Building Your Emergency Fund

When times are good we all feel like the money will always be there for us. We get used to that regular paycheck and almost feel like we don't just earn it we also deserve it. So we spend to our hearts content until the dreaded day comes when the paycheck stops. We think it will be easy to just go to the employment agency show them our resumes and we will be back making more money than ever. Nothing could be further from the truth. The average time someone is unemployed can last a very long time. You may be shocked to find your skills are not as valuable anymore, or worse, your skills have no value! This is where you should have saved at least a years worth of income in your savings account to get you through this hard time. Failing to have an emergency fund is like living in a house made out of straw. The next strong gust of bad times will land you out on the street. So figure out how much money you would need to survive for a year without work and get started on saving that money before you buy that next cup of gourmet coffee.