Create an emergency fund

Last week we opened an ISA with my fiance, first step towards a little bit of saving. I’m happy and relieved! Probably in the long term (and once we accumulate a bigger sum) we might switch to a higher interest account. But first things first :)

Started a special account today just for my emergency fund. Signed up for the automatic transfer to make sure I will actually build it. Feels good.

I just need to set aside $1,000 for the inevitable rainy day… and keep the fund loaded when smaller emergencies drain it.

Well my emergency fund isn’t doing so hot. Actually, it’s non-existent at the moment. December and January are notoriously our worst months of the year financially. The good news is that we’re starting over today. Twenty to savings every week. Maybe I can do better with it this time around… Wish me luck : )

So my poor, fledgling emergency fund has already been tapped into. Grr. Bad budgeting on my part. We’ll start all over on Thursday.

This is really tough to do when you are trying to pay off your debt at the same time! I’m starting small though. Twenty dollars a week to my savings account. No matter what. Today, there is $40 in the account. LOL! I know, it seems pathetic but there will be times when I can add extra. For now, I give myself permission to wait until after the holidays to worry about “extra”. Ah well, now I’m off the hook till next week :)

Well, for the past two paychecks I’ve deposited $100 each time into my savings account. I’ve got it set up to do it automatically, so I don’t even have to bother with it myself and , for now, I’m pretending like that savings account doesn’t even exist.

I need to set up an emergency fund. The thought of not being prepared in case of a minor emergency is scary. What if I needed to get the car repaired or something? What if the air conditioner went out at home? Without having some kind of back-up money supply, I’d have to borrow money, and I do not want to do that… it’s counter-productive to getting out of debt.
So, the first thing I’m going to do with this next paycheck is put money into my emergency fund. I want to save up at least $1,000 within three months. Since I only get paid twice per month, I’m going to take $200 out of each check and put into a savings account. Or, I may just withdraw the money and keep it in cash in a secret place in the house. Either way, I’ve got to stay on top of this. I hope I can pull it off and not come up with some excuse not to save the money.