Do you have an "Emergency Fund"?

I was raised in an upper-middle-class family, never really wanting for money (Though that doesn't mean I didn't WANT money). One of the things my parents taught me fairly early on, and something all my siblings live by, is the need to have an emergency fund; money saved in a bank account ONLY for emergencies such as your car breaking down or you losing your job. Most financial experts say to have between 3-6 months of expenses saved up, if not even a full 12 months.



Now my question to you is this: With the way the economy is now, who here has an emergency fund?




I do currently have one, and have about 4 months of expenses saved up. Obviously, if I lose my job/can't work, I would make some cuts and could stretch that money to 6 months.

Had 4 months saved up, lost my job, thank God my wife's paycheck and my unemployment benefits come out almost EXACTLY to what our restricted monthly budget needs are. We're still in stagnant. Not gaining, not losing.

ammolord wrote: I have a month and a half saved, wich is good because I just had to quit for college.

Which one you going to?

I have like $6000 saved...but its more for when I start my career, move, buy a house, ect....not really sure how long that would last me in an emergency situation.

Since I don't actually pay any of my major expenses, the money I've saved this summer would cover me relatively indefinitely.  On the parental dole, as it were.

I have about 1k saved up.  Where I'm living now that will cover rent and some utilities for one month.

choopie911 wrote: I'd need funds first, so....no.

This.

Thanks to the silly decision of buying a brand new car at 18, and just recently downgrading to my Mustang, it'll be a while before I'm able to bypass the car payment enough to save.

I like to think of my guns and guitars as backup funds I just recently sold my M4 to a buddy for 1100 (I paid 800 plus some mods I did to it) which has kept me going through two months of unemployment. Got my old warehouse job back yesterday so if all goes well I should be back on my feet in a couple of weeks. I did, unfortunately, likely lose a college semester which stings pretty bad, especially at my age, but I'm just happy I didn't lose my car or worse.

Have one, can't believe I went so long without one.

No, but I have lots of assets that can be liquified in only hours time.

Frankly, buying gold and silver now can only result in pain in the long run.  The price for both is stupid-high.  But for people who've been holding it for a few years or longer, I'm betting sometime in the near future (unless we really do double dip, in which case it may go out to another year or two) it's gonna drop like a brick.  Even people who bought gold and silver 24 months ago can probably realize a 50% return on investment, which is insane.