My personal policy is that everyone should have an emergency fund. So, everyone should have money put by for emergencies. This means that if you need to have a bigger purchase you will always have enough money to replace a broken freezer or a shattered car windshield etc. You should never face the need to sell your investments then the timing is not opportune, or to take out a loan for this. And you never know when unexpected things happen- for example, this month I had to bury a relative- funeral can be costly and anyone with relatives might experience such unexpected cost.
The size of the emergency fund is a complicated question. Usually, an emergency fund is meant to be your safety cushion for unexpected expenses but also if you need to change jobs or perhaps are let go. So different people advise having enough money to cover living costs for 1-6 months, sometimes even a year. Usually, 3 months is an average what is suggested. When thinking about it- it is also important to think realistically how likely you are to be made redundant, and also how likely you are to find quickly next employment. So as a state employee I feel quite safe and try to keep at least 3 months living expenses as a backup, maybe a bit more.
How much to save for x amount of time? If I have an emergency fund for 3 months this does not equal 3 months income. Don't think of your current living standards. If you are good at budgeting and have been keeping a budget for several months then it should be easy to calculate all necessary costs. Keep minimalistic living costs, cut out investing, eating out and other expensive habits. Realise that emergency means emergency- you are not meant necessarily to live at your current comfort level. I do not budget- so the first benchmark is to calculate my current income and remove all investments. I earn about 1100 after taxes and invest about 300 a month. So general (and a generous) rule of thumb should be 800€ a month for me. Really the amount would be lower as some extra spending comes from working (during long working days I mostly eat out for lunch and also often buy prepared dinners). So I could live on 700€ a month reasonably, 400 of which is rent and utilities, leaving about 10€ a day for the rest. In summer then utilities are lower as there is no heating 620-650 could be the sum I need.
My emergency fund has been between 3000-5000€ so based on my calculations this covers 4 to 7 months living expenses.
How to save up for an emergency fund? This can be complicated based on how much you are used to spending and saving. The general rule is that saving up 3 to 6-month fund takes commonly 6-12 months. So do not think it comes fast and therefore do not give up in first 2 or 3 months. Make sure all unexpected money goes to the emergency fund. Take extra side hustles and find extra work- write articles, tutor school children, babysit etc. It is important to increase your income to save this money. Also of course limit spending. Perhaps one month stop eating out and next month decide to spend nothing on entertainment and look for free options. Changing what you save on makes this saving easier, and also makes you think more about your spending habits as well. Do remind yourself that you are living frugally to save up money for peace of mind. You do not need to worry about thing breaking, roof leaking or realizing you need to fight with bad mold in your bathroom etc.
Also paying yourself first is great advice. Add automatic transfers just after your payday and then you don't really see the money you save. It is much easier to, for example, pay 100€ at the beginning of the month to the emergency fund account than to try to make sure you have 100€ "left over" in the end of the month. Also if possible clearly mark the account as an emergency fund- this also helps to limit another spending from it.
If you are bad at saving adding real goals and rewards for reaching goals can be helpful. For example, if you have really limited your spending perhaps reaching 50% of the goal is the time you by a nice concert ticket for your self. Such goals help to motivate saving money.
What if you have loans such as student, credit card etc high-interest loans? Should you pay up loans or save an emergency fund? I say do both! The worst situation is if you but all money into paying up loans and then something unexpected happens and you are forced to take out a new high-interest loan. Try to pay as much into the emergency fund as you pay for your loans. And when emergency fund is filled to the desired amount then make all efforts to pay up high-interest loans. If you have high-interest loans then make all efforts to find extra income to pay these up.
And finally where to keep the emergency fund? It needs to be sperate from your everyday banking but needs to be quickly accessible. Perfect is to have it in a separate bank account and if possible even in a separate bank (so you are not constantly seeing it and having the temptation to use it). Do not invest it or put it in timed savings accounts. You might need it today or tomorrow. Having quick access to it is the perk you get from earning no (or close to 0) interest on this money.
Do you have an emergency fund? How many months could you live off of it?
How to save up for an emergency fund? This can be complicated based on how much you are used to spending and saving. The general rule is that saving up 3 to 6-month fund takes commonly 6-12 months. So do not think it comes fast and therefore do not give up in first 2 or 3 months. Make sure all unexpected money goes to the emergency fund. Take extra side hustles and find extra work- write articles, tutor school children, babysit etc. It is important to increase your income to save this money. Also of course limit spending. Perhaps one month stop eating out and next month decide to spend nothing on entertainment and look for free options. Changing what you save on makes this saving easier, and also makes you think more about your spending habits as well. Do remind yourself that you are living frugally to save up money for peace of mind. You do not need to worry about thing breaking, roof leaking or realizing you need to fight with bad mold in your bathroom etc.
Also paying yourself first is great advice. Add automatic transfers just after your payday and then you don't really see the money you save. It is much easier to, for example, pay 100€ at the beginning of the month to the emergency fund account than to try to make sure you have 100€ "left over" in the end of the month. Also if possible clearly mark the account as an emergency fund- this also helps to limit another spending from it.
If you are bad at saving adding real goals and rewards for reaching goals can be helpful. For example, if you have really limited your spending perhaps reaching 50% of the goal is the time you by a nice concert ticket for your self. Such goals help to motivate saving money.
What if you have loans such as student, credit card etc high-interest loans? Should you pay up loans or save an emergency fund? I say do both! The worst situation is if you but all money into paying up loans and then something unexpected happens and you are forced to take out a new high-interest loan. Try to pay as much into the emergency fund as you pay for your loans. And when emergency fund is filled to the desired amount then make all efforts to pay up high-interest loans. If you have high-interest loans then make all efforts to find extra income to pay these up.
And finally where to keep the emergency fund? It needs to be sperate from your everyday banking but needs to be quickly accessible. Perfect is to have it in a separate bank account and if possible even in a separate bank (so you are not constantly seeing it and having the temptation to use it). Do not invest it or put it in timed savings accounts. You might need it today or tomorrow. Having quick access to it is the perk you get from earning no (or close to 0) interest on this money.
Do you have an emergency fund? How many months could you live off of it?
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