Quickly build and Emergence Fund is critical for financial security and, more importantly, peace of mind. Many Americans admit to being kept up at night, losing focus at work, and even struggling with anxiety because of financial stressors at home. If you’re one of them, I hope I can help you find peace in building your emergency fund – even if you don’t have loads of extra money just sitting around.
My husband and I struggled with the same issues, which is why we began to build our own Emergence Fund dedicated specifically to emergencies (no matter how big or small). We started very small by contributing whatever spare change we found in our pockets, our couch cushions, and even from the change we received for returns. Over time that small amount grew into a meaningful Emergence Fund balance.
In this blog post I’ll show you how to build your own emergency savings by contributing spare change – it doesn’t matter if you make thousands or just a few dollars per month. If you can spare $20, then that’s all the more reason to get started today!
Here are 3 Steps to Build Your Emergency Fund FAST
In the financial world, everyone talks about getting out of debt, buying a house, and building an emergency fund. Whether your emergency fund is a “baby” fund at $1,000 (the bare minimum), or looks more like $10,000, evaluating where you’re at and setting goals will help you achieve them much faster.
1)Evaluate where you’re at.
When you know where your starting line is, it becomes easier to move forward. What’s the baseline? Where are we at right now and what do I need in order for me be satisfied or successful with this next step of mine (and how can others help)? Start by evaluating yourself honestly – if there’s anything that needs fixing don’t beat yourself up over spending money on fast food when really should’ve been grocery shopping but just fix whatever issue comes along first before moving onto something else.
This is a good time to check your bank account, Paypal and other payment services. This includes prepaid debit cards as well as any accounts you may use for storing money such that it can be spent later on without having access at all times like with credit cards or cash-counting machines in stores where they take larger denominations ($5-$20).
Do you have more money in the bank than what’s going out? That sounds good to me. Now, let’s talk about why this is important and how to fix those leaks so we can both get our lives back on track!
I’m sure by now that if there are any positive changes happening with your spending habits then they’ll likely show up on one side or another: either tighter budgets because costs went down for something like groceries (and therefore less left over), extra cash coming into tine which means new clothes at outlet prices…or maybe even bigger bills after getting paid twice next week ?
Do you have more money than bills? If so, congratulations! But just because the numbers are in your favor now doesn’t mean they always will be. The best way to make sure this continues on an upward trajectory for as long as possible is by starting with some basic knowledge of what’s causing leaks and how we can fix them together- let me show you where I’m coming from first though…
I know that feeling all too well–being rich enough (or even comfortably middle class) but still not having enough income left over after paying off monthly expenses every month; spending down savings accounts quicker than wages grow due largely thanks to mishaps like hefty loans at predatory interest rates
I much prefer to print out my bank statements and go through each line item by line to see where my money is going. You may print one, three, six, or even twelve months’ worth of data at a time. It all depends on how thorough you want this financial audit to be.
Step 2) Fix those financial leaks.
I go through my bank statements after they’ve been printed and highlight necessary and unneeded expenses in different colors. This is a simple method to get a quick overview of what’s going on. I refer to unnecessary expenditures as “leaks.” If you want your boat to be in excellent working order, you must plug all the leaks!
How often did you purchase fast food? How expensive was your last date night? How many last-minute grocery trips did you take because you didn’t have a meal plan? How many times did you buy a soda or snacks from the gas station? How many coffee runs did you make?
Everyone has their own budget leaks, so take some time to sit down and figure out what yours are. While going through your bank statements, the leaks will usually become clear pretty quickly! Many of us have expenses each week, or even every few days, that we don’t consciously take into account when evaluating our financial situation. These are the most dangerous leaks, because we don’t even realize we have them!
Leaks can’t be ignored, no matter how much money you make or how little the leaks appear to be at first. If you tally up all of your “little” leaks throughout a 6-month period and then compare it to the total amount of water evaporating over 12 months, your boat will sink far more rapidly than you may have believed
You don’t have to go from 100 to 0 in one day. What I’m saying is that if you’re accustomed to a daily coffee run, you don’t have to stop cold turkey. Make your own coffee and see how close you can get it to what you’re used to. Then, reduce your intake gradually.
You may realize that the coffee you make at home is better than the coffee you buy at a café. I know when I stopped making frequent coffee runs, I appreciated being able to create it at home and pick my favorite syrup brands. Plus, plant milk costs an extra $.60 per gallon when purchased through Starbucks. At home, I can drink
Then we’ll talk about how to add income to your budget. Even if you earn a large salary, you’ll need to address the leaks in order to discover additional money for an emergency fund.
Step 3)Make more money.
The concept of building an emergency fund is simple: put more money in, spend less. If your earnings aren’t enough to pay your bills with a little left over to put into your emergency fund, you’ll need to make some adjustments. The good news is that these adjustments are painless. The bad news is that you won’t be able to spend as much money.
There are hundreds of ways to make extra money for your emergency fund, and you can start with anything from blogging as a semi-passive long term income stream or by delivering food after work via UberEats.
There may be more than one option available that will fit in well with life goals while not taking up too much time away from other activities like working on projects at home!
Even if you can reduce costs, you’ll almost certainly need additional money. YouTube is a treasure trove of information, with full videos (all of which are free!) about how ordinary people like you and me made their fortunes through side hustles. While becoming a millionaire isn’t everyone’s ambition, side hustles may easily help you generate an extra thousand dollars a month.
Working on your own projects can also help you make money quickly, even if it’s only by bringing in the equivalent of an extra couple hundred dollars each month.
The next steps…
No matter how intense you are with fixing your financial leaks or making more money on a side hustle, life happens and things get in the way. But don’t worry! The journey is yours so take steps to fix what needs fixing when they arise while continuing down this path toward success- whatever that means for each person as an individualistically unique being
The only thing standing between us all achieving happiness within our own lives at any given moment should be fear itself; which can easily sneak up from behind like some sort of dark monster whose time has come around again after its last defeat by someone who was finally able break free long enough stand tall against it once more.
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