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The importance of having an emergency fund

August 30th, 2012 at 02:20 pm

Most of you here already know how vital it is to have an emergency fund setup for those times when Murphy kicks the door in and sets up shop in your life. I have an example of how not having that baby EF can cause undue stress!

I was at the car dealer yesterday getting my car inspected when a gentleman came out from the service area in a bit of a panic. He had been having problems with his brakes and was told it was going to cost him $300 for the repairs. I thought he was going to pass out with how red his face was! He said "My car has 160,000 miles on it and I don't have $300 to fix the brakes!" I thought to myself "Oh boy could this guy use a $1000 baby emergency fund!" I didn't engage him directly only because he was so flustered and just started pacing really fast around the dealership but it triggered in my mind BABY STEP ONE: $1000 in the bank.

Anyone else have stories like this when they're out and about? I found myself really feeling sad for the guy. He just seemed so stressed out about a $300 car repair bill. It's a friendly reminder to make sure you stock away that emergency fund money so you don't end up stressed to the max like our friend here. Smile

5 Responses to “The importance of having an emergency fund”

  1. creditcardfree Says:
    1346335063

    My husband just mentioned a co-worker who needed a car repair of $150 and said he didn't have the money. It is sad, since it is an easy thing to make happen if you make it a priority. And an EF is so worth it.

  2. snafu Says:
    1346344776

    I think there was an article in the newspaper that said 64% of Americans couldn't come up with $1,000. in an emergency.
    http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/10/pf/emergency_fund/index.htm

  3. wowitsawonderfullife Says:
    1346375197

    My sister had organ failure last year and needed a transplant within 5 days. Thank God I had an emergency fund for housing and food and parking. Sucked it dry but at least I had it!

  4. I-78 Commute Says:
    1346421184

    1) So worth it is so right!

    2) That article is scary. Hopefully in 2012 that's gotten a little bit better but I doubt it.

    3) WOW! Hopefully she's doing ok now (and really glad you had the EF in place!)

  5. Jerry Says:
    1346605393

    There are SO many things that lead to an unexpected cash drain that I think it is crazy not to have the insurance of at least a baby EF, as you put it! Just in these posts to your thread we see health care issues, car repairs, and there are plenty of others. Great reminder...
    Jerry

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