One of the best things you can do for your personal economy is to start an emergency fund.

Your emergency fund can help protect you against financial setbacks, since it provides you with a little extra cushion to draw on. Rather than turning to debt, you can use money in your emergency fund to cover unexpected costs.

Experts recommend that you save at least six months’ worth of expenses in an emergency fund. So, if you spend $3,000 a month, you need to have $18,000 in an emergency fund.

Notice here that I’m talking about expenses and not income here. What you need to save in an emergency fund is money to cover what you normally spend in expenses each month, not how much you make.

Anyway, that’s a daunting task.

How can you get started when you have that huge amount of money hanging over your head?

Here’s How to Start an Emergency Fund





Break It Down

Realize that you don’t have to have that $18,000 in your account next week — or even next year. Look at your final emergency fund number as a goal you are working toward.

Big numbers and big decisions tend to paralyze us, making it difficult to start a course of action. Instead of always looking at your end result, focus on the small things you can do right now to start your emergency fund.

Look at your current spending plan/budget.

Figure out how much room you have to set aside money for a rainy day. This might mean you cut back and plug some money leaks. You might also look for ways to earn a little extra money. In any case, look for a manageable amount to put toward your emergency fund.

In some cases, breaking it down to something that sounds manageable is a good place to start. Don’t fret that you don’t have the money to set aside $500 a month. Instead, focus on the fact that you can find $20 a week to put toward your emergency fund goal. It may not seem like much, but the most important thing right now is to just get started.

Make Saving for an Emergency Fund Automatic

Once you know how much you can put into an emergency fund each week or each month, make it automatic. If you don’t have to think about it, it’s much more likely to be something that you do on a regular basis.

If you have a budget or spending plan, add your regular emergency fund contribution to the list. Codify it in your budget so that it is one of those non-negotiable expenses.

You need to change your attitude so that your emergency fund efforts are considered a vital part of your personal economy.

You can even take it one step further.

My emergency fund contribution comes out of my bank account on the same day each month. It’s automatically set up as an expense, and it’s clockwork. I don’t have to remember to make the contribution; it just happens.

Another good arrangement, if it’s available to you, is to have a portion of your paycheck automatically deposited into your emergency fund. Talk with your company’s human resources department to find out what you need to do in order to make it happen. If you don’t have the money in your paycheck, you’ll be less likely to spend it.

If you automate, make sure that the other adjustments to your finances are made; you don’t want to overdraw your account.

Where to Put Your Emergency Savings

We talked about how you should break down your goals into easy amounts and how you should automate those contributions. But where should you put these new emergency savings?

My preference is an online savings account.

I’ve had money saving up in an online savings account for years. What I like is the account tends to be out of sight for me so I’m not tempted to use the money. Sure I can access it if I wanted to but since it’s not my main account I don’t see the money all the time so it’s somewhat ‘forgotten’ and left to grow.

The main things to consider though is to put the money somewhere that is safe (you’ll have it when you want it) and where you won’t spend it. Having the money in your checking may sound logical but I find it’s too easy to spend the money if it’s mixed with your other funds.

Remember you need to have this money there for you when you need it — in an emergency.

A note about credit cards: You might wonder if your credit cards could be used as emergency savings. I say no and yes. No because too many people are already in credit card debt. If you carry a credit card balance then adding an emergency charge will not help your situation in the long run. You can do some big damage to your finances and your credit score. You’ll probably end up paying interest on the charges and you’re credit score will be hurt since you’re using more of your available credit.

On the other hand, if you have an emergency fund put away and you pay your credit card balances in full every month then using your credit card in an emergency is just a short-term bridge loan with no interest. You can use the card then pay it off in full with your emergency savings.

Boost Your Contributions

Starting your emergency fund is about doing something — anything — to get the ball rolling. Once you have started, though, you can check the situation to see if there’s something more you can do down the road.

As you get used to your smaller emergency fund contributions, you can look for ways to find even more money to contribute. If you currently put $80 a month in your emergency fund, look in your budget, consider a side hustle, and see if you can find another $20 a month to add to your monthly emergency fund contribution, bringing your total to $100.

As soon as you are used to that new level, change it up again.

It becomes a challenge to boost your contributions until your emergency fund is fully funded. If you turn it into a challenge or a game, you’ll increase your contributions faster, and reach your ultimate emergency fund goal that much sooner.

Re-evaluate Your Emergency Fund Needs

Make sure to take some time to every once in a while to look over what your emergency needs are. If your expenses or your income change then your emergency savings needs will change too.

For example, if you go from renting to buying a house then you want to make sure you have your new mortgage covered as well as the rest of your new expenses. Owning a house adds all sorts of things that can potentially break down where you’d need an emergency fund.

Consider also what your actual needs are. Should something happen, like losing your job, you will probably cut back on some of your expenses until you find employment again. You may not need as much as your current expenses are to get by. Remember, your emergency fund should be covering your expenses not your income.

Also consider the current economy and job market. The longer it would take for you to find a new job then the more you will need in emergency savings.

This may be difficult to judge. If you hear the economy or your job sector are doing poorly then you know you need to increase your savings. Be honest with yourself here. It’s too easy to assume you will be able to find a job easily.

Final Word on Starting an Emergency Fund

Once you start your emergency fund you’ll see it’s not that hard to keep it growing. The biggest part is to get moving and put that money away. You’ll thank yourself when that next emergency comes and you have the money socked away to cover it.

What are your best tips for starting an emergency fund?

Oh, if you’re looking for some places to track your finances so you can find space to start saving for an emergency fund take a look here:

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