We all know that life can throw us a curve ball at times. In mid-2011, due to a freak accident my engine got messed up. Then as soon as I fixed this, someone rear ended me and drove off. So yes, I had a rough month there. I had to fork over tons of money that I wasn’t planning on spending. I had to miss out on a trip and I really had to cut back. Thankfully, I had the money in an savings/emergency account. I definitely wasn’t too pleasant about suddenly blowing all of this money.
We’ve all had to deal with a financial emergency at some point in life. It’s not pleasant, but life doesn’t care about that.
How would you deal with an unexpected expense? This question is always on my mind because you really never know what can happen. You can always at any point in time get hit with a shock expense. If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, this will catch you off guard and ruin things for you.
Let’s look at common options for dealing with sudden, yet unexpected expenses:
Your credit card.
Most of us will usually turn to a credit card to deal with a sudden expense. It’s quick and easy. Best of all, credit cards do NOT ask questions. Everyone else does. With your plastic, you don’t have to worry about approval as long as you’re within your limit.
There’s just one difference here. Some of us have the money in a savings account to pay off this balance. Others have to wait for their next paycheck to handle this. Which side do you fall under?
Your emergency fund.
Do you have money saved away just in case? While some of my friends don’t believe in just leaving money around in savings account, I do. I see the argument for why it makes sense to invest your money. I just don’t believe that you have to invest every single penny. You can keep some money in a savings account just to cover yourself in the event that something should happen.
When dealing with an emergency, you don’t want to stress about liquidation or selling off stocks. You just want instant access to your hard earned money.
Be screwed!
Unfortunately this is an option because we either can’t always be prepared or the expense is too large. In the former situation, the onus is on you to take the time to put some money away. In the event of the latter, there’s nothing that we can do. There’s only so much money that you can save for emergencies. Some emergency situations will simply be too large too handle. Hopefully this doesn’t happen to any of you guys.
What’s your plan? I’m curious to hear about how you guys would handle a surprise expense if something were to happen tomorrow Do you have a plan? Do you just go with the flow?
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Choupel
Hi there,
I have always enjoyed your blog with lot of practical and useful for life in general
and also careerwise. I came to the States 12 years ago when I was 16 and lived wit my uncle until I finished my college. The fact that my family is not in the U.S. has developed insecurity in me
that always propels me to save lot more money than my peers. I have invested in 401K and stashed away about 10,000 in my savings account and I put away $1,300 every month in my savings. But I stilldon’t feel feel secure. I just feel like I am the only one that can help myself in case of
major life catastrophe.
Carnival of Personal Finance: In the Name of Love and Money Edition
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