If all your tires had to be replaced today, could you cover that expense with cash? What if you need to move because of yet another rent increase? 39% of Americans don’t maintain enough savings to cover an unplanned $1,000 expense – let’s make sure you’re not one of them.
See Fact_Sheet_Primerica_Financial_Security_Monitor_Q2_2022.pdf
Hopefully by now you’ve completed your budget tracker and are recording your monthly expenses. Have you found any spending black holes yet? One or more of those could be a great place to pull savings from. Some other places to save:
- Eat one more meal a month at home.
- Take some time off from the daily latte.
- Shave a few dollars off your grocery bill with some savvy couponing or cutting back on beer and snacks.
- Eliminate one or more of your streaming services for a few months – the content will still be there when you come back.
- Review all automatic withdrawals and cancel any services you no longer use.
Setting aside $25 a week will get you to your $1,000 goal in just 10 months. If you can set aside more money, you’ll get there faster.
No room in that budget to cut? Could you pick up an extra shift at work or spend a few hours on a side hustle? Do you have a tax refund coming up? Is it garage sale time?
If possible, make saving a no-brainer by transferring a set amount into your savings account automatically. Out of sight = out of mind = a fatter and fatter emergency fund.