December 17, 2012 by

I Love My Emergency Fund & $100 Giveaway

As much as I love to lament my current financial situation, and as much as I like to bemoan my station in life as a lowly 20-something in tons of debt, I know that I’m incredibly lucky. I have a university degree, a stable job in my field of choice, and thanks to my careful financial habits, I’m probably never going to be in truly dire financial straits. I’ve always had family members that, if I needed them to, could help me out in times of crisis. I’ve never been so completely broke that I had to actually worry about keeping a roof over my head, and for that I’m very thankful.

Throughout University I used to rely on family members for this piece of mind, these days I rely on my emergency fund.

My Emergency Fund has Value

My emergency fund isn’t much. It doesn’t have 6 months living expenses in it, it’s not a magnificent five figure beast of security. In fact, at the moment, it has just under two grand in it. That’s a relatively small amount, especially considering what most experts would suggest is ideal.

But it’s there. If I get a $600 car repair bill, it’s there. If I get sick and need to take time off work but I’m out of sick days, it’s there. If something happened to Molly and she needed to go to the vet, my emergency fund would be there to make sure she gets the treatment she needs.

Eventually, once I’m out of debt, I’d love to grow my emergency fund to cover six months of evasive action living expenses. Right now though, I have better uses for my hard earned cash than to have it languish in a low interest savings account. That said, I’ll always keep an emergency fund, because it’s what stands between me and not having enough cash at the end of the month.

So far in my short life, I’ve never been in a situation where I truly didn’t have enough money to make ends meet. Sure I’ve had some lean times, but I’ve always managed to scrape through without having to be concerned about getting enough to eat, or keeping the lights on. I love my emergency fund because it ensures that I won’t have to worry about those things any time soon.

$100 Giveaway

As I mentioned in the title, this post is part of a give away series. Entry for your chance to win $100 is simple, just fill out the requested parts in the Rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
This giveaway was coordinated by savingadvice.com. If you’d like more information on participating in future giveaways, click here.

Do you have an emergency fund? Has it ever saved you from lean times? How big is it? I want to know!

  • http://twitter.com/Lbeemoneytree Lauren Bee

    Great Giveaway and love the premise of using it for an emergency fund.

  • John S @ Frugal Rules

    I love that you brought in the E-Fund aspect! We’ve got three months currently and wanting to build towards six. We also have six months worth of mortgage payments saved additionally.

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      Six months of mortgage payments is a great idea, that must help you sleep at night!

  • Jason @ WorkSaveLive

    It’s very easy to overlook the emergency fund and undervalue it. There was a span of about 3 years where we didn’t have to touch our emergency fund, but as of late we’ve needed it on multiple occasions.

    I’m really thankful it’s there and I can’t wait until we’re able to add more to it!

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      Wow three years that’s great! I use it as a catch all for an unexpected expense because my budget is so tight, as such I tend to access it frequently, but I’m also constantly replenishing it so it evens out.

  • http://budgetandthebeach.com/ Budget & the Beach

    I turn to my e fund if I don’t have any money to pay for my big first of the month expenses like rent and health insurance. But the first thing I do when I get paid from clients is put it back. Hopefully that cycle will end though. It’s still not good.

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      Hopefully you’ll be able to get ahead to the point where you don’t have to touch the e-fund at the beginning of the month. I’m sure you’ll get there!

  • Dayle

    I currently have about 3 months expenses in mine … that would cover everything, all bills + food and gas… I like having it there, beside my $0 balance line of credit, and knowing that if something comes up, I can use my own money, and won’t have to borrow and pay interest.

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      I also have a $0 balance line of credit to fall back on if life happens in a seriously big way, but the small emergency fund is there so I don’t have to touch that!

  • http://twitter.com/Liquid_Independ Liquid_Independence

    I don’t have an emergency fund, but maybe I should. It’s sometimes hard to save though when there are other obligations that are more pressing to take care of. Lol, sounds like I’m making excuses now ^_^;

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      You should have one! They’re great!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=23316644 Renee Solomon

    Great Giveaway! I have an emergency fund. I always have at least $1200 in my checking account and although my e-fund is small…I like to have at least $2,500 in it. It gives me a good cushion, and I am lucky enough to know that I have family that would help me in a pinch if I needed it.

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      If you’ve got family that can help out, that, to me, justifies a smaller emergency fund, especially if you’re getting out of debt first.

  • Pingback: Rafflecopter Cash Giveaway Project - Saving Advice Articles

  • http://twitter.com/SavvyScot The Savvy Scot

    $2K is a lot more than most people have… after all, most people unfortunately live pay check to pay check! Nice post :)

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      Thanks! I know, it’s hard to remember that when I’m surrounded by such responsible PFers.

  • http://twitter.com/RFIndependence Pauline

    I don’t have much of an emergency fund but have some investments I could sell shortly, even if I had to lose money. I am taking the risk to make more, but can’t sleep as soundly as you do!

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      I think I’d feel good if I had some investments to fall back on, but I haven’t started investing yet, so my emergency fund represents all of my cash reserves.

  • holly

    We have about 8 months of living expenses in our emergency fund but it wasn’t always that way. It was much smaller when we were working to get out of debt.

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      Eight months sounds like a great amount.

  • http://www.thehappyhomeowner.net/ The Happy Homeowner

    I didn’t always have an EF, but I definitely do now! It has about a year of living expenses in it now (for bare bones budget) and my goal is to get it up to where I could live an entire year with exactly the same budget. Then it’s on to saving for other long-term expenses…there’s always something, eh? :)

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      Oh yes, there will always be something.

  • http://www.moneyaftergraduation.com/ Gillian Money After Graduation

    I just filled by EF in November, it’s at about 3,000 which is slightly less than 3 months expenses. I, like you, feel “broke” but still lucky that I am not actually broke; I can always afford to live in my house, buy food, etc. The debt just feels heavy. Once I pay it off I plan on putting probably 5,000 total into my EF and have other savings as well.

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      I plan on boosting my EF once my debt is paid off as well, but not before.

  • http://twitter.com/PlungedinDebt Plunged in Debt

    Jordann you’re doing great! I don’t have an e-fund anymore- we blew through it when I was put off work 6 weeks earlier than we were expecting and slow to build it back since losing my income but we’ll get back there!

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      Good thing you had one or you would’ve been in a tough spot with that early maternity leave!

  • http://twitter.com/CanadianBudgetB CanadianBudgetBinder

    Sounds to me like you have a great head on your shoulders and you know where you want to be and go in this life. The emergency fund for us is very important and like to keep at least 12 months in it. We will be building ours back up in 2013. Mr.CBB

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      12 months would be a wonderful goal, however I don’t think I could get there before my attention was shifted to trying to get a house down payment together.

  • http://www.mydebtmarathon.com/ Rachel @ My Debt Marathon

    I often don’t have enough money – usually the utility bills are put off – sometimes we pay them at the start of the month, or we wait and pay two months. Not good. Nice job on your e-fund!

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      That sucks! But hopefully since you recognize it’s a problem, you’ll be able to fix it soon.

  • http://www.facebook.com/amy.peschel.1 Amy Peschel

    We have enough savings so that won’t happen.

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      Good for you!

  • http://twitter.com/GrlRedBalloon Katie Collins

    I have an emergency fund! :) Most recently, it saved me when I busted my tire on the company’s parking lot gate. (Yes, I’m that talented.) But it also provided me with peace of mind after my AVM diagnosis when I realized that I would be able to pay my medical bills without going into debt. Emergency funds = awesome sauce.

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      Couldn’t agree more! That’s awesome that you only have to worry about your health – not the financial implications of it.

  • http://twitter.com/GrlRedBalloon Katie Collins

    If I didn’t have enough money at the end of the month and I NEEDED it legitimately, I would use my emergency fund to cover the gap. But mostly, I go into hardcore frugal mode, eating PB crackers from our office’s lunch room for lunch, not going out, only grocery shopping for cheap items to get by to the next payday, etc. My current system is to use my first paycheck of the month for bills and put my last paycheck directly into savings, so I never have an issue with not having enough for bills. I’ve just ran into not having enough for groceries. Oops!

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      That’s a good system! My system is that every paycheque I pay 1/4 towards all bills, so the only way I’d run out was if I got fired or something. (I get paid weekly).

  • http://www.outliermodel.com/ OutlierModel

    I only have about $1500 in my emergency fund right now too. Brian has a bigger one. One of my resolutions for 2013 will be to grow my emergency fund!

  • Pingback: Stop Waiting! Five personal finance tips for RIGHT NOW.

  • Pingback: Finished Giveaways - Saving Advice Articles