Hello to all,
This is my first posting on the GMFCU blog! I am very excited to be a part of such a great and helpful blog!
I had planned to post much sooner than now but life got in the way as it sometimes does. Which brings me to the topic of my first post, dealing with emergencies. In my family I have been very fortunate as I have never had to experience much adversity when it comes to the health of my loved ones. Recent events have taught me many things, one being to always stay close to your loved ones, you never know when something bad could happen and the last thing you want is to have to have the first time you see someone you love in months to be in the hospital.
Secondly I learned that you must ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS plan for the unexpected. I know this is cliche and people say such things all the time but I can tell you from first hand experience that had I not had an emergency fund set aside for the expenses I incurred in the last two months, well, I would be in big trouble. Which leads me to my next point what is an emergency fund? Why do I need one? How do I get one? How do I fund it? What is an emergency? First the most important thing you need to realize about an emergency account is that it is truly for emergencies.
Now take it from me I know that when you get the flyer in the mail that says the the Nordstrom half yearly sale is starting this weekend you in your infinite wisdom maybe believe that is the apocalypse but I am here to tell you that does NOT constitute an emergency. An emergency would be a new tire, a blown head gasket (whatever that is), a leaky water heater, an emergency medical expense, etc. I think you get the idea. Now an emergency fund doesn’t have to be anything special it can be a checking account at your local credit union (wink, wink) - whatever is convenient and accessible in the event of an emergency.
Some people say to themselves I don’t have the money to make my mortgage payment where would I get the money to put away for an emergency. The fact of the matter is we aren’t talking thousands of thousands of dollars here we are talking about a slow gradual development of a cash fund. The best way I can tell you to do this is to have a small amount maybe ten or twenty dollars per pay period directly put into this emergency fund, all you need is your account number and routing number which your financial institution will be happy to provide to you! So I am sure you are thinking, gosh, that sounds like a lot of work, why would I need to bother with that? I’ll tell you why. Three weeks ago I needed to make an emergency trip to Rochester to be with my brother and my family because of an unknown ailment that was affecting his nervous system as well as his joints and reflexes. I was forced to check into a local hotel in Rochester at 100 per night. By the time we left the area and returned home I had an insane 1000 bill. Thankfully to my preparedness and planning I was able to handle this bill without detriment to my normal monthly finances. Had I not had this fund I would have had to make a decision regarding my finances, who isn’t getting paid this month?
My point is, be prepared. Put money aside. Things happen and you don’t want to be the one left in the financial dust!
