5 Somewhat Daring Ways to Create an Emergency Fund: Are you desperate enough to save?
By: Lenita Reeves
Tags: Financial Planning, Personal Finance, Saving

The best financial advisers and coaches encourage the incorporation of an emergency fund in your financial planning. Why? Life happens. Case in point — I recently had to replace my HVAC system after discovering there was no heat in the house only a few days before I had to embark on international travel amid COVID-19 alerts. Urgh, needless to say, it was a bit frustrating.

But yes, all the stuff we accumulate needs maintenance and sometimes breaks. Rather than viewing these breakdowns as punishment from God or an attack from an evil force (as I used to do), I’ve learned that you need to plan for them and realize they are a fact of life — because no major appliance, car, roof, or HVAC system lasts forever. Each of these items will require maintenance or repair and eventually need complete replacement. So planning for emergencies is an essential part of your financial planning. And plain and simple, it’s part of you being a responsible adult. [the writer sighs]

So how do you build an emergency fund? I’ve concluded that to save money, you have to be a bit desperate because the culture and society do not always encourage the habits necessary for frequent, consistent saving. Here are few suggestions for the bold and daring who are tired of ending each year with no savings to show for their 365 days of work.

Babysit. Yes, even if you’re an adult babysit, but be smart about it. Host a parents’ night out for all your friends who have kids. The kids can come with their masks on. Get it all over with in one night. Heck, you may even find it fun. Pizza, popcorn, and an animated movie will do the trick. Then, have a dance competition with them to work off the food. They can hit their sleeping bags after that. Include as many kids as you can in your house and charge each parent a reasonable fee. Ten kids at $25 or $30 per child is not bad for one night. Some parents would pay even more if you make it a sleepover where they could pick up their child early the next morning. If you do that once a month or once every other month, you may be able to construct a few-thousand-dollar emergency fund in three to four months.

Let go of your penchant for name brand clothes, shop at thrift stores, and save the money you would have spent. For some, this idea made your heart race. You thought of what your friends might say or what others might think of you. My response? Who cares! When you have money in the bank, and your friends ask to borrow money from you, what they think won’t matter. Besides, you can often find the same name brand items for pennies on the dollar at thrift stores.

Sell not only the stuff you don’t use but also the things you use but can live without. No, really. I know people who sold their living room furniture to pay off debt. They put down a rug and happily sat on the floor, enjoying the fact that they didn’t owe anyone anything. Are you daring enough or desperate enough for financial change to do something like that? If so, plan your yard sale or put some stuff on Facebook Marketplace, eBay, or your community virtual yard sale group. The possibilities and platforms are many.

Switch to a prepaid phone until you reach your savings goal. It won’t work for everyone, but if you spend over $100 on your monthly cell phone bill, this might be a good option for you. Granted, you may have to time it with the ending of your existing contract. And I know, I know it’s hard to imagine life without your cell phone, but are you using your phone as a phone or as a computer? Check the amount of time you spend making phone calls versus using social media on your phone. You can use social media on a computer for a few months and save hundreds.

Rent your car as often as you can until you reach your savings goal. If you’re working from home as a result of COVID, are you really using your car as much anyway? And you can always sanitize your car. Here are a few sites to check out to begin making money by renting your car:

Turo.com

Hyrecar.com

Getaround.com

Travelercar.com

Availcarsharing.com

Saving is not for the faint of heart, but with a little daring it’s possible. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and the rewards are worth the sacrifice.