Search results for emergency fund
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Posted
Oct 12 2007, 07:27 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Hidden in my apartment is a slowly growing collection of small bills. I’ve been setting aside ones and fives toward the goal of having cash on hand for emergencies.
Some Smart Spending message board readers do this, too. Whether they call it pin money, bail money, “gittin’ out of town” money or just a collection of presidential quarters, having a little ready cash makes them feel, well, ready.
The U.S. government wants us to be ready. One of the Department of Homeland Security’s Web sites, www.ready.gov, recommends keeping some folding green on hand, right alongside the food, water and bucket toilet.
After all, some emergencies mean power failures -- bye-bye, ATMs.
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Posted
Dec 03 2008, 07:43 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
An old friend recently got a job after being first underemployed and then unemployed. One day at noon her new boss noticed she hadn't left her desk. "Aren't you going to have any lunch?" he asked.
Well, no, she wasn't. There'd been barely enough in the house to make brown-bag lunches for her kids. My friend lied brightly about wanting to work through her lunch hour so she could finish on time for once.
It's bad enough to be on the financial edge. It really stinks to be put on the spot, too.
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Posted
Nov 11 2008, 01:34 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
The ugly economy came home to roost on Kyle's head in the form of a pink slip, so we read with great interest his post at Amateur Asset Allocator called "11 things to do immediately when you get laid off."
Our favorites on that list? Take a vacation, and find a girlfriend/boyfriend. Until now you probably haven't had time for either one.
This post is tongue-in-cheek and fun (bonus tip for the unemployed: Maintain a sense of humor) and it contains lots of wisdom. We'll also review the steps Kyle really took once he was let go from his software company job.
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Posted
Nov 14 2007, 11:01 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
A month ago today, I became debt-free – made the last payment to a relative who had lent me some money. This loan had allowed me to throw a big chunk of cash against credit card debt accrued during divorce proceedings. (Lawyers bill by the hour, you know.) Once the credit card was paid in full, I started repaying the family loan. As money came in through diligence or chance, I’d let it build to $300 and then write a check. I'm not sure why $300 became the magic number; it just sounded good. Now I'm debt-free: no student loans (I'm blessed with a scholarship), no car payment (please let it last another six or seven years), no credit card debt (and there won't be any more). It feels about how you'd think it would: pretty darned great. 'A perpetual grin' This relative wasn’t dunning me. But it bothered me to owe money. Some people count sheep; at night I would lie in bed counting ways to stretch available funds to reach the next $300. Reading some postings from a Smart Spending message board
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Posted
Dec 02 2008, 06:30 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Filed under: banking, credit, Bargaineering, online banking, financial planning, credit cards, credit reports, homeowners insurance, mutual funds, estate planning, wills, executor, emergency fund, income tax, tax software
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. Popular Mechanics created a list called "100 skills every man should know," which naturally gravitated toward DIY/physical skills like jump-starting a car and splitting firewood. The Frisky listed "30 skills every woman should have before turning 30," which actually touched on more than physical skills (though No. 12 is physical), with a handful of financial skills (Nos. 17-20). The following isn't a checklist of things you necessarily need to do in your life. It's a list of things you should know how to do in case the need arises.
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Posted
Aug 04 2008, 06:06 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly. When I was a sophomore in college, I got my first credit card. I thought it was awesome -- it was like free money. Soon I got another credit card, and before long I'd maxed them both out. I entered the work force with a handicap. I had the start of a nasty credit habit. My parents had never been good with money, and as a result I had no notion of proper financial skills. I made some bad decisions, which were in turn compounded by some rotten luck. Just five years after graduation, I had about $20,000 in credit card debt. For the next decade I tried to kick the habit. Sometimes I'd make progress, but then I'd find other ways to fall behind. Here are some of the mistakes I made along the way and the steps I took to correct them.
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Posted
Apr 16 2008, 09:04 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
I have 29 cans of tuna, thanks to a really good sale at Albertsons. Last week's ad had a coupon for Chicken of the Sea tuna at three cans for 99 cents, limit six.
The fine print said "one coupon per transaction," not "one coupon per customer." Some of my neighbors toss the grocery ads unread into the lobby recycle bin, so I wound up with a handful of coupons.
Guess which destination walk I chose a bunch of times in the past week. And guess what I had for lunch on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday.
It had been almost a year since I bought tuna. I'd gotten irritated when the price went up as high as $1.09 a can -- and not even for albacore, just for the chunk light. "When it goes on sale, I'll stock up," I kept telling myself.
Did I ever. It's part of my ongoing maintenance of what MSN Money columnist Liz Pulliam Weston calls "the emergency fund you can eat."
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Posted
Apr 21 2009, 11:45 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
He's 68, has $280,000 or so in retirement savings, no debt, and wants to take his wife of 40 years on a $30,000 trip around the world. Denied, said Suze Orman. He can't go because he doesn't have an eight-month emergency fund.
We'll have to take the word of "Moneymonk" and one of her readers on this because we didn't see Suze's show. But the scenario she recalls and Suze's advice didn't sit well with Moneymonk.
"Suze, retirement is supposed to be enjoyed. This is their time. Let them have it," Moneymonk wrote. "Suze, whatever happened to PEOPLE FIRST?"
What's really taken personal-finance bloggers by surprise is Suze's about-face on paying off credit card debt, which until recently was her top priority. She used to say: "Your first step is you have to get out of credit card debt. After you're out of credit card debt, you need an eight-month emergency fund."
She now says people should pay only the minimum due each month on their cards until they have that emergency fund in place.
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Posted
Nov 06 2007, 06:41 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post is from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity . There's a ton of talk that we're moving toward a recession. That's right -- a recession. Isn't that horrible? Well, sort of, but what exactly is a recession? A recession, by definition, is when the gross domestic product declines for two or more consecutive quarters. It's a period of economic slowdown when companies earn less and pay less -- and life is generally a little less prosperous. How does that affect you? What should you do to prepare if a recession, specifically a prolonged recession, hits? It's quite simple: You should prepare for the possibility that you could lose your job. In a recession, companies often scale back operations as sales lag, and jobs are often one of the things to hit the chopping block. To prepare for this: Keep your ear to the ground and make sure the first you hear of your job loss isn’t when your boss calls you to the office to deliver the bad news. Pull back your spending and boost your
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Posted
Oct 14 2008, 09:00 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller.
Make no mistake about it -- a recession is here. While we do not know how long or painful it will be, we do know that it has the potential to be the worst financial crisis any of us have ever lived through.
The stock market lost more than 20% in 10 trading days. Retirees and those nearing retirement have seen their nest egg eroded, some by 30% or more. And the banking system is under severe stress in the United States and globally. That's the bad news. Now for some good news.
There are steps we can take now to better prepare for potentially difficult financial times ahead. There is no silver bullet that can insulate us from any financial crisis, of course. But there are basic things we can do to make sure we are as ready as we can be to weather the coming financial storm.
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