Emergency Savings Account

Why building an emergency savings account is important.

Why do I need to save, you might ask? An emergency fund allows you to meet unexpected financial challenges and gives you piece of mind that you can afford certain types of expenses when they come up.

Your car breaks down
It always happens when you least expect it. Your car requires routine maintenance, and those costs are bad enough. But even if you give it TLC, you can count on an occassional mechanical disruption.

Unexpected home repairs
Water in your basement, roof repairs, repainting, well pump failure, broken windows, furnace issues...the list could go on and on with repairs that were not budgeted or planned for.

Unexpected travel expenses
No one plans for the worst to happen. When a family member or friend gets sick or you need to attend a funeral, the last thing you want to worry about is how to pay for the travel costs.

Loss of employment
Statistics say that you should have at least 3 months of living expenses saved in case of job loss. The more you have, the more secure you'll be if it should happen.

Credit cards go out of control

Living paycheck to paycheck means robbing Peter to pay Paul. This can lead to using one credit card to pay another, paying bills late and juggling obligations in an effort to get caught up. Late payments trigger fees, higher interest rates and affect your credit rating negatively.

Unplanned life events
You are asked to be in your best friends wedding and incur expenses for appropriate wedding attire and airfare if necessary.

Unforeseen medical expenses
The kids need braces, your spouse has an emergency appendectomy or you lose your glasses. All of these things can put a kink in the budget.

How much do I need to save?
You can use this helpful calculator to figure out how much you need to put away given your financial situation.

Emergency Fund Calculator

Savings Calculator

Savings & Spending Plan Calculator