Build an Emergency Fund

Okay, so the tax refund thing didn’t really end up going into an emergency fund as much as it went towards a deposit for my NEW APARTMENT, but I have officially, as of yesterday, placed $515 into my emergency fund! I have also joined Dave Ramsey’s 14-week Financial Peace University to get some extra motivation! Woohoo! I’m on my way!

I’ve got my drum set up for sale…. sniff :(

DONE! I saved up an emergency fund of about 6 months of expenses. It took a while, but it’s worth it. I feel happy and a lot more secure about things. Of course, I’m going to continue saving. The more you do it, the easier it gets :)

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.

So with my tax refund, I’m able to put some money towards my emergency fund this weekend, and will be able to finish it off by next month! Woohoo!

So I started with 1k, and decided to build on that until I had 6 months of living under the mattresses. I was up to $2kish, when I had to have surgery. I figured it might cost something since insurance never really covers it all, but as soon as they took me off of the anesthesia, they hit me with a $600 “deposit.” Then my cat needed emergency surgery the very next day—$1600 worth. He’s ok, I’m ok, but my emergency fund has about $20 bucks in it. At least it was there when I needed it.

81.06% there! Very slow…

I want to put at least $1000 in a savings account to start, then work up to $7,000. My professor said that you should have enough money to live off of for six months.

Although more difficult than you would think to do, it’s important, provides security, and is the first step in becoming debt-free.