Emergency Funds 101: You’re Screwed If You Don’t Have One
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- Опубліковано 26 вер 2024
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This episode, learn everything you need to know about emergency funds-aka the financial cushion between you and life.
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The worst (and best) places to keep your emergency fund: • 5 Worst Places to Keep...
George Kamel is a personal finance expert and co-host of The Ramsey Show. Following Ramsey’s proven money plan, George went from negative net worth to a millionaire in under 10 years. His goal is to help people spend less, save more, and avoid money traps so they can live a life with more margin, options and freedom.
This channel will simplify complex money topics, bust money myths with actual facts, and debunk the stupid financial advice you're seeing in your social media feed. All with a healthy dose of pop culture, humor, and snark.
At the very least, I now grasp the concept of leverage. Creating wealth and financial freedom isn't as tough as many people believe. Building wealth and remaining financially stable indefinitely is a lot easier with the appropriate information. Participating in financial programs and products is the only true approach to make a high income and remain affluent indefinitely.
Starting early is simply the best way of getting ahead to build wealth , investing remains a priority . I learnt from my last year's experience , I am able to build a suitable life because I invested early ahead this time .
It's often true that people underestimate the importance of financial advisors until they feel the negative effects of emotional decision-making. I remember a few summers ago, after a tough divorce, when I needed a boost for my struggling business. I researched and found a licensed advisor who diligently helped grow my reserves despite inflation. Consequently, my reserves increased from $275k to around $750k.
Thank you for the guidance. It was straightforward to locate your contact. She appears highly skilled and adaptable. I have scheduled a call session with her.
this is definitely considerable! think you could suggest any professional/advisors i can get on the phone with? i'm in dire need of proper portfolio allocation
There are a handful of experts in the field. I've experimented with a few over the past years, but I've stuck with ‘’ Melissa Terri Swayne” for about five years now, and her performance has been consistently impressive. She’s quite known in her field, look-her up.
So grateful for an emergency fund! In the last 4 months I had $5,200 in car repairs, $1,000 water heater replacement, and $4,000 furnace repairs and replacement. I was able to pay all in cash and still have money saved if something else happened. Definitely was emotional going through all that money, but I’m grateful I had it all for these unexpected life events! 😅❤
You absolutely are screwed, especially in this job environment. I gave all of myself to a job for two years. Without any warning, they let me go. Everyone else panicked "what will you do?" I said that I was going to take my time, redo my resume, and wait for a job I really want. I am so very grateful and thankful that I had my fund set aside. I was able to survive these past 4 months without panicking. I am starting my new job next week, and I am happy and grateful. Please, please, please do not count on your job. It could be taken from you with no notice like me.
100% right, same thing here. Now able to live for 1 year straight without working based on my emergency fund. This is the safest thing to do.
Yup. I never touched my savings. It took me about 3 months to find another job after I quit. The 5 grand I had set aside really saved my butt. I was also able to build my emergency fund back up. It's higher than before. 🙃
Dave Ramsey described an emergency fund as 'defence'. And he described investments as 'offence'. I love that analogy.
Well yeah they protect wealth, and fight for wealth
I’m a single firefighter with no dependents, 20 years old and almost done paying off my car then moving to the mortgage!
I’ve saved 25k for an emergency fund. It has helped tremendously. No debt other than a 4% mortgage @ $1400 per month
My last emergency was a car repair & I initially panicked because in the past I never would have had the money saved. This year I made it a purpose to fund a 3month emergency fund & I was so thankful. I had to laugh at myself because of the panic that a minute later turned to relief when I told myself Hold On we have the money for JUST this!!! Wheww I’m on to funding for 6 months now being a single mom
I’ll have my 5 months fully funded by this weekend! My last emergency was some work I needed done on my car and I was able to take care of it all in cash. For the first time in my life!
Hi Briana! Love your videos! 💗💗
My wife and I were driving away 3 hours for our 1 year wedding anniversary weekend. When our car broke down 2 hours from home! And thanks to our emergency fund we were able to get a hotel room in that city(with a debit car!). But we were unable to get a rental car to drive home because we didn’t have a credit card, so we were able to take the train home. We had to ship our broke down car to our house and got it looked at, the transmission had gone out. But thankfully we had $6K in our car sinking fund and $12K in our emergency fund to buy a used car in cash. And it only cost us 1 month of investing and putting extra on the mortgage. Thanks to George and the rest of the team at Ramsey, this video is really important and after going through that, everyone needs an emergency fund.
Have 12 month locked.. Never taken a single dollar from it, since 1995..
You didn’t have an emergency for 28 years?
@@pavelstrelchuk216 Not one that I have to pay for. Not one, that my daily budget-account could not handle ;)
@@pavelstrelchuk216 probably nothing large enough that couldnt have been paid for in their checking via cashflow or non-essential savings if i had to guess. either that or maybe just never had an emergency that didnt have an otherwise quick solution?
He means hes had one since 1991 my guy@@pavelstrelchuk216
*95 my bad
My water heater blew a few days before a party I was hosting. $1900 from my emergency fund and life went on!
My God you got ripped
@@johnmitchell2741 I paid $2000 in Canada
I also recently replaced my water heater and it cost me $1700. I checked online and that was within the range of prices. It was an emergency and I was able to cover it with my emergency fund. The difficult part was that I had 2 other emergencies within the month that costed my another $1500!
Wow that's a little money
This is life ❤ I budget for house repairs in addition to emergencies. I have a seprate allotment for 200 a month for just this.
My job cut the prn 30k worth of needing me, serious illness leading to another 9 k loss. I totaled my car, my microwave blew, my van battery died, and my gas range wiring caught on fire and is useless. Our house sunk and now needs piers. The dog had surgery. Oh and a storm made us replace the roof completely! All in less than 3 months. I worried about things, but i slept comfortably knowing i can pay for each item with margin left in the emergency fund by tens of thousands.
Our dryer went out 3 days ago and that was a great use of the funds for the repairman
as the repairman I see this as an absolute loss. I was hoping you’d pay in.. other ways ;)
Last year was an emergency year for me. Washing machine packed up, husbands car packed up a week before a camping vacation, part of my roof fell in, a window broke and needed replacing, my daughter had a car accident (she was ok but her car was written off) and my father became seriously Ill. I had an emergency fund and made it through with only a small amount going on credit. I am now trying to rebuild my fund fast.
My mum didn't feel well on a Tuesday two years ago. That Sunday I had the phone call to come 220 miles home as she had hours to live. I phoned my friend to lend me the cash to train home as I wasn't getting paid for a week. Luckily they were able to and I got there in time to give her a hug and tell her I loved her. It's an extreme example but life can turn in an instant, please try and build that fund.
I’m sorry you lost your mom. May she rest in peace
Rip to your mom
So sorry and I’m glad you were able to get the cash you needed.
😢❤
Thank you for sharing your experience.
-20 Degree cold run with blizzard conditions when the furnace went out. Limped along on space heaters until they could come to replace. Easiest $3,800 I ever spent, annoying but didn't hurt!
My last emergency was a flat tire. I had a dummy, which I installed (or rather, since I was driving Uber, they paid a tow truck guy to come and install it for me-since my jack broke I couldn’t do it myself). I drove to the only place I could find open on a Sunday, which was a used tire store. I had over $1,000 in my car repair fund (yes, I have a separate fund for that, from which I pay for all car-related repairs or maintenance, including oil changes and new wipers), and I only paid $120 for two slightly used tires (since the other front tire repair as pretty bad too)l, but the back ones were fine). I could have paid for new tires, but Les Schwab wasn’t open, and now I’ve got a relationship with the used tire place. So yeah, it was an inconvenience, but it wasn’t a big deal. I was on the road not long after, driving more Uber riders around.
stay away from these crooks they want your money
My wife went to garage this afternoon and came right back in, the hot water tank was leaking. I will have a guy here tomorrow afternoon to replace it. I'm estimating 12 to 15 hundred, an inconvenience now that would have been an emergency 3 years ago.
Our last emergency was our old furnace finally going out last year. Tried to repair it but they didn’t even make the parts for it anymore 😅 so we had no choice but to get a new one. $6500! We were able to pay for half with savings and the rest unfortunately had to go onto a credit card. Now I think a good emergency fund is at least 5k, stuff is just too expensive anymore to be covered with 1k.
Last emergency was in August the AC in my car went out. Went into storm mode to save cash. Total cost was $784.55 with the mechanic.
Thankfully I had the starter EF of $1,000. The cash that i saved up i simply moved it to replenish the EF. Knock on wood I haven’t had another one.
Hospital kept billing an old insurance company I used. It was for the deliver. $1,200. I had $1,200 in cash back rewards so I used that.
Had 4 months of my emergency fund. Now with my federal tax return, I am at 6.
A $900 car repair will break most people and feel like horrendous luck that brings with it crippling debt when it goes onto credit cards or personal loans.
A $900 car repair when you have an emergency fund is saying "oh, okay 🤷🏻♂️" and you pay for it with cash and slowly rebuild that $900 over the course of, say, 9 weeks. $100 a week. Or, 18 weeks at $50 a week.
That's the difference.
And that the power of investing in yourself 😉
100% agreed 😊
Last emergency was a new car as my last car ( 20+ year old van ) was totaled by some woman in a mercedes who tried to run after. Unfortunately we weren't doing the baby steps yet, so we spent alittle more than we shouldve, but it was still an over 10 year old van so not too bad.
I always have a separate account for car and home maintenance from my emergency funds. I never touch the emergency funds unless the home and car maintenance account is not sufficient to cover the cost. So far so good.
I have my running budget account to cover these expenses... So far so good.. ;)
My last emergency was obtaining full custody of my daughter. Worth every penny spent.
I went to the dentist and they found something on my X-ray and I scheduled a surgical biopsy and that same day, someone drained my checking account because they got a hold of my debit card information and I thought I’d miss 2 days of work, but it got infected and I missed almost 2 weeks of work and ran out of PTO. That 1,000 gave me the peace of mind.
My last emergency was a trip to the dentist. Put off some work I knew I needed until the pain wasn't bearable. 2 root canals and some fillings for $7500 on a credit card.
Lesson learned. That $7k pushed me over the $30k total debt mark and I never want to feel that weight again. 15 months later and I just finished Baby Step 2. Just started Baby Step 3 with todays paycheck!
insurance for dentist and an fsa or hsa fund for medical expenses may help
I have dental insurance and the cost for all that would be half - dental work is expensive
varying on your health, if you’re healthy, sometimes dental bills are more expensive than medical bills
Last month my husband and I spent around 5k in true emergencies, after not having any emergencies for two years prior. An infected tooth that required emergency dental work, plumbing that needed to be replaced, a flat tire on the way home from work, a check engine light that needed to be addressed, unexpected funeral expenses... it was a rough month, but we were able to weather the storm financially because we had a healthy emergency fund set aside. Here's to hoping that trend does not continue over into December!
Goodness sakes, we had a similar, expensive November! Mine was also car issues (10-year-old car with no prior inconveniences), broken tooth, and woke up to burst sprinklers and freezing water spewing. All true emergencies. So thankful I had my emergency fund.
My favorite piece of trivia regarding Murphy's law: the person who originated the law was a Captain in the US Air Force under Colonel Stapp, working on developing seat belts. They tested be seat belt designs using a rocket sled.
He’s so funny! I love watching him! (Btw, I’m 63 and well into baby step 7)
If you consider losing your job to be an "emergency", then i would recommend saving for 1 year of expenses (or maybe a little more).
Personally, my emergency fund is 1 year of net income. So if i lose my job, i will be able to live normally for at least 1 year without working. In fact, i could probably stretch it out to 15-16 months if necessary.
2023 was the year of.... unplanned expenses. I won't quite call them emergencies (though one did involve an ER visit) because I had money saved for each category's potential problems: car needed $1500 of work because parts wore out, $2k needed to replace floor and repairs due to water, $500 ER vet bill because the dog needed staples. I had the money available for each, without the emergency fund, but still hurts the wallet.
Nice one. My original emergency fund was pretty much a 'car replacement fund' so I could pay cash when my beater broke down. Then I built it back up and it became a 'pregnancy fund' for the random and sometimes large expenses of my wife's pregnancy. Saved our butts, both times. I just built it back up, but now more generally as an emergency fund, with a few extra thousands in there to account for the toddler. It has been very important for our financial security and sanity. I don't invest a dollar of my disposable income until I'm happy with my emergency fund (I reinvest the dividends and capital gains though). Online money market accounts that are connected to your main bank for bank-to-bank transfers are a solid option right now in the 'higher for longer' environment, I'll take the 4.8% I'm offered with a smile when it's liquid.
My last emergency was when the wind knocked down a tree and took out my power line.
It was only a $300 fix until the power company found that my electrical system wasn't up to code and they couldn't turn the power back on until I had it fixed.
$4,000 later, I was up to code 👍
The last real financial emergency my family and I had was this past summer when our AC went out and we had to drop 7k in repairs and replacements. It was nice to just be able to pay it off and not have any lingering payments/debt!
yeah, that's where i'm at now. but the 1k didn't cover it so i'm trying to find another 2.5k by next Wednesday... SWEET.
I have two window ac under $400 for both put them in myself , use electric radiators for heat in the winter
Had a similar experience 3 years ago
My last emergency was a radiator hose leak. Used my insurance for a free tow to a repair shop, fixed by 9am the next morning. In the past I would have had it taken to the house and tried to fix it myself in panic mode I couldn't even pay for parts. Thank goodness for emergency fund. OH and the repair bill was only $120 😮
I recently had over $700 worth of repairs done to the car. I did have the money to pay for it. I try to keep an emergency fund with approximately one year of expenses available to me. I bought a brand new Honda fit with cash. Nine years later it needed over $3000 worth of work so I traded it in and paid cash for another Honda fit.
Great video AGAIN. My last emergencies were: a water softener repair, a leak in the pipes outside; and a septic compressor replacement all in 2 days. We just paid it from the FFEF. No worries because the house is paid in full and we have margin. Thank you Dave Ramsey!😊
Almost same exact issues with my house this year, leaking pipe from well pump to water treatment system, replacement of water softener, and replacement of a sump pump.
8:13
Actually, saving for me is more fun than spending.
My well pump quit on my home. $2,034 to replace. Thank goodness for my e-fund!
Your budget account should be able to cover these kind of running maintenance-costs of your home, car and yourself.. ;)
Had to use mine to buy a new-to-me car to get back home because my car gave up the ghost while out of state over Thanksgiving. Cost me 4,300.🤷🏼♂️
Best part was the guy's reaction when I showed up with that much cash.😆
I was saving to take my grandkids to Disneyland for years. But just as the CDs I got became mature... life fell to crap. My husband is now disabled and can't work. Trying to figure out how to get disability. but in the meantime all the Disneyland dreams have gone away. I'm going to sell my house that will hopefully pay off debt and have enough equity to buy a mobile home or something cheaper. Ugh. I guess you could lie to yourself and say you're saving for something fun but it's really your emergency fund!
It feels so good to have an emergency fund. The main thing I can foresee is an expensive car repair some day. I have saved enough for just about any big car repair and it is in an online high-yield savings account. I wish I had learned how to handle money earlier in my life. Too soon old, too late smart as my mother used to say.
Our most recent emergency was me going downstairs to make myself breakfast before work and finding our entire downstairs flooded with hot water from a busted pipe underneath the bathroom sink. My husband began to freak out until I told him to just call our plumber asap, this is what the emergency fund is for! Crisis turned into inconvenience 👍🏽
My last "emergency" was $4000 in repairs to my car. I used the $1500 I was dumping into my saving for saving an emergency fund but had to pull $2500 out still. My emergency fund still isn't full yet but I'm getting close to starting an account to start saving for a house.
@alleriodrone I understand the feeling...we also had to pull a few thousand dollars out of our emergency fund for car repairs very recently. Of course, we keep our cars for a very long time, so it wasn't really unexpected, but still...not fun having to spend that much at one time either.
Most recent emergency was? Eplacing thr furnace motor and blower. $1400. Rerouted my bonus and the extra pay period at one of the gigs and only had to dabble a little portion from the emergency fund. Will have it filked again next month :)
Car repair was last emergency. PSA never take it to a dealership to get fixed. Small auto shop did the same work for $600 less
As a mechanic I've never had to pay much at all for car repairs. Now i just need to figure out how to work on my own teeth lol
My last emergency was our dogs emergency eye removal surgery (glaucoma), it was $3,800. We did have the money in an emergency savings but I didn’t want to take it out of the HYSA so we just used our income and lived on nothing that month.
I’ve had a combined ~$1700 in car repairs throughout this year, and I was so grateful to have $3k set aside for emergency expenses like this. The peace of mind is unparalleled!
Back in my day, the term was, leave room for the Holy Spirit!
I went to Catholic HS and that's what they'd say at the school dances😂
That's funny
Had multiple emergencies this years. 1st car accident in January. Paid deductibe of 500. Then our truck needed an 8k repair in March and finally totalled my car and had to pay 6k plus my insurance payout for a new one back in June plus some hospital bills for the ER cisit because of it. I just finished replenishing my emergency fund.
I also forgot about my pet emergency in October of 3k. 😅
George, I love your channel.! You are so relatable....watching you is always time well spent! Go Fund Yourself - classic
My last (financial) emergency was having a motorcycle accident. I had to cover a small medical bill (€875,-) and the repairs on my bike (almost €1000,-). I was so thankful for my emergency fund at that time. Otherwise I don't k ow how I would've managed.
Yup. When my transmission went up and I was able to pay the 5k in cash it was a good feeling that I didn't have to put that on the card!
Problems don't seem that bad when you have money saved.
I would’ve just crushed it and bought a Lexus which is what you should’ve done in the first place.
Last emergency was a $12,000 repiping of our home, built on a slab, due to a leak. Luckily it didn't flood the house as it was near an outside wall. We had a fully funded emergency fund, so we paid cash. Best thing you can give yourself is a fully funded emergency fund!
I really appreciate the jokes by you here and there especially talking about a serious topic. Really enjoy by your videos. 👍🏼
Yes, I have a regular emergency fund of 6months of expenses, but I also have a sinking fund specifically for my dogs instead of using pet insurance. I know pet insurance can be a sensitive topic for many, but I’ve found that the costs, especially as my 3 dogs age, are too high for me. Instead I keep my money and put it in a HYSA “sinking fund” earning interest. Three weeks ago, my senior dog, who’s turning 17 next month, wandered behind/under my reclining sofa and got injured. After an emergency vet visit ($422) and a regular follow-up with my vet ($188), the total came to $610. Thankfully, she’s okay, though I’m still a bit shaken. I was able to cover the entire cost from my sinking fund (or “doggie emergency fund”), which felt like a big win. In addition, I know one of my other dogs will need a dental procedure in about three months-a planned but still significant expense of approx 1K. Again, the sinking fund will be there to cover it. I’m not sure if this really counts as an emergency fund win, but it sure feels like one to me.
Just got your audible book. Let's do this.
Last time I had to cover for an "emergency" was when my phone screen broke and got a flat tire within the same month (last month). Thankfully, I am on baby step 2 so I used my starter emergency fund to cover for both expenses. Just refilled the S.E.F. last week!
I can’t wait to get my book! Glad I have the download while I wait.
Vehicle maintenance... Done, thank you Jesus, paid in full. Around our house, we say pay as you Go. Great info George..
Recently had to pay a stupid tax of using our emergency fund to buy a minivan since we were stupid and didn't save quickly enough for it (a third kid required space for a third carseat). Back to baby step 3 to rebuild it.
Building up my emergency funds nicely now…..planning to kill off my student loan debt soon so I can tackle car payments full throttle! I have more than 6 months of expenses covered, will have to replenish though once I pay off student loans.
Thanks for helping me now
A couple of months ago, I noticed our gas bill was really high and suspected a leak. After having our gas shut off, we found out it was a leak in the line to our house from the road. A month and $3100 later, and we now have our gas back on...plus an extra credit card payment. Thankfully, we love in the South, so it wasn't too cold. But still not looking forward to paying that off. And we were just starting to make some traction to paying down debt.
So glad you guys found the leak before anything bad happened.
This video came at such a good time.
I’ve had a few emergencies with my partner over a couple of years:
1. Cracked Pipe in our front yard flooded and had to get a plumber to fix it - old house.
2. Had to get my wisdom teeth out.
3. Yesterday a rock fell from the back of soil truck and cracked my partners windscreen.
4. Saw today there is a minor leak in our roof.
All paid for by our emergency fund and life goes on. Not stressed at all. It’s just inconveniences but that’s life.
My last emergency was a spark plug/ignition coil problem. It was massively inconvenient but I had the money. 😊
My daughter headed to the ER and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. It wasn't a financial crisis or challenge at all with plenty in the bank. These principles are wisdom and end up being a blessing.
Our family money goal is to pay off our consumer debt- 2 months to go - and then cash flow a renovation!
The transmission in my Traverse went out. I knew it coming, because it was acting up, so it wasn't a surprise. Just made the appointment and got it fixed. $6000 is lot of money. Fortunately we had the money in savings. Being down a car or 4 weeks was the hardest part. Life is different in baby step #7. Never going back.
I used to have a 6 months emergency and now it naturally grew to 3 years lol… but my Roth IRA and 401k is fully maximize so I guess it’s ok
Had a $1K plumbing issue a few weeks ago. It’s odd, and I’d certainly rather have the $1K, but I was honestly happy shifting a bit over from the EF to settle up. I grew up in a household where something like that would trigger a frantic telethon to raise the funds from family and friends. My kids will never see me do that.
My last emergency was a car repair. It cost a bit over $1500. I paid from the monthly budget by adjusting some other expenses. Yes, I could have used my emergency fund if I hadn't had enough in the monthly budget to cover it.
I feel attacked, 100% single firefighter who has about 7 months in my emergency fund right now 😂
love this guy. always give legit advice.
$2k Car repairs just one month after a $1350 HOA unexpected "fee." Luckily I had room in the budget and dipped a little in the emergency fund as I was building for a 6 month EF. As with what taught me in 2020 you need a 6 Month+ fund.
As Dave says. Sell so much stuff the kids think there next. When paying off debt's.
I’m on Google Maps street viewing all of Branson, MO … this place is wild!
Oh. I love Branson! But then, I’m old, and it’s Old People’s Paradise! For more vacation fun check out Wisconsin Dells! Lots of water parks.
$630 septic tank pumped. Yes. We have an emergency fund. Thanks!
I enjoyed this-good fun good info.Thanks.
As someone who just visited Branson and lived in Las Vegas for 30 years I agree with your take. Branson is just the Midwest version of Reno.
I don't need an E-fund. Big medical bills apparently don't exist when you are on Medicare with part N insurance. I recently spent 3 nights in the hospital and have not paid one bill.
working on growing my 4 month fund to 6 months soon, this year hopefully
We keep our emergency fund in a mortgage offset account. Current rate on the mortgage is 6.1% in Australia...thinking saving interest given the rate is potentially better then earning interest and paying tax on that amount..
"Great Value Vegas fried in butter."
Those Nature Valley Bars
With markets tumbling, inflation soaring, the Fed imposing large interest-rate hike, while treasury yields are rising rapidly-which means more red ink for portfolios this quarter. How can I profit from the current volatile market, I'm still at a crossroads deciding if to liquidate my $125k bond/stocck portfolio
To manage market risks responsibly, distribute investments over many asset classes such as bonds, real estate, and international equities, seek the advice of a professional.
I believe that diversifying your investments is the safest way to handle it. One way to lessen the effects of a market crisis is to distribute investments over a variety of asset classes, such as international equities, bonds, and real estate. It's critical to look for expert advice.
a lot of people downplay the need of advisors until their own emotions become unbearable. I sought for licensed consultants a few summers ago after a drawn-out divorce and needed a push to keep my firm afloat. I located the most qualified person. With her help, my reserve has grown from $275k to $850k, even after accounting for inflation
this aligns perfectly with my desire to organize my finances prior to retirement. Could you provide me with access to your advisor?
Marisa Breton Dollard is the licensed fiduciary I use. Just research the name. You’d find necessary details to work with a correspondence to set up an appointment..
Our last emergency was my mom ending up in the hospital with post operation complications. An unexpected 4 day trip out of state. It was stressful from an emotional point of view but at least we did not have the added financial stresses.
That was your moms emergency? 🤔Why did you pay that?
@@AimeePoppinBabiestravel expenses
To clarify, I did not pay my mother’s hospital bill. The expenses were my unexpected travel to be with my mom in the hospital. Gas to travel out of state, hotel for 3 days and meals.
@@carolynflathers3159 oh I see!
Thank you for the humor and the information. I love how the words economy and ecology have the same Latin root word, eco, basically translating to home.
Why not keep just 1 month of expenses in checking and the other 5 months in a good HYSA. Maybe invest anything after 9 months in brokerage.
Hey George , new to your channel. Just subscribed 👍 good stuff .
if you already have more than 1K and you have consumer debt, i wouldn't go below 1 month of expenses if you have a house and a family. all it takes is that automatic mortgage payment of 1500 to come out after your paycheck doesn't land in your account because of a banking glitch to really screw up everything. having 1K in your account when you have monthly obligations that would consume that and more in 1 day is as bad as pulling 8% out of your investments every year 😉
Obviously you don't want to get to this point in the first place, but if you're there with CC debt and have 5k+ in the bank, i'd be really careful about dropping it under 1 month.
My wife needed a root canal & cap, plus the other dental work around that issue. So, just over 3 and a half grand, from the 20k we had in our EF. We shrugged and wrote a couple of checks. For the time being, I've cut back my 401k contributions, and my wife is hustling babysitting until our EF is completely rebuilt.
My current emergency is an unsafe electrical panel that needs to be replaced. Got 3 bids and it will be about $8-10k. I do have the EF but is an emotional drain. All is safe at the house for now. My most recent emergency is a failed water heater. I also had my EF.
My tooth cracked at work and a big chunk came off about a year and a half ago. It was very scary and is still not quite right but, at least I know I can get help for it. As it is going to be an on going thing to get it worked out. Health insurance has also been very helpful and I recommend everyone have it. Not just insurance though work you don't want to lose health care coverage if you lose your job.
If that was work related the company should pay
My last emergency: A trip to the ER and 2 days in the hospital end of July. While insurance covered about $30,000 of that, per the health insurance plan I was liable for the 1st $1000 and then up to another $2000 out of pocket a year at 20% of "in network benefits" (which these were). Note my wife works for a School district and the health insurance year runs July 1 - June 30 so I had yet to pay my initial $1000 in medical bills before insurance kicked in.
I quickly got a bill for just over $2000; which I had the money to pay in my emergency fund; and I expect another $1000 later where the billing has been delayed due to a major billing mix-up between the hospital and one of its sub-contractors they used.
Another one: In the summer of 2022 my refrigerator suddenly started dying (it was over 30 years old). New very basic refrigerator just over $1100 delivered in a few days out my my emergency fund.
Last emergency:
My dad closed out his storage unit, and a junk removal service was called.
$520.00, no I did not have an emergency fund to cover it.
$520.00 now, to save $330 each of the following months. In two months, it has paid for itself with an extra $140.00.
Great vid! However you manage to balance a bit of humor with such an important topic is a wonder to me.
Thank you!
I don't think I've had a single emergency, like, ever. I suppose I've had large expenses here and there, but I could always cover them with excess cash flow in a month or two (I'd put it on a credit card and probably wind up paying a ~$30-100 finance charge). I've had a few large medical expenses, but those came out of the HSA, which I suppose is an emergency fund unto itself.
It's so calm that I've actually got my emergency fund in a CD getting 5.4% APY for the next year. I can cancel the CD without it costing any principal balance, but I doubt I'll even need to do that. I can just pay the expense outright or carry it on a credit card for a month or two.