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Emergency Funds

9 Responses to “Emergency Funds”

1. momcents Says:
   July 24th, 2008 at 05:42 pm
   
   I think it all depends on your personal situation. As for me, I have $10K in a money market account: $1K for emergencies like DR suggests, and $9k which is three months bare bones budget for my family (mortgage/food/basic utilities that's it). After going through unemployment last year and having to pay $1,086 COBRA for my family's insurance - that is what worries me the most. Not having enough money to pay for that.

2. cargirl86 Says:
   July 24th, 2008 at 05:49 pm
   I think you should definitely have more than one month. Not that I have an emergency fund at the moment ...

3. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
   July 24th, 2008 at 07:59 pm
   Why did your friend say one month?

4. merch Says:
   July 25th, 2008 at 05:58 am
   They say 3-6 months but it depends on some factors. How satble is your job, is you healthy good, are ther any changes in your life coming up, is it hard to find a job in your field or area?
   
   

5. koppur Says:
   July 25th, 2008 at 06:36 am
   I think it depends on your cost of living, how much debt you havem how many "extras" you pay for each month, your job situation, etc.

6. Ima saver Says:
   July 25th, 2008 at 11:32 am
   I think 6 months but my dh is self employed, so we have a year or more in our EF!

7. frugaltexan75 Says:
   July 25th, 2008 at 08:40 pm
   I currently have 6 months expenses in an emergency fund, plus I keep one months income readily accessible. (I use the money I made in July to pay for August expenses.) So, you could say I have 6 months expenses, plus 1 months income. If I had any pets or anyone dependant on me, I would probably not feel comfortable with only this amount - but would want more like 9 months INCOME put in an untouchable EF.
   
   To only have one months expenses put away -- well, it's a good start, but hardly what I would call a very good safety net.

8. Aleta Says:
   July 26th, 2008 at 11:34 am
   Emergency funds are different for everyone. My husband is also self-employed which means he pays fully for his health insurance even though it's deductible on his taxes. We also don't have paid vacation time, sick days, disability paid from employers, no match for our IRA, and a host of other benefits that goes along with working for a company. Our emergency fund has to be larger than most because of the expenses that come up.
   
   If you are a single person, widow, single-mother with small children, or a disability will decide what kind of emergency fund you would have.
   
   You don't have to have the same amount as your pay check. If there was an emergency, you would have to have certain bills paid. (Mortgage, utilities, food, insurance, gasoline for your car, and any loan payments. I wouldn't worry about clothing, savings, entertainment, birthdays, holidays, vacations, etc,, if I had an emergency. You could even lower your food bill, utilities by spending and using less.
   
   Just look at what would really be necessary if push came to shove.

9. Aleta Says:
   July 26th, 2008 at 11:37 am
   I also wanted to add that by budgeting in home maintenance, car maintenance, medical, and other big items that that will also help out. We have these categories budgeted outside of the emergency fund.

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