Picture this: Your car blows up & your warranty is a thing of the past, you get sick and can’t even go to work much less pay the doctor, your employer folds up and files for bankruptcy or that baby you have been waiting for turns into three right before your very eyes.s What are you going to do?
Your stress level just shot through the roof, but this is life and nobody’s lane is bump-free. Hell, I’m not sure mine is even paved. It’s small things like this that can throw you off track quickly.
According to the Fed’s most recent survey, 40% of Americans would struggle to pay for an unexpected $400 expense without selling something or borrowing money. So whether you think of it as an emergency fund, a rainy day account, a financial cushion, or an “uncertainty fund,” you need one.
HOW MUCH DO YOU REALLY NEED TO HAVE IN AN ‘EMERGENCY FUND’?
At Ellevest, we typically recommend that you set aside three to six months’ worth of your take-home pay for emergencies. That can feel like a really big number, especially if you’re starting from scratch … but it’s one of the most important things you can do with your money. Because imagine if you needed it and didn’t have it. (Ouch.)
We can almost hear you thinking it: Three to six months is kind of a range. How much do I really need? There are two things that come into play during that decision: how much uncertainty you might have to face and your personal comfort level.
The shakier your financial ground is, the more you need to have.
FOR EXAMPLE
if you freelance full-time as a single mom and own a fixer-upper, you’re probably going to want closer to six months’ (or more) of your salary saved up. (Also, you are a superhero and we bow down to your amazingness.) Or if you’ve been in a steady, salaried job for a while, share finances with someone (like a spouse), and have no dependents and no mortgage, three months is probably good for you. (Heck yeah. You’re killing it.)
But maybe you’re in a stable, salaried job and share finances with someone in a stable, salaried job — and yet, three months doesn’t feel like enough security for you. In that case, save more. These are just guidelines, so do what feels best for you. (Just don’t keep all your money in cash. That can really cost you — here’s why.)
Once you’ve decided on how much you need to have there are three things that can help you get there.
- Pay down high-interest-rate debt — anything more than 5% — before you get started. Waiting to pay that debt off can really cost you.
- Find a high-level budgeting guideline that’s flexible enough to work for your life. Like the 50/30/20 rule.
- Work your way up, and set mini-goals along the way. Maybe your first goal is $1,000, and then one month’s expenses, and then two, and then three.
WHERE SHOULD YOU KEEP YOUR EMERGENCY FUND?
Keep your emergency fund in cash in a bank account. Make sure that’s FDIC insured.
Ellevest’s Emergency Fund goal is held in FDIC cash, so that might be a good place. High-yield savings accounts are another option. We don’t recommend putting your emergency fund in a certificate of deposit (CD) or any other type of account that doesn’t let you make withdrawals whenever you want. Don’t risk it.
WHEN SHOULD YOU USE YOUR EMERGENCY FUND?
Definitely an emergency: Anything unexpected that you absolutely must pay for. Your water heater breaks. You have to travel to see a sick loved one.
Definitely not an emergency: Things you want but don’t really need, or things that you could save up for. Think last-minute vacation plans or your annual insurance premiums.
But there’s also a gray area, and that’s different for everyone — here’s Ellevest’s best advice to help you decide what is and isn’t an emergency for you.
Saving up three to six months’ take-home pay, in cash, for emergencies only, is one of the earliest steps you can make if you want to take control of your financial future. (Wondering about the others? We’ve got you. Here are smart money moves to make at every age.)
Are you ready to start investing in your future you? Ellevest can help!
*I’m excited to work with Ellevest to start conversations about women and money. If you become a client, I will be compensated.
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This is such an important post, we all need an emergency fund but I think at times it can be really hard to top it back up or work out how to get it going in the first place.
Sarah Bailey recently posted…The Classic Pave Diamond Round Range from Sacet: Review
These are all great tips! I do have emergency savings but I remember when we first started our family and money was tight and there wasn’t a lot in savings.
Alli Smith recently posted…38 Best Holiday Themed Appetizers
It is always a good idea to keep an emergency fund for those days when it will come in handy. I think having those six months of savings is a great ides for everyone.
Wow, this is a great tool for planning for emergencies. Not something we like to think about, but life is full of curveballs.
Such great info, Rena! Husby has always been a stickler for having savings. I have been so grateful on so many occasions!
I love these ideas. We always have an emergency fund just in case. You just never know. I try to have at least three months’ salary in there.
Amber Myers recently posted…Having Fun At Spirit Halloween
this is such great ideas and def something i need to start doing more of because you just never know! thanks for sharing!
Great ideas, Rena. When I was in my 20’s, I was always so broke because my parents had disowned me, and I had terrible credit so couldn’t get a credit card for 7 years after school! Bad credit is a terrible thing….anyway, once I got my credit back, I started out saving money very slowly but surely and was obsessed with becoming independent. It’s so important for women, in particular, to know how to support themselves and manage their finances. I love that you’re sharing this with others so that they can learn how to be independent.
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I really enjoyed reading this post. This is really helpful information to know and keep on hand.
Having an emergency fund is so important in case of emergency. This is a great and informative post.
This is really a great blog! Everyone of us should really think of having Emergency fund for the future. Thank you for sharing these tips.
I learned of a young couple who had lived together for a couple of years and was getting married. They didn’t need housekeeping things, so they asked their guests to help them with an emergency fund. They ended up with 3 months of their salary in a savings account. Great idea, I thought!
These are very helpful tips. Emergency funds is a very important topic and should be seriously considered.
Making sure you’re ready for the rainy days is really important. I think these tips are worth taking note of especially if you just started being independent. It’s good to have a plan for financial emergencies!
I am so happy that I have read this. I sometimes gets a little reckless when it comes to financing. This makes a lot of difference.
Having a contingency or emergency fund to fall back on is indeed a necessity nowadays, especially with burgeoning costs. Saving something for that rainy day is definitely something we need to really follow. The most important thing, of course, is to ensure that the fund is touched only in the case of real emergencies.
Emergency funds are so important! Sometimes bad things happen and then??????
This is such a great post. I always like to think these situations won’t happen because they are too scary. But I do need to have an emergency fund set up.