Without question, we all have financial priorities that may vary from time to time. Balancing them could be a little tricky, but we almost always manage to get things done, right?
Procrastinate Much?
The mistake most of us make, however, is to procrastinate saving for the emergency fund. After all, “what could go wrong?” We ask ourselves time and again. To push the need to start piling up the stash, one may argue that they have a number of liquid assets. These would come in handy if I’m ever in need of a quick buck, we convince ourselves. But do we ever think that there could come a situation that renders their liquid accounts inaccessible?
Life has a way of being widely unpredictable and can send a hurricane of troubles your way without a warning. Truth be told, this could be as literal as it is figurative. To survive through the storm, one has to have an emergency cushion to fall back on. Unfortunately, this is not lost on most of us, as a survey carried out by the PNC Financial Services showed that over a third of people past their youth (aged between 36 and 60) have no money saved up for emergency cases.
Everything’s Fine = Perfect Time
According to financial experts, the best time to save up your emergency stash is when everything is going smoothly in your life. The kids are healthy and happy, your pets are healthy too, the car is also in excellent condition. When there are no substantial financial demands, that’s the perfect time to get started on productive saving habits.
Admittedly, saving requires a high level of self-control. To make your emergency savings an important financial priority, you must incorporate habits that suit your personality into it. The internet has a wealth of ideas on how to go about this. You could put up a vision board, draw a picture to visualize your goals, knit something whenever you deposit some amount into the stash – the options are limitless.
According to Heidi Nash, a progress chart provides the motivation she needs to reach her financial goals. Filling it on a regular motivates her, and many others, to continue saving up. Seeing good progress in your saving goal can make more determined, and this is the exact purpose the progress chart serves.
Nash is a financial enthusiast who encourages people to live debt free. To do this, she launched Debt Free Charts, charts that one has to color up whenever they make progress on paying the debt. Her idea could also work for saving up, where you can fill up your chart with more colors as you get closer to your saving goal.
A little creativity could go a long way in helping you along yout saving journey. Jackie Beck, who hails from Phoenix, says that a paper board of her dream vacation keep her saving up more and more. She advises that one should place it strategically at a position where they get to see it every day. That way, it will always remind them that they have a target to reach.
Having a “money partner” is also a perfect idea since you have a companion’s support to take you through the trying times which one will undoubtedly face. Last but not least, one should have a way to reward themselves every time they make a deposit.
