Why you should have an emergency fund - Raiz Invest

Emergency Helicoptor in Alpine Mountains

You might just be the luckiest person on Earth if you go through life without ever running into a situation that requires immediate and unexpected access to money. In these events, it helps to have an emergency fund (a.k.a rainy day fund) to soften the financial impact in stressful periods.

Unfortunately, 1 in 3 Australians admit their current spending is beyond their means and more than 50% of the population wouldn’t be able to cover the loss of income without turning to a credit card or loan. In the event of losing a job the imminent stress of rent, utility bills, food, and family related expenses can all come across as overwhelming burdens.

Humorously referred to by some as a F**k Off Fund, it is generally recommended to have three to six months worth of expenses saved away in your emergency fund. This sounds difficult to achieve on top of general living expenses, but the good thing about an emergency fund is that you can take time to build it up.

 

3 Tips for saving for an emergency fund:

 

Save in small steps

There’s an English proverb that says ‘beware the beginning’. Small steps don’t seem like much in the beginning but there’s no limit in the end!

The key is saving regularly. $2-5 a day doesn’t seem like much, but add it up and you can see $730-$1825 stashed away in savings in 1 year.

 

Automate your savings

Scheduling automated deposits into your savings account removes emotion and self-discipline from saving. Setting up an automatic transaction on the same day you get paid will whisk the money out of your spending account before you have the chance to spend it.

 

Use a good old piggy bank

Why not have a bit of fun by conjuring up some childhood nostalgia and getting an actual piggy bank to put away loose change? You can even gamify the experience – say every time you’re late to an event put away $1 into your savings. Once you fill it up, you can pour it into your Emergency fund.

 


 

Don’t have the Raiz App?

Download it for free in the App store or the Webapp below:

download-raiz-app
Click to download the Raiz app

 

Important Information

The information on this website is general advice only. This means it does not take into account any person’s particular investment objectives, financial situation or investment needs. If you are an investor, you should consult your licensed adviser before acting on any information contained in this article to fully understand the benefits and risk associated with the product.

A Product Disclosure Statement for Raiz Invest and/or Raiz Invest Super are available on the Raiz Invest website and App. A person must read and consider the Product Disclosure Statement in deciding whether, or not, to acquire and continue to hold interests in the product. The risks of investing in this product are fully set out in the Product Disclosure Statement and include the risks that would ordinarily apply to investing.

The information may be based on assumptions or market conditions which change without notice. This could impact the accuracy of the information.

Under no circumstances is the information to be used by, or presented to, a person for the purposes of deciding about investing in Raiz Invest or Raiz Invest Super.

Past return performance of the Raiz products should not be relied on for making a decision to invest in a Raiz product and is not a good predictor of future performance.


Bitnami