You’ve heard you need an emergency fund. But how much, where to keep it, and when to use it? Here’s a real talk about it — no fluff.
Okay, okay.
Everyone keeps saying I need an emergency fund. Fine. I get it.
But… what does that even mean?
Like, how much? Where do I keep it?
And what counts as an emergency, anyway?
Because I swear, every time I try to build one — boom — life happens.
And let’s be real.
It’s not like I’m sitting on piles of extra cash.
Building 3 to 6 months of expenses sounds great — in theory.
In practice?
Feels like I’m playing catch-up with rent, bills, food, and that weird noise my car is suddenly making.
So I asked myself:
Can I start with just $500?
Maybe just a month of rent?
Is that better than nothing?
And honestly? Yeah. It is.
Because the last time my laptop died mid-project?
That $700 bill didn’t care how smart I was with my ETFs.
So here’s what I’ve started doing:
- I made a separate high-yield savings account
- Nicknamed it “Break Glass” (yes, really)
- Set an auto-transfer for $20/week
- Told myself: No touching it. Not for pizza. Not for sneakers. Not even for “on sale” stuff
Is it perfect? Nope.
Is it helping me sleep better? Absolutely.
And you know what?
I stopped thinking of my emergency fund as saving.
I started thinking of it as insurance — for future me.
Not sexy. Not exciting.
But when something will go wrong (and it will), I’m ready.
Sort of.