How to Set Up An Emergency Fund Right Now

Here’s a question I really want you to sit and think about.

What would you do if you had no income coming into your family, at all?

If you haven’t already, it is a fear and a feeling that I hope you never have to experience.

Just bringing in the income is not enough. You are responsible for more than just yourself, so setting up an emergency fund is important. If something happens and the income stops coming the only person who will take care of your family is, you.

You may think that it couldn’t happen to you, but, I am telling you right now, it could easily happen to anyone.

That is why today I am sharing with you from a mom to a mom, how you can easily set up an emergency fund and start funding it today. It’s not as hard as you might think.

EASY STEPS TO SET UP YOUR EMERGENCY FUND RIGHT NOW

1. Decided where you will put your emergency fund. 

I recommend putting your money somewhere that’s not easy to get to. You want to be able to get it, just not with the swipe of a card. That’s too easy.

Personally, I have our emergency fund in whats called a High Yield Savings account.  This is similar to a regular savings account, except you have a higher APY and you don’t have a debit card connected to the account.

After quite a bit of research, I decided to go with an American Express High Yield Savings account.

You are able to add an outside bank account to transfer your money. You can take your money out whenever you need it with no penalties and the APY is more than my traditional savings account.

2.  Go ahead and sign up for your new savings/emergency fund.

You must take this step, the only way to get your emergency fund started, it to sign up. It won’t take long and you will be so glad you did! The American Express account doesn’t require a deposit, so you can sign up now, even if you have no money.

3.  Connect the account you wish to use for transferring funds.

If you’re using the American Express savings account, or any other High Yield savings account, you will need to add an outside bank account for transferring funds. This is fairly simple to do and can be done right through your savings account.

You will need the account and routing number for your other account. You can get this easily, by logging into your other account online or calling your bank.

Typically American Express or whatever savings account you signed up for, will deposit a few cents into your connected account and you will need to verify the amount.  This is for security purposes and to make sure everything is set up correctly.

4. Once your account is verified and set up you can set up automatic deposits.

This is the next step to consistently saving money.  Don’t let it discourage you! If you know when you’re going to have money coming into your account, go ahead and set up an automatic deposit into your emergency fund. Even if it’s only $5, go ahead and do it!  You can easily change this amount as you adjust your budget. The money will go directly into your emergency fund and eventually, you won’t even notice.

As you increase the automatic deposit over time, your emergency fund will grow.

You will be so glad that you did this, I promise! Knowing that you have an emergency fund to fall back on brings a little peace to your life. Its very simple to get started. Pick a high yield savings account and set up your automatic payments. You will be so glad that you did this!