Build an Emergency Fund

I was looking at my bank account and realised that I am getting charged money for using eftpos facilities i.e. my debit card. sigh That’s 50 cents per transaction, and a $2 fee for using a non-bank-atm. I think my new goal will be to withdraw cash from my-bank-atm and use cash to pay for things where possible. I’ll also withdraw $20 to start off the emergency fund and bury it in the garden somewhere (it’s got to be a keen thief who’d dig up my whole garden for some cash!! LOL If they did I’d consider it payment for gardening services).

I did read that it’s good to have some cash around if only in case (touch wood) of spouse passing on and having all related bank accounts frozen by law. Eeee…don’t even want to think about that one at all…but must be practical.

I recently paid off the credit card completely, froze the card in the freezer in a block of ice, rid myself of the habit of spending money that I don’t actually have, and also am working on a better budget. The next step is to build an emergency fund. As for amounts, well, they’ll change, so I’ll start small and be more specific with my goals later. I’ll also be setting up savings for a “saving up to spend” fund that we can use to get special things we want. This way, we won’t be tempted to dip into the emergency fund.