Emergency Funds 101: You’re Screwed If You Don’t Have One
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
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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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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. -
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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.
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
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. 🙃
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! 😅❤
I’m a single firefighter with no dependents, 20 years old and almost done paying off my car then moving to the mortgage!
Investments are the roots of financial security; the deeper they grow, the stronger your future will be."
The deeper your investment roots, the stronger your financial security will be in the future.
Exactly! With my adviser, I’ve cultivated deep investment roots, strengthening my financial security for the future.
I would love an introduction to an adviser who can help me strengthen my financial roots.
My CFA NICOLE ANASTASIA PLUMLEE a renowned figure in her line of work. I recommend researching her credentials further.
Thank you for this amazing tip. I just looked the name up and wrote her.
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 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.
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! 💗💗
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.
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.
-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 obtaining full custody of my daughter. Worth every penny spent.
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 ;)
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
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!
Recession! Crash! Inflation! It’s getting depressing. I have about $100k in emergency fund and I have been seeing good news about the stock market and would like to gain from that since I can’t let my savings be corroded by inflation. What stocks should I buy into as a newbie to safely grow my money.
It’s best if you buy growth/blue-chip/large caps stocks only. Also, as a newbie it’s advisable you work with an investment advisor to help set up a well-structured portfolio.
A lot of folks downplay the role of advlsors until being burnt by their own emotions. I remember couple summers back, after my lengthy divorce, I needed a good boost to help my business stay afloat, hence I researched for licensed advisors and came across someone of utmost qualifications. She's helped grow my reserve notwithstanding inflation, from $275k to $850k.
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
Judith Lynn Staufer is her name. She is regarded as a genius in her area and works for Empower Financial Services. By looking her up online, you can quickly verify her level of experience. She is well knowledgeable about financial markets.
Thanks a lot for this suggestion. I needed this myself, I looked her up, and I have sent her an email. I hope she gets back to me soon.
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.
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
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.
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.
My last emergency was a broken gearbox in our only car. The gearbox had to be exchanged for either a refurbished or new one. Lowest estimates were 3000 for a refurbished and 5000 for a new one. And that for a 13 year old car worth at most 4000... We ended up buying a new car. 50% came from our emergency fund, 50% was paid from our car-savings fund. It will take about 2-3 years to top up the emergency fund again. As the car is free of debt we will use the monthly payments we would have had for a car-loan for topping up the EF. It is as if we loaned ourselves the money and now repay, but every dollar is going towards the principal, and nothing goes towards interest to third parties. And that feels good!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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 (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.
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
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
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 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 👍
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.
Last month I had an infected tooth, which needed extraction. I was able to cover the cost of the appointments, antibiotics, and extraction without dipping into the emergency fund. :)
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
He’s so funny! I love watching him! (Btw, I’m 63 and well into baby step 7)
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.
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!
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.. ;)
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
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 :)
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.
Our family money goal is to pay off our consumer debt- 2 months to go - and then cash flow a renovation!
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
I am 52, single , and own a condo, in 2023 I have had 2 emergencies . My refrigerator went out ( it was only 5 years old and warranty had expired plus it came with the condo so I replaced it . $1400 , My home ac needed to be repaired , it cost $600, but then 3 months later failed again . In Florida , need AC , and had it replaced, $6,222 and these both occurred within months of one another. I was keeping my Emergency fund at around $8000 , but i am also saving for a car, so I was able to cover that with cash ! felt awesome ! Worked some overtime ( and got a raise this year ) now i have $21,000 in a high Yield savings account ready to buy a car this month. Thankful for finance youtubers for educatin me ! ! My sister , she had to put a new roof on her house , and had to take out a HELOC , she does not watch UA-cam .
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.
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
If you have working teenage kids, teach them to have that $1k fund in their savings account at all times. It’s a really handy thing for younger people to have and if they are living with you, it’s pretty easily saved. This starts them with the habit of having money in an account and not touching it
My last emergency was a spark plug/ignition coil problem. It was massively inconvenient but I had the money. 😊
George, I love your channel.! You are so relatable....watching you is always time well spent! Go Fund Yourself - classic
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.
I feel attacked, 100% single firefighter who has about 7 months in my emergency fund right now 😂
$630 septic tank pumped. Yes. We have an emergency fund. Thanks!
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!
Part of my emergency fund is being able to handle automotive, electrical, hvac, and plumbing repairs myself. I have saved 10s of thousands of dollars over the last 30 years, in addition to making thousands more side hustling. Get some tools and don't be scared.
Just dont let the smoke out
@@johnmitchell2741 I have seen the magic smoke and was able use my acme electrical smoke collector to capture it and put it back. :)
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.
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.
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
Our biggest emergency was 2 years ago when I was told that my daughter was shot and killed at Akron University. The school didn’t help with a penny of the funeral expenses. It was invaluable to have an emergency fund to front the funeral costs.
I'm sorry for your loss.
I can’t wait to get my book! Glad I have the download while I wait.
I’ve been fortunate to be at the point where I haven’t really experienced “an emergency” for quite some time, I’ve had a fully funded emergency fund for a long time now and since then there just haven’t been emergencies that I couldn’t cash flow. It helps that I rent, so I don’t get stuck with home related repairs, and I do all my own work on our cars so it’s super reasonable when something breaks or wears out and I only need to pay for the part and not the labour.
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.
Emergency funds are definitely worth it. I have right about 7 months expenses now and for me it would be great to see that at a year's worth expenses
$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.
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!
Family of four here, with our current bills & living expenses and if the economy shit itself, our emergency funds would last us 66 months or 40 months if we have to buy private health insurance for the wife and young kids. If we sell our rental property and other assets, that would push it up to 202 months or 121 months with private health care. But for some oddly reason, I still have anxiety about not having enough money. Im not sure how people can sleep at night without even having a $1,000 in their bank account.
23 years ago, I was out of town when my 5 month pregnant daughter started bleeding and cramping. I told her to call 911 and I was on the next plane home. She did not lose the baby but did have serious complications.
I lost the money I paid for the original return ticket and the extra ticket cost a lot. I paid off my credit card in 3 months. I have had an emergency fund since then. Your video gives me a better idea of how to improve it.
My last emergency fund was getting my vehicle fixed and medical bills since I had a car accident.
Cost me quite a bit but didn’t feel too bad since I had an emergency fund.
I really appreciate the jokes by you here and there especially talking about a serious topic. Really enjoy by your videos. 👍🏼
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.
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.
Just got your audible book. Let's do this.
I’m on Google Maps street viewing all of Branson, MO … this place is wild!
Vehicle maintenance... Done, thank you Jesus, paid in full. Around our house, we say pay as you Go. Great info George..
love this guy. always give legit advice.
Car battery, hood vent stopped working, cracked tooth. Tooth are always expensive and rarely covered by insurance.
Thanks for helping me now
My last emergency was about a year ago. One Sunday morning I went out to start my car to take my little guy to Cub Scouts. My car was parked in front of the house overnight. I came out to find that during the night someone had crashed into my parked car during the night. They hit the car so hard they’d shoved the car backwards over 10 feet. The front and wheel on the drivers side was smashed. There was no note left for me, whoever had done it had just drove away. I have insurance, and in the end the damage was $8,000. Insurance paid for all but $1000 my deductible. It took a month to get the car fixed. I had to rent a car for that month, not covered by my insurance. So my out of pocket was about $2000. I used money from my emergency fund to cover that. Before that I had $15,000 in the emergency fund. I have rebuilt the emergency fund since then. Thank God that emergency fund was there. And I have evicted Murphy!
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.
I enjoyed this-good fun good info.Thanks.
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.
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.😆
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.
I’m $120,000 in debt. I used my emergency fund to pay off all credit cards and my 2020 Camry.
Now, I’m attacking the student loan but don’t have an emergency fund, so I’m scared. Very scared!
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.
Keep 5k in a 5%+ easy access bank account. Use a credit card as an emergency fund. Pay it off in full, and they give you around 45-60 days since you don't use it. Invest the rest of your money, which can always be accessible very fast.
My last emergency was my Camry's hybrid battery died, $3,800 for a brand new one, I'm sure I was not happy about it but thanks to being wise with money this was nothing more than an inconvenience like you'll said.