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Every day, our branch teams have countless conversations with customers about money: their concerns, their goals, and the moments that make them take action. Recently, we asked our branches a simple question: what financial issue comes up the most for your customers? Around 20% of the answers we received dealt with the struggle of saving, even a small amount. The importance of an emergency fund seems distant, until the problem is right in front of you. An unexpected home repair, losing your job or having a medical emergency can all lead to financial hardship if you are not readily prepared.
What is an emergency fund?
Some repairs can wait…but others, like a leaking roof…not so much. Or doctoring a head cold at home, but needing the trip to the emergency room for a broken bone. Doing your best to choose the alternative of a big spend, can help, but it only goes so far in some situations.
An emergency fund is an amount set aside, in case of an unexpected cost, that is greater than your usual spend. Experts suggest finding the average amount of fixed expenses every month, and saving three to six times that, in case of an emergency. Whether you lose your job, and need to live off of that savings for a month or two, or have a large bill due to an accident, having that money set aside will help you avoid being put into financial hardship.
Emergency funds can take time to build up. Contribute what you can every month towards building it, and try to avoid pulling from it for unnecessary purchases. Successfully building up your fund can help you avoid taking out loans or putting purchases on credit cards.
TIP: Explore opening a separate account specifically for emergency savings and automating contributions to it. Whether through a recurring transfer or payroll distribution, money is automatically set aside making saving easier and more consistent.
If you are unsure where to start, stop into one of our branches, and one of our associates would be glad to get you on the right path!
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