debts, and all of the nitty gritty of our finances that might not be fun to talk about, but are so important to discuss.
Family Balance Sheet
AUGUST 11, 2016
Start Saving for your Emergency Fund TODAY! If you are part of 70% of Generation X that has less than $1000 in personal savings account, start saving today for your emergency fund, whether it is the starter $1000 emergency fund that Dave Ramsey promotes, or it is 3-6 months of expenses. Our saving grace was the money we had saved in our emergency account. If not for that fund, we would most likely have used credit cards to survive.
Prairie Eco-Thrifter
JANUARY 10, 2013
Working to build your emergency fund? Read up on emergency fund basics at Money Smart Guides. Hi everyone. This week has been crazy for me. I literally feel spun. I have started a new job at work which is great but also very overwhelming as I still need to keep up doing my old job until my replacement is hired and trained. I also serve on a Board that is ramping up full swing after the holidays which is leaving me with little time to catch my breath.
Prairie Eco-Thrifter
SEPTEMBER 28, 2014
With just one emergency such as a car breaking down or, in the US, a medical bill, many could be in a very precarious position. Combined with my extra income, this $600/year (give or take $25) really helped boost my savings and therefor my emergency fund. A surprising amount of North Americans are not putting money away consistently for retirement. Many families are toeing the line of slipping into debt, if they aren’t already over their heads.
Family Balance Sheet
APRIL 11, 2020
I have written often about the importance of an emergency fund. Who would have concocted a story like this when planning for an emergency? This is not an elective, fun, no-spend month like what we did in January to find funds for our summer vacation.
Family Balance Sheet
OCTOBER 18, 2019
1 – Save a starter Home Emergency Fund. Dave Ramsey suggests to have a starter emergency fund of $1000 while focusing on paying off non-mortgage debt. We have definitely dipped into this fund often, so I’m glad I strayed from his advice here. 2 – Increase business emergency savings. 6 – Increase our emergency funds for the home & office to 3 – 6 months worth of expenses.
Prairie Eco-Thrifter
AUGUST 19, 2012
Start an Emergency Fund One of the biggest things you can do to help avoid disasters is to create an emergency fund. This is a reserve of money for emergencies; leave it alone and don’t go dipping into it for general spending. It’s not for paying bills, going on holidays or paying college fees; no matter how urgent these might be, they are not emergencies. Change loan providers where necessary and allocate extra funds to getting loans paid off faster.
Family Balance Sheet
JANUARY 17, 2018
We blew through our health savings account, and now need to save another $10k so we’re not caught off guard if another emergency were to happen. However, we could use a year of extra thriftiness to find any extra funds to accelerate the $10k. Save a starter Home Emergency Fund. Dave Ramsey suggests to have a starter emergency fund of $1000 while focusing on paying off non-mortgage debt. Increase business emergency savings.
Prairie Eco-Thrifter
NOVEMBER 4, 2013
Another important aspect of your budget should be an emergency fund. Research has shown that most people these days only have enough funds to maintain their current lifestyle for about 30 days if they were unable to work. Don’t put yourself in this position; gradually pay into an emergency fund until you have the equivalent of at least six to twelve months income, as a minimum. You made it! I bet there were times when you thought that you’d never get there.
Family Balance Sheet
OCTOBER 18, 2014
Day 3: I took 4 days off due to an unexpected family emergency. Day 10: Create a Personal Escrow Fund. Day 13: Create an Emergency Fund. Day 14: Create a Gift Giving Fund. Welcome to 31 Days to Organize Your Finances. By the end of the month, my goal is to help you have a detailed financial plan for your family.
Prairie Eco-Thrifter
MARCH 25, 2013
What happens if you are hit with an expense that you can’t afford, and your emergency fund just isn’t up to scratch yet? Unfortunately, these sources of quick cash are among the worst possible ways to fund your emergency. Instead of turning to these expensive sources of funding, look for alternatives. One of the best things you can do is be prepared for a financial emergency with a fund set aside for that purpose.
Prairie Eco-Thrifter
MAY 30, 2012
Not Having an Emergency Fund It is dangerous to spend every cent you earn and not to have buffer against illness, injury, job loss or hard economic times. Make establishing an emergency fund a priority. Don’t forget to enter to win an iPad 3 here at PET. You’ve heard “it’s the little things that count”, right? I’m sure everyone can name many little things that have more meaning than a big event in their lives.
Prairie Eco-Thrifter
JANUARY 30, 2013
You never know when an emergency will arise. This emergency might be one related to a natural disaster, or it might be a financial emergency, such as a job loss. In some cases, you might experience a financial emergency at the same time that you experience a natural disaster. While you can never be completely prepared for the toll an emergency takes on you, it is possible to limit the harm done by an unexpected turn of events. Physical Emergency Preparedness.
Prairie Eco-Thrifter
JANUARY 16, 2014
Those of us who had stocks , bonds, and mutual funds saw our net worth rise, but many (perhaps as many as 50% of us, according to CNN Money article M illions see no benefit from soaring stock prices ) missed out. Traditional investment advice says that you shouldn’t invest in the market until you are financially stable, have an emergency fund and have taken care of other basics, such as insurance of all kinds, debt removal and etc.
For the Mommas
JANUARY 3, 2011
“Being intentional with our money turns emergencies into inconveniences.&#. As a part of my Back to Basics series , I am writing a post on how to start an emergency fund. Amy’s emergency fund saved her — when her heater went out on New Years Eve. Without an emergency fund, this could have been an major financial blow. Read more about Intentional Spending – Being Ready For An Emergency.
Family Balance Sheet
JULY 15, 2011
It is not an emergency fund or our monthly cash allowance and there isn't a lot of cash in the envelope. Do you have a petty cash fund? We have an envelope, in an undisclosed location, where we keep cash. Yet it is a place where we can go to if we need a quick $10-$20 for a last minute pizza dinner or the neighbor kids, who are knocking with Girl Scout cookies, or the pick your own strawberry patch or a yard sale outing, the list goes on and on.
Prairie Eco-Thrifter
NOVEMBER 8, 2012
My retirement account contribution, emergency fund contribution, car payments, utility bills, and mortgage are all set up so that they are paid automatically each month. We want an emergency fund. I’m not much into budgeting. It’s true that what I do with money technically amounts to a budgeting technique, but the idea of a traditional budget has never appealed to me. It’s more of a mindset thing. Instead, I have a spending plan mentality.
Prairie Eco-Thrifter
MAY 21, 2013
If you don’t have an emergency fund in order to make at least the approximate payment of your anticipated mortgage and expenses, you are not ready to make the leap into home ownership. Maintenance fund. In addition to an emergency fund, it is recommended that you have a reserve fund of at least 5% of the purchase price of the home in order to cover maintenance and upkeep.
Prairie Eco-Thrifter
JANUARY 19, 2015
Earmark this money for an emergency fund, a new car fund, a vacation fund, whatever you would like. Then, you’re continually building a slush fund in your checking account. Put your emergency fund in an inconvenient bank. I don’t have an ATM card, so the money is fairly inaccessible, yet in an emergency, I can have the money within a week. Would you like to end 2015 with a bigger bank account than you currently have? I know I would.
Family Balance Sheet
MAY 21, 2021
Being self-employed, we felt we needed more than Dave’s recommended $1000 starter emergency fund that he outlines in his book, so our first step was to save a bit more for our home and office. Did you make a goal to pay off debt this year?
Prairie Eco-Thrifter
MAY 27, 2012
I use store cards to get the specials I don’t track what I spend my money on I don’t have an emergency fund I don’t regularly save anything from my wages I don’t have a retirement account yet I only pay the minimum amounts on credit cards I have numerous credit cards I often make credit repayments late I spend ‘windfalls’ rather than save Or, how about impulse shopping? Do you have items in your house that you never use?
Family Balance Sheet
JUNE 30, 2015
At the time, I wasn’t sure how we were going to pay our monthly bills, so future plans like funding our retirement , our daughters’ college education, or a lavish vacation were not on my mind. Increase our emergency fund to 6 months of expenses. Contribute to our retirement funds. When you’re in the trenches, it can be very hard to think beyond the present. A few years ago, we were struggling financially and I felt like our situation was hopeless.
Prairie Eco-Thrifter
NOVEMBER 17, 2018
Ultimately, if you were the person responsible for paying the bills in your home, and you didn’t have much of an emergency fund in place, there’s a chance that you’ll need to seek out the assistance of a personal loan between you and your partner until you get back on your feet. The journey you take when looking for a new job can be filled with stress and anxiety.
Prairie Eco-Thrifter
FEBRUARY 4, 2014
This means that after we take care of retirement and emergency fund contributions, and after everything else is taken care of, we have enough to do what we like. When I was younger, I used to think that a higher income was the solution to most of my financial issues. My husband and I were graduate students with loans and credit card debt, and we were certain that a higher income would solve all of our problems. However, this isn’t always the case.
Family Balance Sheet
OCTOBER 31, 2014
Day 3: I took 4 days off due to an unexpected family emergency. Day 10: Create a Personal Escrow Fund. Day 13: Create an Emergency Fund. Day 14: Create a Gift Giving Fund. On October 1, I embarked on a month long series, 31 Days to Organize Your Finances. I had high hopes. It was my goal to help you have a detailed financial plan for your family by the end of the month.
Prairie Eco-Thrifter
JULY 22, 2014
I keep expenses low by living below my means and when windfalls of cash come in from bigger contracts, the money goes into replenishing savings and retirement funding. By maintaining a cash cushion in the form of an emergency fund, I feel protected rather than anxious when returning to the unemployment line. There’s a lot of anxiety around money- not having enough, worrying it will run out, keeping it safe, etc.
Family Balance Sheet
OCTOBER 15, 2014
If something substantial suddenly happens, we do have an emergency fund to cover it, but now I’ve been given a warning that our van will need some major service in about a year. The goal is to identify the need before something breaks down, so you are not caught off guard without the funds. Welcome to 31 Days to Organize Your Finances. By the end of the month, my goal is to help you have a detailed financial plan for your family.
Prairie Eco-Thrifter
JULY 10, 2014
Money is automatically deposited into the retirement and emergency fund accounts, as well as to my son’s 529. One of the hardest things to stick to is a budget. Everyone seems to dislike them. I don’t like budgets myself, and actually refer to what I do with my money as a “ spending plan.” ” But budget or spending plan, the reality is that it can be hard to stick to your money commitments when something else comes along.
Prairie Eco-Thrifter
DECEMBER 6, 2012
The good news is if you are diligent in putting money away, you will likely never have to panic when a financial emergency arises. Medical emergencies, car emergencies, or family situations may arise where you need to dip into your emergency fund. We have all heard that age old adage “save your pennies for a rainy day,” but many of us never do it.
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