- Author: Patti C. Wooten Swanson
Published on: March 29, 2012
Not having enough money to pay for unexpected costs
---now that's scary!
Life happens—and it can be expensive:
• The brakes go out on your car
• A child throws a baseball through your window
• Ouch! You need an unexpected root canal
• Dad's sick---you need to fly home unexpectedly
• A power outage caused everything in the refrigerator to spoil
If you needed $1,000 for an unplanned expense, where would you get the money?
A recent national survey asked nearly 2,700 people that question, and only 36% had enough savings to cover the cost.
Here's where the others would turn for the money:
• 9% would take out a loan
• 17% would borrow from friends or family
• 9% would get a cash advance on their credit card
• 17% would disregard other monthly expenses
• 12% would sell or pawn assets
How can you avoid going into debt when you have an emergency?!
According to America Saves, it only takes an e-fund of $500-$1,000 topay most unexpected expenses without going into debt.
Today's Small Step: Start your e-fund today.
Open a savings account and set up automatic deposits from your paycheck or checking account. Deposit $42 a month, and this time next year you'll have $500 saved up
---then next Halloween just watch a scary movie!
Have you had unexpected expenses this year?
Tell us about it. How did you cover the cost?
Tags: emergency (1), emergency fund (1), emergency savings (1), insurance (1), unexpected expense (1), worry about money (1)
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