We worked really hard to build our £1000 emergency fund and reached it at the end of last year. Then our washing machine broke. At first I was deeply disappointed as we had to use the emergency fund to buy a new one, but then I started to think about the extra debt we would have taken on without that money. We're very close to being back to £1000 again now and want to keep building it beyond this. 😊
This happened to me, except it was the car. It was a great learning lesson that I was actually on the right path, although I felt I had taken many steps backwards.
Hi Jane and Mike I'm 63 medically retired Rollin along in awheelchair😊 frugality may not get you out of poverty HOWEVER it CAN improve your quality of life and enable you to save thanks
I have an emergency fund for the dogs, dental care and appliances breaking down and also a 3 to 4 month buffer in case of job loss or something really bad happening that makes me unable to work. Besides that I think it is important to have a sinking fund for all the costs that come on a yearly basis like car maintenance and taxes, some insurances, etc. In my sinking fund I also save for holidays and self-improvement (courses or education). I think it all starts with an honest look at ALL your expenses and go from there. To be honest I am kind of proud of myself for coming this far because I lived on my own from when I was 16 and never learned anything about money. It was a mess back then and for a long time, really, but I came out of it and everyone can. Everything I have learned was through youtube and I am very grateful for that. I think money matters should be a mandatory course in school for every young adult. Loved the video.
I agree on every single point you‘ve said. Especially on the mandatory course in school. As a teacher I try to educate the students about money, because their parents don‘t talk to them about money related things. But my time for that is Limited. Next year, the students at our school are going to be educated in a class called „future in your hands“ about taking money-matters seriously.
Euthanasia is expensive in the states as well for our pets. When I worked at n animal hospital, I once paid the balance of someone’s bill so that they could have a private cremation and get their remains back. It was worth their peace of mind to me.
@@myaccount9498 I still remember that day. We were literally in the visiting room (where people could say private goodbyes) and that’s when their card got declined. I wasn’t about to make them leave (which is what the vet said to do, I didn’t like that vet very much). I had to charge it that day because I didn’t have the money either. Too many times, I saw folks who had to decline treatment for their pets bc of lack of funds. For me, I will go hungry before my pets do.
I have a 5 month emergency fund, working to build it up to a 1 year fund. Also, I keep sinking funds for car expenses, holidays costs, medical costs, future car purchase, and future travel. Having an emergency fund and sinking funds brings such peace of mind. I pay myself first on payday each month.
I save bit by bit every month for all I might need --vet, dentist, next car, car repairs, home repairs, etc. Then, I also try to put something away every month for just general emergency savings. Because my income is so low, I can only put a very little into these savings categories. At times of unemployment in the past, I've only had 25¢-50¢ a month to save for a category or two. That was still a positive, even if only a teeny -tiny one. It allowed me to keep feeling positive about finances. Now, some categories only get a dollar a month. I wish it could be more, but at least, it is still positive. I don't know exactly how much I should have. My savings is so slow that I haven't come near being ready for any emergency, so I just keep saving. When I had a good salary, my goal was to save up enough money to cover 3.5 years worth of expenses. I never got there, but I was able to live 2.5 years without an income, just from previous savings, from when I did have that good income. I lived the barest of bare bones financially then. It worked. So I don't really know how much I might need... so I just keep saving 😊
Right now we are focused on eliminating debt, so our emergency fund will take some time to be as robust as we would want. As we meet debt elimination goals, we are adding sinking funds for different types of emergencies (pet care, car repair, family funeral trip expenses, etc). I try to celebrate small achievements to avoid discouragement. Thanks, Jane, Mike and puppies!
Good day Jane and Mike. I’m working on my emergency fund! I had to cut down on impulsive buys and by October I’ll have 1000 emergency fund. Thanks to your videos. God bless
Staying disciplined and focused! Love that, thank you. That what I did 10 years ago, when “a ton of bricks” hit me. Back in London I was feeding myself with £5.00 per week, I didn’t buy a single piece of clothing for 2 years. Never permitted myself a latte or eating out. 15:54 Always was paying myself, starting with just 2%. It felt so good knowing that I have that safety cushion, then all I wanted is to keep going. Was I depressed living frugal life? No, I wasn’t because I had a goal and time frame for my emergency fund. There were and are so many free activities, sightseeing, museums, street music festivals that one can enjoy and not feel cut out. I feel proud achieving all my (on my own with my own sweat) financial goals, all funds in order, paying my mortgage and being debt free. These days with skyrocket prices I am not on extreme budget, but still disciplined and focused. Start small, take baby steps and stay focused!
Great video. As usual, watching on my work lunch hour while eating lunch brought from home. I have exciting news - I just out an expensive piece of hobby (scuba diving) gear up for sale. Due to various reasons, it no longer fits my need. The best part is that if it sells for asking price, I will be able to clear 3/4 of my last debt! 😄 I’m so excited! This will move being debt free forward a number of months. I’ll then be able to pay off the rest rather quickly. I’m then going to build from my $1K baby emergency fund. I’m single I would feel better with a year’s worth of expenses.
I do have an emergency fund , however keep adding to it because prices keep going up. Thank you for good ideas Jane Mike and puppies. Love seeing those adorable puppies.
How true! We just had an unexpected $600 auto repair today+ there was our fully funded emergency fund you recommended, so we didn’t panic. Now we will work to replace the money we spent. Thank you!
My daughters new cat needs dental surgery, we have the money and she will pay us back, her last cat had to be put to sleep and again we stepped up. She now realizes she will need to put money aside, lesson learnt.
We live overseas from the UK and so have a range of emergency funds which form a mixture of isolated emergnecy back up and sinking funds. We have medical sinking funds which we fund to a certain level every month, a month in expenses which we are growing to 3 months and savings for electronics replacements and car replacements. The car replacement fund acts as a both a sinking fund and emergency fund. So if the car was wiped out we would be able to fund a replacement for a like-for-like between the insurance money and the simking fund. Car maintenence has its own fund for routine and larger maintenance potential problems. We learnt the hard way with our last car when the whole front end of the car burnt out from the heat (we live in the UAE). We also learnt never to buy a car which isn't specified for the Gulf region. Gulf specified cars are more expensive because their composition is different better a/c and cooling systems. Sometimes you dont know what you dont know but now we do we have biught much more carefully.
I agree with you that we all need an emergency fund for unexpected expenses. I put my savings in one account and don’t touch it unless it is an emergency or that I need to replace something (like a couch f.e.). Every month I put a set amount into that account and whenever I have money left at the end of the month I put it into the account as well. I also have a savings account for fun things where I also save a set amount and I can use that whenever I want, but I never put extra money into that account. I live in the Netherlands so health insurance is expensive but also very good and includes the dentist as well so we don’t have to pay much ourselves.
Absolutely yes. Everyone need it. I mean everyone who's not quite well off or even pure rich. In my opinion 5k per person minimum. So if couple,10k. It sounds a lot, I know. But when you go to buy stuff,or repair car or roof or God forbid something urgent healthwise,sorry,but nobody care about you that it might be quite expensive. They just tell you the price. How are you going to manage,can you manage,what 'price' you will pay in order to manage-they don't care. True story and sad and realistic. It's reality. When I make decision to save for something, I am like obsessed. Not like a pure maniac, but I know. Like this is it, I am doing it. So save, save, save. Bit by bit. Start with smaller amount in the beginning of your journey. Good luck everyone. 🍀
We had 4 washing machines fail on us just after guarantee ended. Had to keep buying new ones at about £300 £400 a go. We eventually got one that is still in use, was starting to think i was cursed loool
Love your videos❤. Yes, we definitely need emergency funds ..ours has taken a hit in recent months and we are building it again. At a minimum in Australia you need $2000, but I'd prefer $15,000.
Great video and saving tips. Here in the US I don't think a thousand dollars would put a dent in an emergency. I'm getting to the point where I don't want to spend anything. It's scary times for sure. Thank you both for sharing your time. Hello to your beautiful fur babies 😊.
Hardly unexpected, but I am saving for funeral expenses. I know how much it cost 15 years ago when my mother passed away, and I expect that it will be a lot more now. The home will have to be sold, but in the meantime, there are costs associated with that (repairs, professional cleaning, painting, etc.,) and the movers will need to be paid up front as well. And then of course, the loss of half of our income will be needed to take into account.
We had a couple of friends and one died and they didn't have the money for the funeral. The survivor had to borrow money.
4 месяца назад
Agree. But few prepare for it. When my mother passed away last year, my father didn't have enough cash to pay for it. Neither myself, nor my brother did. But fortunately, my sister did. She covered the cost and we all agreed that my father would pay her back little by little every month until full repayment. That's when I decided to start a fund for my own cremation.
I absolutely love your channel. I have been watching for some time now. My husband and I are in our late 50s. We are debt free I work part time my husband still works full time. Your videos are sooo appreciated. Thank you both ❤
This video was major for me people tell you to stay disciplined but they don’t give tips on how to do it so I’m grateful that you have taken the time to do so pet care is something that I have to work on because I’ve not thought about it and my dogs are getting up in years so thanks for the reminder ❤
We have an emergency fund that we add to each month and sinking funds for things that are annual expenses as well as for particular things we are saving for. We evaluate the amounts quarterly to account for rising costs. I appreciate your videos. They encourage me that we are not alone in this financial journey. Thank you Jane and Mike!
I would say having a full months wages as a start for an emergency fund if you own a home. If you are a renter, then whatever the cost of the deposits on a new rental run in your area. I say this because more than once I have bailed out a young friend or two that needed to move on short notice and they had no funds to do so. Invariably that is the amount they would borrow from me. This didn't cut into our emergency fund for our own purposes.
Thanks for the great video Jane. When I had my beautiful dog pts last year, that and the individual cremation came to over £500! I couldn’t have had him thrown in with other animals and the pet cremation company are wonderful. But very expensive, I’m just glad I had the money!!!
@@FrugalQueeninFrance exactly. People need to consider all this before getting a pet. 😞
4 месяца назад
It is very expensive. I had to do that in 2022, the vet kept trying to tell me that one of my dogs might need to be pts. I couldn't fathom it, But after a few times, I enquired about options, including at home euthanasia. And once I had expected figures, I started to open a sinking fund for it. When the time came, it was fully funded, I only had to spend as much time as possible with my dog before the day. It was such a relief not to also have to worry about money. The budget is fully covered for dog 2 and I am getting there for dog 3.
Hi Jane and Mike, with the cost of living and having a huge car repair bill in February and again in March of this year it's taken time to pay back the money I needed for the car repairs. I have tried to build an emergency fund but there always seems to be something to take it back to zero. Just getting by each month is difficult enough but it won't stop me putting at least a small amount aside for my just in case fund. Keeping our heads above water is an achievement in itself I know but even if you can only afford to put £10 a week away it all helps. Thanks for sharing, kind regards Angeline 🇬🇧❤️ xx
I think a $2500 emergency fund is the minimum needed these days, but $1000 is a good start. I also recommend to save additional to account for annual inflation rate. I have a small emergency fund in a regular savings account easily accessible but the rest of my larger emergency fund is in a money market account earning higher interest. My sinking funds, insurance premiums and deductibles, and 6 month living expenses are in an online high yield savings account that is harder to access ( so I’m not tempted to dip into it ). I also want to encourage people to not become discouraged when saving. No one tells you HOW LONG it can take. It has taken 8 years for me ( single person, single income) to get to this point but I also paid off my mortgage balance and bought a car during this same time frame. It may seem daunting but I can tell you it is doable. Just keep at it no matter what. I’m currently working on 12 months living expenses saved up but I’m not as stressed about it now that I’ve got this foundation laid. I finally achieved a healthy bank balance and it’s amazing how much peace of mind I now have.
It's so encouraging to hear you say that it takes time and that's OK. I'm seeing slow progress each month and that's great, but sometimes it feels like 2 steps forward, 1 step back! We are plodding, but we're plodding in the right direction. 😊
I can still remember wishing I had $100 in an emergency fund. I worked hard at saving and soon had $1,000. Kept on building until I had enough to allow me to relax a little. Now when issues come up, I'm prepared and don't feel the stress of the situation. I just keep rebuilding the account until I can relax again. I just bought a car last year, so now I save to restock the car fund. We don't have dental insurance as it is very expensive in the US and doesn't much anyway. Dental expenses are quite expensive and can range from a little to a whole lot.
Hi Jane. You’ve just covered my life at the moment. Last October everything was going well. In a finical good place. So with the bank doing high rate of saving. We made the decision to put our saving included our emergency fund. In a high rate lockdown savings. Then SHTF in December hubby lost his job, then we lost our beloved cat. Put not wanting to touch our lockdown saving. We started to start a new emergency fund and rebuild it. And starting with a £1 a day. It slowly rebuilding and nearly at £200 now. Hubby started a job beginning of June and end in site. Monday on his way home from work was in a 3 car crash. Everyone was ok. His car is not good but it’s covered on the insurance. Hopefully it be fixed🤞. But made us realise how quick life can change. But note to self l won’t lockdown my emergency fund down with my savings again.
Great advice Jane. I do have an emergency fund which covers a year of my monthly expenses. Once I had my emergency fund in place I started setting up sinking funds to deal with all my irregular bills. These two accounts give me peace of mind that whatever life throws at me I am financially covered. For years I lived debt free and frugally but since finding your channel and setting up the above I find I have much more peace of mind and also freedom to spend. Before I had one saving pot and was afraid to use it in case something happened.
Thanks Jane and Mike for a good talk 😊 I can manage the cash flow but understand that for a lot of people it is not easy. Australia has a healthcare system but dental care is expensive. I had a serious accident a few years ago and collected a fractured jaw and teeth-my private cover managed the 7,000 aud account, so not cheap. Private health insurance is expensive but I like having the coverage. Pets, yes my late mutt needed vet care for heart guard and occasional emergency care, so again an expense. Lovely seeing the doggies 👍🇦🇺
Thank you Jane and Mike. You always make apropos videos. I have 2 months emergency fund and 4 sinking funds. I also have a tax sheltered savings account that I could tap into if I needed to.
Brilliant point Jane, my car account is separate from my emergency fund but I never considered saving some to cover the excess before. I am currently working towards an emergency fund of 3 months of living expenses plus I have sinking funds for vet bills, home furnishings/DIY, medical etc
My husband and I have always had an emergency fund ever since we were married 52 years ago. It certainly helped us stay out of debt. My grown children all have one and now my grandchildren are planning on theirs when they get out of school. None od us have debt including house payments. But you never know what life will bring you.
I'm on a disability income of $1100 n since going frugal n having a "no spend yr" last yr was able to save almost $4000. Last month my 18 yr old car needed to be fixed n cost $2200 n the next day I needed a plumber that cost $492 then 3 days later my cat had an emergency which cost $840. It took me over a yr to save almost $4000 in just 5 days I spent almost all that I have saved. I'm so glad I'm NOT in debt for that, but it is so demoralizing knowing that now I'm starting all over again.
Yes, an emergency fund should be in everyone's budget. You just never know when you might need it. This past week I used part of mine to visit a palliative relative. If not for this fund, the precious time spent with someone I care about would not have been possible.
@@FrugalQueeninFrance Definitely not, I didn’t explain it very clearly in my first comment as I was hurrying to get to work. My emergency fund enables me to travel and eat out as the money I would normally use for these activities would have to be used for other expenses like car repairs, whitegood replacement etc if I didn’t have an emergency fund for such purchases.
We have sinking funds for irregular expenses, yearly taxes and insurance, vacations and other unexpected expenses. Plus other savings for long term items. Learned about this from Jane and a couple of other youtubers. Always pay yourself first. ❤❤$$$$❤❤❤❤
We do have an emergency fund but we do also have pet insurance. We pay £28/month with vets bills covered up to £5K in any one year. This is for one dog aged one. We can't get insurance for a recently inherited 13yr old dog, even if we could it'd probably be far too expensive.
And it would not be worth it with every they don't cover as the pet ages + the part out of pocket. End of day, last year, I paid more that what the insurance covers. I am only keeping it for the third party insurance. I don't have any other insurance that would cover it.
Loved the video! I'm curious if there is a point at which you would say that it's too much for a pet? My dog ate a mushroom and was in the ICU for 5 days and the bill was over $4,000. We had the money but as we move closer to early retirement I am wondering if we should cap the pet fund and if it's over that have her put down.
Now that we finally paid off our debt (since last summer) we are saving every month, half our savings is for emergencies and half for retirement. The problem is my husband and I disagree about what is an emergency. Our dishwasher broke and he wanted to buy one right away and I said it is not an emergency and we can hand wash our dishes for a while. My pets are high on my priority list and for him they are not as important and he does not want to spend the (criminally) high cost of vet care so all our pets have health insurance. It is good to see those amounts growing each month but it is definitely not nearly enough, we need to save a lot more and we are constantly making changes to make that happen.
Our emergency fund went pop because of a non paying client - we were defrauded. I'm glad it was there, but it wasn't enough and it's proving very hard to pull back to a place where we will have one again. Build it and hang onto it! Especially if you're self employed.
Have an emergency fund and we keep adding to it. Also have sinking funds (since I started listening to your channel) for Dental, Vision, Car Maintenance, Lawncare (my husband cannot physically do it), New Washer & Dryer, Groceries (pay cash if necessary due to power outage), Gasoline (again if power outage). Property taxes, etc is killing us right now but I realize we are better off than many. Our Social Security insurance only covers up to 80% of expenses so you have to have a medigap insurance. Right now for 2 of us is over $400/month plus prescription costs. It's awful!
Trust me it must be a universal thing about dentists, they seem to charge what they want, at least here in the states. Emergency fund for that is a good idea, never thought about that bc I have dental insurance which only covers the basics…xray, cleanings and fillings.
I earn a good wage now but started at a very low wage. There was a credit union in that job though, so I was able to put away £5 every week from my pay check before I got paid. It was surprising how much that quietly built up in the 9 months I was there. And the job I’ve been in ever since also has a credit union (a different one) so I am still able to do a salary sacrifice the same way. I put away more now as I earn more, for emergencies and gifts and holidays. Whenever I get a pay rise, I let myself enjoy the first one or two paycheques for a treat, but then I increase the amount I save directly, as I had been living on the lower amount so I don’t need it to live on - and I would prefer to enjoy something bigger in a few months rather than feeling I could spend it every month on something small and not really worth it.
I agree about having the money for end of life care, including euthanasia and funeral/cremation. I started such a fund, different from dog medical cost, dog food, dog license..., when one of my dogs was going into end of life. The objective on this fund was to be able to cover for at least 2 of my 3 dogs at any moment. With only two dogs now, one is fully covered and little by little, I am adding to cover the second dog. Dog forbid, both dogs would need it at the same time. It makes me also realise that I needed a similar fund for myself. Very small at the moment but hopefully will grow to a good level by the time it would be needed. I also started a fund to finance an assisted end of life, to go abroad where it is currently legal, which is a much bigger budget than just funeral and such funds. Funds for dentist, ophtalmologie, "daily" medical, health check-up, woman health... I have a fund for moving house as I rent. I consider an emergency fund being more for something that would be really unexpected like being an accident, having a major health issue, losing a job, anything that would not be a reoccurrence, regardless of the timeframe.
We have an emergency fund of 6 months living expenses so if either me or hubby lost our jobs we would be fine while we looked for another one. We have it in a high interest earning account so it builds up a bit more each month without us having to do anything. We also have a capex account for if something breaks or needs replacing and we are adding to this all the time.
Just an idea for those who need dental care.....many dental assistant and hygienist training schools and colleges/universities that have dental schools (for training dentists both general and specialty areas) offer free or very low cost care so that their students can become proficient at these skills. They are governed by highly trained professionals of that field who check the students' work constantly. I was a dental assistant and it is so hard to find people so that you can "test out" on state requirements. Sometimes the student will even pay you. My ex got about $5000.00 worth of work free. Cost to him was just the time for the appointments but he needed so much work done. (He let his mouth go badly).
Interest earned on your savings accounts can be meaningful, even if not a large amount. In talking with a friend this afternoon I mentioned the 4.25% interest our regular savings currently earn at Capital One (in the USA). She said she was going to look into that for herself. For many years she has been a customer for a different financial institution and her savings there are earning only about 1%. At Capital One where our savings earn 4.25% our account has no fees, there’s no cost to us to have and to use this account. An example with savings of $10,000 for 1 year at 1% -- $100 interest earned. An example with savings of $10,000 for 1 year at 4.25% -- $425 interest earned.
Here in the US. I keep 30,000$ in emergency funds. I’m a couple of years from retirement. When I was a young mother I started saving 20$ a week. I feel secure with the amount I have now.
I like to have $5000 in an emergency fund. We recently discovered termites in our home and had to pay $2400 to exterminate and treat. I’m now working overtime and that money is going toward building the fund back up
We would love to have a pet but for reasons you just explained we cannot afford it. Yes we have to pay for health insurance, prescription drugs, etc. Healthcare is so expensive in the USA. Very sad.
We are in Spain, and although we thought we were covered by our health insurance for everything, we have now been told that they won’t cover my chemotherapy tablet treatment although they have covered everything else, so we are left with no option but to put it on our credit card and then budget the repayments into our monthly expenses 😡😡😡
@@FrugalQueeninFrance thank you, we’ve just heard our youngest son is going to give us his holiday fund towards my treatment. We are so lucky to have such good family ❤️❤️❤️
Is it a private insurance or Seguridad Social? My mom's chemotherapy tablet treatments are covered. If is Seguridad Social you can ask the inspector .All the best with your treatment.
4 месяца назад
I am so sorry to hear that. Sending positive and healing energies
That’s horrible. Cancer treatments etc, can be so expensive , my particular radiation treatment is about $1,000 per treatment. My sister had the high dose ones 3@ $100,000
I have separate savings account for my son, cat, emergencies and a health care fund since my health insurance seems to want to not cover anything at all. Im trying to save 50% of my income but its a struggle at times.
@@FrugalQueeninFrance It is and it isn't. I'm debt free. I have bartered for a free place to park my Campervan with utilities included. So my bills are simply food, phone, insurances and a small storage unit. I splurge a little by having Kindle unlimited and Disney+ 🤣 However being ♿ is very expensive so I need to be extremely disciplined and save in case my equipment breaks or I end up in hospital.
I believe in having sinking funds for "emergencies" like car repairs (which have repeatedly saved my butt) and I have a separate emergency fund. Since we have universal healthcare, I consider a real emergency to be job loss.
Our perfectly good 5 year old air conditioning outside unit fell off the wall due to a couple of ruined screws. Then it rained,it ruined the computer board inside and we had to buy a whole new system for $1800 😵😵💫😭
Hi an emergency find is important,I lost mine when I was sick and only had statuory sick paye,now back at work but only part time due to health only my wage,I do try to do extra when I can,so bare bones budget for me to try and build an emergency find ,slow but sure
