Hi everyone! I should've mentioned this in the video but this is the perfect time to concentrate on contributing as much money as you can towards your emergency fund, if you still need to build one. Some bills have been paused during the pandemic, like federal student loan payments, utility and credit card bills, rent/mortgage (but please do your research first to make sure you qualify before not paying). So if you have extra money at the end of the month and are deciding between debt payment or emergency fund contribution, I'd choose the emergency fund contribution right now. But if you can contribute to both debt and an EF... that would be ideal!

@terrishabuckley7753

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this.

@nodoubt8842

3 жыл бұрын

Bills don't pause...debt just accumulate. The debt is still there & the chicken will come to roost. My housing expenses come first. So many ppl prioritize other things that are NOT fixed expenses & are NOT necessities.

@lolomissa

2 жыл бұрын

🙌

@user-ky2nd7qx7s

8 ай бұрын

Hi you should be doing online banking I’m getting over 5% and interest is paid monthly nice little small income off my emergency fund

I started aggressively putting money towards my emergency fund because you've inspired me! I've saved up 12,000 now, my goal is 20,000, and currently am trying to encourage my friends into creating an emergency fund. Sometimes they misunderstand what an emergency fund is so I can't wait to share this video with them!

@simplyshama

3 жыл бұрын

I'm aiming to reach at least 20,000 this year too! I'm currently at 9000. I also have 1500 in investment accounts

@shayemoore

Жыл бұрын

Congrats to you both!❤

Right now my emergency fund is just the basic $1,000 while I aggressively pay off debt but I do plan on adding more once I knock out some high interest debt

My emergency got wiped out with covid and I’m currently trying to rebuild it. I’m so thankful I had one in place when the pandemic hit cause it completely saved me.

It’s possible to “over save” in an emergency fund. I had way too much in a basic savings acct for many, many years. I recently moved most into a target-date index fund (leaving 12months of expenses). I’m pissed at myself for not doing it sooner. 😭

Would definitely like to hear your strategy on saving for a down payment!

@StephCza

3 жыл бұрын

That would be great!

@user-mt8ks1kx1f

3 жыл бұрын

Yes please! @Aja Dang

Goal is $125,000. Currently at $78,000. Emergency fund just in case for my family. Paid off my debt in 2018. And also have a saving fund set up as well. Love the content, sis!

@vipindasvaikath5071

3 жыл бұрын

Good

@shayemoore

Жыл бұрын

Amazing!

@chaselesser3191

2 ай бұрын

Waaaay too much. It’s better off invested. You are just loosing money if you are holding it in a bank.

My main thought process for building an emergency fund is "If I lost my job today, how long would it take me to get a new one?" Every time I've been job hunting, it has taken 4-6 months honestly. That + pandemic, I've been aiming towards a 12-month emergency fund. But as incomes change, needs change, savings goals are reached, etc, that may go down.

Maybe those people save for their family, hence the huge emergency fund

I would love a dedicated video about down payment funds or just a dedicated how to invest/ investing strategies video! I really unsure as what to do and so I think it would be great! Also love your videos always! Thank for your content!

Aja your debt videos have been a lifesaver ! I’m now moving to Tennessee to go to grad school and by the time I go I’ll have $5,000 in emergency fund. Which is not a lot, but I’ve only been saving for 2-3 years and babysitting / working part time. My Budgeting still needs work, but I’m making progress 🙌🏽

Great video Aja Dang. i agree with all you've said in here about Emergency fund, it really helped me during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic I learnt a lot about emergency funds and savings. Saving has been my best part of emergency fund since last year(2020) till now 2021. Now am saving 20% of income towards my retirement and am investing 20% of my income also!!

@nicolasfernandez222

3 жыл бұрын

Very true my friend that's awesome !

@daviluis5713

3 жыл бұрын

Hello Anne Crossmann please can you share some tips on how you save 20% of your income and still invest 20% what's your strategy to Investing ?

@annecrossman6852

3 жыл бұрын

@@daviluis5713 yeah 1. Set a monthly savings goal 2. Stash your windfalls 3 Slash your budget 4.Live within your means 5. Increase your savings 6. Invest your saved up $$ ( let your money grow) 7. Keep saving and investing beyond your goal

@annecrossman6852

3 жыл бұрын

i made a lot from 6 and 7 it is very important for your retirement plan

@daviluis5713

3 жыл бұрын

@@annecrossman6852 talking of investment , how can i start a great investment ?

Love this video! The pandemic has definitely showed me that I was lacking an emergency fund. I am now splitting my income by percentages: 50% Living Expenses, 25% Life Expenses (fun money and all sinking funds), and 25% Savings. I break up my savings into 4 areas: my child’s savings account, my basic emergency fund, a years worth of income (I plan to be a year ahead of my budget), and my dream house. Once an area is finished being funded that money will be invested instead of saved in my High Yield Savings Account. Good luck to you!!!

I've had a large emergency fund for years (1 year of expenses), plus a separate fund with my partner dedicated entirely to being able to keep my house should my income be impacted. I run a seasonal business (weddings) where even just having a few months of work impacted basically impacts my entire year. My two emergency funds end up doubling up a bit, but thank god I had them during this pandemic! I've basically had two years of income impacted now, so I definitely don't regret keeping my emergency funds larger than we're traditionally taught they need to be. I just keep them in a Canadian HYSA, so the money is still working for me a bit.

My emergency fund goal is 1 year of expenses. I picked 1 year of expenses because I’m not confident that in a recession if I lost my job I would be able to find another job quickly. In the 2008 recession the average was 1-1.5 years it took for the majority of people to re-find a job. If I find a job faster than that, that’s great, but if I don’t then I’m still okay.

@jellygurl27

3 жыл бұрын

Yep that is smart. It took me a long time in 2011 to find a job I always think about that. Not just a job but even longer to find a higher paying one.

Yes would love to know different strategies for where to put a down payment. Currently just having it sit in a savings account but the goal is to buy in 2 years.

@rbothg

3 жыл бұрын

A cd is a great place to put a down payment fund that you know you won't want to touch for a fixed amount of time.

@xxxxMonkeyGirlxxxx

3 жыл бұрын

I have my down payments with Capital One in their 360 performance savings account but others use Ally Bank savings account. CDs could the used but I don’t want the money locked away for a year and the interest rate currently isn’t worth it for me.

@DelenaKT

3 жыл бұрын

I put mine into a CD or HYS at a credit union - usually 18 - 24 months!

@lolomissa

2 жыл бұрын

14:00 she talks about it. 🙏

I am building my emergency fund simultaneous with contributing towards my retirement Love your content from South Africa

I am aiming for a solid year. I calculated my needs and it came to about 40% of my salary to live in minimalist emergency mode. I feel that a year is the smartest goal. I currently have six months saved. If I were to get laid off I would still be ok for a year with unemployment. After I get the entire year saved I will still feed money into that account but way less aggressively. You don't want to have a year saved, need it and then start with nothing in that fund again. After a year I will more aggressively put money into investments.

As an American, knowing that 1 medical emergency/serious illness could wipe me dry in a month, I feel like my emergency fund could never be "too much"

@Marc98338

3 жыл бұрын

Thats what i thought. This strongly depends on which country you live. I live in the Netherlands so no medical stress. I can safely invest my excess money knowing that basicly 20k savings will be more then enough if my car or wife's car breaks down or something like that . But this emergency fund is an interesting idea.

@howtoadultschool

3 жыл бұрын

Agreed! I live in Canada, so I'm lucky that medical expenses aren't too much of a concern, but my main business has now lost two years of income due to the pandemic and I've never been more grateful for having kept a really large emergency fund to see me through this!

@AllTheArtsy

3 жыл бұрын

Then you should get a health insurance so that someone else will pay the bill.

@de5072

3 жыл бұрын

@@AllTheArtsy even with health insurance people get hefty bills.

@AllTheArtsy

3 жыл бұрын

@@de5072 that means you dont have enough health insurance lol

I’m 23 and my boyfriend and I only have $2600 in our emergency fund but $10000 is our goal! Our incomes combined is probably $80,000 but both paying off debt and have two dogs. We just started being smarter with our money this year

@vipindasvaikath5071

3 жыл бұрын

Nice

@anaiyasmommy1

3 жыл бұрын

You’re off to a good start. Keep up the good work.

@passionzb

3 жыл бұрын

@@anaiyasmommy1 thanks! We’re trying!

I love that Brian was listening in and asked about it!

I would love to have at least 1 year of an emergency fund. If I were to ever become laid off again, I would like to know that I have at least 1 year to find a new job. I would be able to take my time to find a new job that I enjoy instead of having to settle on something because I was running out of time.

This is so smart and practical. You have a very trusting and caring presence.

I currently have 170K emergency fund/cash reserve.. My heart never felt so much freeedom

Would really benefit from a video on brokerage accounts - it sounds like that’s a great place to put money waiting for a down payment, but I”m not familiar and would really like to learn more from you, vs. a google search!

I’ve been following for a while now and love all your videos but this one has been such an educational one. I love it!!

Thank you for this video! It wasn't until recently I separated my actual emergency funds vs. other funds (house downpayment, sinking funds, vacation fund) and into its own bank account. It makes a huge difference when you know how much your 3-6 months (I am saving 4 months and rounding up) expenses are and just focusing on that. It is much more achievable, and I can save and plan for other things!

We use $1,000 per person for a guideline during debt repayment. Once we’re debt free, we plan to increase to around $5,000 per person which for us would be $20,000. That’s about 5-6ish months of expenses for us!

@tjandcj123

3 жыл бұрын

$15,000-$20,000 is our goal for our emergency fund. Should reach our goal in 7 more months.

$9500 for me! Currently at $8000 and after that INVEST, INVEST, INVEST

@branden9537

2 жыл бұрын

Have you reached your goal ?

Yes! Would love so much to see a dedicated video on down payments!!

Thanks Aja! Yes, would love a video on where to put your down payment

Definitely would love another video about other places to put money for savings!

Yes would love a video about down payments! Great video 👍🏽👍🏽😊

You have truly inspired me to get my finances in check ☺️

Thank you for the continued encouragement. I have cleared away 2 credit cards this year that were about to actually cost me more money so have moved them around to my existing debt all on 0% interest. Over paying debt and putting (baby steps) £155.00 away in a separate account for sinking funds which includes an E-fund. Once cards are clearing the money will then be used to finalise e-fund. Currently looking at 6 months however will probably aim for 12 months. Thank you

I love your suggestion of having your funds work (such as if you're saving for a downpayment)for you by putting it into a higher yield account. Thanks, Aja!

I have been struggling with being a huge spender. I'm planning on finally moving out by the summer with my boyfriend and am trying to find ways to save, especially an emergency fund. This helped so much!!

I’ve been finding it easier to pay off my credit cards before saving for my emergency fund. I’m praying that I don’t have an emergency but my cc debt should be paid off next month.

I just started really putting my budget together to put funds into my emergency fund. Thank you for sharing.

I struggle with competing goals too! It doesn’t always feel like I’m getting a lot of traction on any one goal.

Thank you so much for doing this video! It’s actually been something that I’ve needed help clarifying for myself, or as a reminder. Now I need to figure out what to do with opening up a high-yield savings account And/Or learn how to invest once I reach my emergency fund goal.

You are absolutely right. Love your video. Thanks.😁🌺

My husband and I are both essential workers, so luckily, we weren’t affected by the pandemic. With that being said, we have 3 months saved in our EF. I defs would like to see a more in-depth video on where to put your down payment! We just bought a townhouse, and we kept the money in a traditional savings account. We’re already starting to save for a detached house, that we can hopefully buy in 5-10 years. Love from 🇨🇦

Not sure whats going on with youtube algorithm But Inhabe now been recommended all these great channels like yours. All ladies that are rocking the financial niche! Great job love your content!

I used to be comfortable with a 3-month emergency fund but boosted it up to 6 months once I bought a condo! Being responsible for the place I live brings a whole host of potential expenses to plan for.

Where's your March 2021 budget video?? Those inspire me.

I would love a video on where to put down payments. Maybe also touch on Roth/first time buyers 10k limit

I have 2 numbers for my emergency fund. I have my bare bones expenses (cutting as much out as possible), as well as my normal monthly expenses. My first goal is to save 3 months of bare bones and then work towards 3 months of normal expenses. Once I reach that point I’ll evaluate if I want to get to 6 months for each or not.

I initially saw the title and thought: *I’m supposed to save HOW much for my emergency fund?* 😮😅😅 Thank you for this informative vid, I’m at 3 months, but I’d love to get to 6 months or so in my emergency fund :)

I'd love for you to review previous budget videos/tips when you were in debt and go through what you wish you did more, what you regret doing and what you would change if you had to do it again. I think it would be so helpful for anyone still going through the debt free journey (I've £8500 to go which will hopefully be gone in a year and half). All the best Aja, your videos have made the biggest difference to my life ❤️ £10k down £8500 to go! X

@jonalynkairan8080

3 жыл бұрын

Hi Heather! I’m an avid Aja Dang subscriber. I would personally watch her “Financial Journey” Playlist here in KZread. She covers all of this. I’ve personally watched this playlist countless times. Good luck on your debt free journey ✨✨

Would love an update/informational video on switching from Chase/WF/BoA banks to slightly more ethical accounts!

Ive also included repairment costs of lifestyle ‘essentials’ into my emergency fund eg; iPad or phone. Just because if it breaks it’s unrealistic for me to wait to save up for a replacement because i need them for work. It’s comforting to know i have the money there just in case!

Sinking funds in combo of EF is so great! This makes you less tempted to dip into the EF if you need to buy something. For example, My bank allows me to open multiple online sinking funds for: 1) my tech goals, (like a new sony camera, go pro and other tech) 2) a house reno project 3) fun money :D aka money for trying new food, experiences and online shopping.

Out of interest, I’d be curious if you asked about country for your question about emergency funds? I know for me in Australia, just paying my rent for 6 months is $15,000. Once I add in additional living expenses, I can’t live on less than $40,000 for 6 months, & yes, that’s bare minimum survival living where I am now, keeping the kids in the school they’re in now, and maintaining services such as internet, mobile phones, etc on top of the basics such as food, electricity, gas, water, car expenses, insurance, vet expenses and so on. So it wouldn’t really be unreasonable given what we’ve seen with COVID for me to have an aim of $100k or more as my emergency fund! This is just because the cost of living in Australia is very high (& our wages are high to match).

@AjaDang

3 жыл бұрын

that's a good point. I didn't think to ask about that.

Would love to hear a retirement plan and tips. Best way to save for retirement and recommendations.

I could Listen to Aja all Day Every Day! But I do kinda of miss hearing her swear about her debt.Lol but she’s a better and happier person Now I’m sure. Huge Fan

I love listening to your videos when I go on walks 🚶‍♀️❤️🎶

$50K in an emergency fund is overkill - I always say as a rule of thumb, when's the last time you or someone you knew had a $50K emergency - shoot, how about a $10K emergency? It's super rare. Right now I keep a 9 month emergency fund and its been over 5 years and I've never had to dip into it once.

@nancydavis5857

3 жыл бұрын

Agreed!! I had 30k in an EF for a few years and knocked that down to 18k @ 3k/6mo and used the rest to pay off a student loan. I realized that 30k was nearly a 12mo EF for me and it was unnecessary so I rebalanced. 50k seems crazy!!!!

@ambition1224

3 жыл бұрын

I think it's more so the "feeling" of security and also people do have medical/health emergencies and having savings that significant does come in handy. But I understand where you're coming from.

@xxxxMonkeyGirlxxxx

3 жыл бұрын

In the 2008 recession it took the majority of people 1 to 1.5 years to find a new job. This event is what you are saving your emergency fund for and is why I have 1 year of expenses saved. I’m not confident I would be able to quickly find another job so that went into my decision making.

@FunandBudget

3 жыл бұрын

@@xxxxMonkeyGirlxxxx So you are building your fund around fear and possibility and not reality and actuality. In the 2008 recession, I don't know anyone personally who looked for a job for 1 to 1.5 years so I am not going to build a cushion based off of the worst that happened to someone I "heard" about when a good portion of that money can serve me better in other areas of my life such as debt pay off and or investing for retirement.

@Manu-pw1rv

3 жыл бұрын

There's no need to judge other people's needs. A single person in a rural area is probably going to need less in an emergency fund than a person with kids living in a high cost of living city. Not everyone has the same expenses. Plus if they can afford to save 50k they can probably afford to invest an equally substantial amount.

Thanks for this video, very inspiring to save up and stop wasting money on unnecessary things. 😊

Great video! You were awesome in the TFD Big Reset 2020 by the way!

@AjaDang

3 жыл бұрын

thank you!

My goal is $20000 which is about 4 months of expenses. I currently have a quarter of this in my emergency account but I save towards other things at the same time including shares, new car and a house deposit. Very good information. Being that interest rates are so low, I don’t want to keep too much in cash!

Hi Aja! I wanted to say that you're videos have been super helpful to me and my financial journey. I wanted to know the ways I could save up for grad school and where you'd put that money. This would be in the near 2-4 year period.

Can you do a video on your retirement savings? And what company you went with and why? I see charles schwab, ally, etc. but having trouble choosing the right one.. also how did u chose between 401k or ira? I used to have a 401k but had to break it due to losing my job. Now that I have another job, I want to start another retirement plan but unsure about paying fees for upkeep and also not comfortable with putting it into ira where I have to "gamble" and put money where I might or might not lose money...

Hi! Would like to know why goldman sachs isn't a good place to put your money?

I have $10k currently in emergencies. Thank goodness for that. Had to use it for the first time for a pet surgery.

@mi3helle707

3 жыл бұрын

I like this 🙌🏾 good figure

Hi Aja, you've explained things very well in this video! 😍 I already have an emergency fund but it's the only "extra" money I have now. Could you do a video about accounts with high rates of return - if possible - that can be found worldwide? I don't how to choose one and when to trust an online bank. I look forward to your insights 🙏🏻✨ Thank you for your content, you're inspiring young people like me to grow into responsible and money-smart adults 😊 Also, obviously yes to your video idea!

Wow this is impressive Aja

Thank you for the useful content.

Well I keep coming back to this video periodically throughout the year. I built my emergency fund up to $2,000 earlier this year but then I decided to change to overnight shift at work so I bought an electric moped for $1902 because the buses dont run late enough. Its been a few months since that purchase and Im just now getting back around to saving again. I have been prepaying my rent though so that Im always ahead if anything happens to my income. Currently paid up til August....

Aja, we're thinking along the same lines! I put my house down payment in a Vanguard brokerage account too. :) It has a mix of ETFs that have given me a great yield. My 6-month emergency fund is with Synchrony, an online bank. Meh 0.5% return. I haven't had a need to touch it, so all my extra money from my monthly salary goes to the brokerage account (and my yearly maxed Roth contribution). Thanks for being such a great role model and showing people that finances are cool!

@ccap3211

3 жыл бұрын

Do you know about how much you make on your brokerage account?

@ericachan452

3 жыл бұрын

@@ccap3211 In three years, it's returned me 13.3%. Past five years: 13.2%. Past ten years: 10.1%. And I know you shouldn't pay attention to a one year return since the market fluctuates, but it's showing me a whopping 30.7%, which is insane. 😁

@ccap3211

3 жыл бұрын

Erica Chan wow! Thanks for sharing!

@vannie8511

3 жыл бұрын

Hi Erica, can you tell us which ETFs you are invested in?

@ericachan452

3 жыл бұрын

@@vannie8511 I have a lot now, honestly, but I started out with mainly just Total Stock Market, Total International Stock, Real Estate, and Value. In the past few years, I started playing around by adding more, like Small Cap Growth, Information Technology, Energy, Financials, Health Care... too many to name, really. If you're just starting out, I would suggest investing over the entire market (like Total Stock and Total International). But definitely just do some research on what experts consider the best ones, and really think about how much risk you're willing to take. A lot of the ETFs I chose are labeled as high risk.

I would love to see a video showing where we could put money into for a down payment!❤

Would love to hear about where you put the savings for a down payment!

I would love to hear a video about where to put your long to medium term (3-10 years) goals for things like a down payment or dream vacation!

@suryasingh_12

10 ай бұрын

Try putting in a cd it gives great interest rate through your bank

I have a year saved in my emergency fund, I have covered my family’s normal needs in the calculation, which is not as crazy as it sounds, because I’m debt and mortgage free 🙏 (which took a lot of hard work to reach) But because of the pandemic I saved from 6 months up to 12 months in the emergency fund over the past year 😌🤞so now we are at 12 months of expenses 🤑

Would love to see video w/Tod on places to put the surplus

Excellent video ☺️🎊

What are your thoughts on putting savings in places like Ellevest?

I had $5000 in my emergency fund, had a job open up for me in JAN so used the entire fund for relocating. Job said they would reimburse up to $3000 but still waiting on them, it does usually take this long. Now my EF has about $1000 and working to bring it up to $7000-8000.

I keep hearing about ally bank..I currently hold my savings at chase and would like to switch over. What do you guys think about online banks/ally?

Good advice. I’m doing something similar. I have a combination of savings accounts which serves as my emergency fund that’s liquid and safe but I’ve also been building up my brokerage account for a few years now with extra money so it also serves as savings or possibly just long term investment if I don’t ever need it. I also put money I won’t need for 2-3 years in the brokerage account like vacation fund for a big family trip abroad. The money is all together in one account but I have a spreadsheet so that I know how much I allocated for vacation, savings, etc.

Love your videos

@AjaDang

3 жыл бұрын

thank you!

Yasss girl!! I want to put away 10,000.00!! And this video motivated me to save money!! I really want to save money now!!

Since I’m debt free, my goal is to get to 10k. That’s a little over 6 months for me. Love the video!

@itsjohnanthony

3 жыл бұрын

We have the same goal . I just became debt free as of 3/25/21. On the road to 10 in my EF

Is it possible that some of the people who said they were saving for an emergency fund were considering significant medical bills? Like what if you break your arm in the USA but have no insurance?

@AjaDang

3 жыл бұрын

that could've been a possibility but I asked people directly and they said it included their down payment.

What index fund do you recommend to save with

Been following Aja for a while now. Originally for her bikini videos, but it's been great to see her evolve into a tried and tested expert who has taken us on her journey into personal finances. Seeing you pay off your student loan debt was very inspiring and interesting to see 👍👍👍

Im building one for myself and house necessities and a separate one for my mom and three dogs. My mom lost her job like two weeks before the pandemic hit our area and I’ve been having to handle my monthly expenses plus having to help her so that’s why I decided I start building one for her and the dogs, cause I am a crazy dog mom lol, and one for myself and house expenses.

@shantedewise7345

3 жыл бұрын

Very sweet!!

What do you think of discover interest rates?

I decided this year that my Emergency Fund needs to be 10.000 euros. I'm at around 6.000 so I'm already feeling good about that but I think the round number of 10.000 will give me solid peace of mind.

Great video! I have $10,000 for a 6 month emergency fund :) Would love some videos about the different retirement accounts :)

My EF is 6mo bare bones expenses at 3k per month in a HYSA. I built up my EF prior to tackling my debt snowball to feel more secure. I can drop down to 2k if student loans are paused during my emergency/laid off/etc but for now I have 18k put aside. When I buy a house, I was going to up my EF to 4K per month to ensure all bills and mortgage is covered. I have been saving towards a 20k down payment, currently at 17k, in a HYSA. Interested to hear more about where to store this?!

I always thought emergency fund is 6 months of your monthly income (as broken down by my college economics teacher; maybe it works slightly different in Singapore where we are more afraid of having lesser than we need when emergency do require touching the fund but 3-6 months of expenses do make sense) so I frantically saved on my emergency fund to reach 6 months worth of salary. It was tough. 😣 but definitely worth it!

I’ve fully funded 3.5 months! Now I’m saving to move (another 10k) and then I’m going to go for 6 months!

can we have a hair tutorial for this hairstyle?!?! love it!

Here in the Philippines, we have digital banks which earns high interest vs regular savings account from regular banks. One is ING, gives me around 2.5% a month! They also provide digital debit and pay card and you can request for a physical copy of the debit card for free. Digital pay card is for paying bills, etc. I'm trying to pay off my debt first but I'm planning to put my EF here so that it also earns interest in the future!

Hey Aja! What would you recommend for the psychological aspect of saving money? I'm at 1.5years of an emergency fund which I know is too much. The thing is though I've previously been in debt or struggled with money my entire life and I can't shake the "pack rat" mentality of stashing away money. After grad school it took me a year to find a job (during pandemic so that of course is a factor). Even though I was still employed, I never thought finding a job would be that hard which has only added to my paranoia. Not sure if you've dealt with this aspect but I'd appreciate any tips!

@AjaDang

3 жыл бұрын

I think that's a really tricky situation and I totally get it. I would say, that you have to remind yourself that you're no longer in that situation: you have a job, you have your financial life together and you'll never be back in the situation were you in years back (especially with 1.5 yrs of EF). I think you can continue to have that "pack rat" mentality by instead of stashing it in a savings fund, "pack rat" your money into your retirement funds or investments. But also, there's nothing wrong with that much money in an EF if you feel that you mentally need that money to feel safe.

@Alexis-gd4zy

3 жыл бұрын

@@AjaDang thank you! That's a great point, I can channel that energy into retirement. I guess I've been trying to convince myself to break up the EF but I'm thinking now maybe just accepting that's what I need for peace of mind like you said and conservative investments for anything new.

That's a solid emergency fund.

Since COVID-19 I decided to increase my emergency fund to $35,000 to cover an year worth of expenses. It's going to be a long process because I'm trying to pay off debt and put 24% of my salary in retirement funds at the same time.

@karlettathirkill9712

Жыл бұрын

I dropped it down to $20,000 because of my job security. 🙌

I have 6K for my emergency fund but I am working on getting it up to 15-20k. I am considering investing some of my HELOC in the market (10/22 lows) to help build it faster.

I personally have 2 years worth of expenses in my emergency fund: 1) It makes me feel very secure financial; allowing me to remain unemotional when it comes to investing for growth 2) My emergency fund is all I-Bonds. So while I am not earning interest, I am also not losing money to inflation. Given I need my emergency fund to be immediately available at any time, I view a guaranteed real rate of return of 0% annually for 30 years as excellent,