Author Topic: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?  (Read 12983 times)

Pushkina2

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #50 on: March 18, 2017, 11:53:19 AM »
The first part of my journal details the draining of our emergency fund to cover my hospitalization and miscarriage last fall. It was an awful experience, but would have been even more so without a solid financial cushion to absorb the costs.

Notasoccermom

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #51 on: March 18, 2017, 07:41:56 PM »
Both of our cars decided to die within 1 week of each other. When I mean "die" I mean 1 17 year old car that we bought for 2k 9 years ago with 212,000 miles on it needed a $1200 repair. Second car, 18 years old, bought 9 years ago for 3k, started to hemorrhage oil and power steering fluid. The car was worth maybe $500 if everything worked. Far from the truth.

We were able to replace both of them for 10k using our emergency fund.

soccerluvof4

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #52 on: March 19, 2017, 10:28:57 AM »
My daughter flushed down the toilet one of those things they teach women not to and it got lodged in the pipe. I tried for two days using a snake etc.. and it got beyond me and with 4 kids I needed to hire a plumber.

My garage door about a month ago the coil snapped so had to call on that but that wasnt to bad and the service was outstanding.

Seadog

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #53 on: March 19, 2017, 11:12:24 AM »
Am I the only one who thinks emergency funds are stupid? To me the whole concept just reeks of "Well, given that my liquid net worth should *normally* hover around zero, I'm going to be responsible and set aside a 10k buffer in case shit happens", which sad to say is probably not too far from fact for the average North American.

If you're saving and investing a large % of your income as preached here to become FI, constantly growing, that sort of serves as a de facto emergency fund. More accurately, you're financially independent enough to cover anything big that comes up. What's the point of having a disparate "emergency fund" of 10k, when you have 200k of other highly liquid assets, some of which are in conservative places which you can basically access by initiating a trade online?

The whole premise of an "emergency fund" seems to revolve around your default financial state being precariously balanced on the point of a needle.

Dicey

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #54 on: March 19, 2017, 11:26:40 AM »
Yowie-zowie, Seadog, judge much?

There's nothing wrong with being prepared. In fact, it's quite an admirable trait.

Ocinfo

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #55 on: March 19, 2017, 11:42:39 AM »
Yowie-zowie, Seadog, judge much?

There's nothing wrong with being prepared. In fact, it's quite an admirable trait.

While he didn't say it in the nicest way, his points are valid. A major purpose of an emergency fund is to prevent going into debt when an unplanned event occurs. Most people that have been following the general approaches described on this blog are likely in or will soon be in a position where there are very few events that are both typical emergency fund items (nominally up to $5k) and costly enough to require taking on debt.

Now, if your asset allocation plan calls for 10% cash and you want to call it an emergency fund, fine. But it's likely that for many on here, it's a just an asset allocation and convenience decision not a way to prevent having to carry a CC balance because your car broke down.


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Seadog

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #56 on: March 19, 2017, 04:09:11 PM »
There's nothing wrong with being prepared. In fact, it's quite an admirable trait.

Apologies for the harshness, but I feel my point stands. People don't get into trouble for want of an emergency fund, but for want of liquid assets. I'd be curious to see how many people opted for 70% interest payday loans, because although they had a quarter million dollars invested, they had no marked "emergency fund" so had no other option.

This is simply an extension of foolish "bucket finance". That is you have a bucket of money for food, one for gas, one for emergencies etc. A far better way is to simply have one bucket, - your liquid assets, and try to conserve and grow it as much as possible. The problem is, is that if you save money for whatever reason on say food (good sales), then people are tempted to piss away the rest because that "bucket" has some left over. A far better way is to simply buy things at the best possible price - it costs what it costs - but you know you're getting the best reasonable deal, and consequently growing/conserving your net worth as effectively as possible. 

One Noisy Cat

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #57 on: March 19, 2017, 04:53:38 PM »
$3,000 to buy a used car because the old one broke down completely.
$800 for a plumbing repair emergency

Warlord1986

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #58 on: March 19, 2017, 04:59:20 PM »
Dental work. I had to get a tooth pulled and the dentist was going to put in a fake tooth. Then they decided not to, and I got my $1,750 back.

Lmoot

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #59 on: March 19, 2017, 05:08:21 PM »
I only ever plan to use my emergency fund for job loss. Which is the only thing I've ever used it for. Large expenses are usually planned or covered from general savings, or I can put it on the credit card which buys me some time.

NotJen

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #60 on: March 19, 2017, 08:31:31 PM »
There's nothing wrong with being prepared. In fact, it's quite an admirable trait.
This is simply an extension of foolish "bucket finance". That is you have a bucket of money for food, one for gas, one for emergencies etc. A far better way is to simply have one bucket, - your liquid assets, and try to conserve and grow it as much as possible. The problem is, is that if you save money for whatever reason on say food (good sales), then people are tempted to piss away the rest because that "bucket" has some left over. A far better way is to simply buy things at the best possible price - it costs what it costs - but you know you're getting the best reasonable deal, and consequently growing/conserving your net worth as effectively as possible.
I don't like this analogy.  By design of the US tax code, my money has necessarily been put into buckets.  Each bucket has different rules and costs associated with it.  I choose to have something that I call an emergency fund, that amounts to a 4th option with no tax consequences.  At the time of an emergency, I get to choose which bundle of money to liquidate.  Maybe it's a quick transfer from savings, maybe I sell a taxable investment at a loss and get a tax benefit.  I think most people here would do the same.

Just because someone has something they choose to call an EF doesn't mean they don't take their whole financial picture into account when making decisions.

My goal isn't to absolutely maximize my finances, but to give myself enough options so I can make the decisions that give me the most freedom.

Tetsuya Hondo

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #61 on: March 19, 2017, 08:38:15 PM »
What do you mean by emergency fund?

Seriously. I thought I knew what this meant, but reading through the replies I get the impression that a number of you are talking past each other because you mean different things.

Is it cash? A savings account? Liquid assets?

Abe

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #62 on: March 19, 2017, 09:12:00 PM »
My wife and I used ours when she was terminated by her employer (ultimately won a suit against them). Even though she was quickly hired by another employer, we were net negative on savings for 2-3 months as she went through interviews and HR. I guess we could've withdrawn money from our taxable investment account but we did it the conventional way through the checking account. Contrary to what others may think, we aren't fools with our money.

Villanelle

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #63 on: March 19, 2017, 10:54:42 PM »
What do you mean by emergency fund?

Seriously. I thought I knew what this meant, but reading through the replies I get the impression that a number of you are talking past each other because you mean different things.

Is it cash? A savings account? Liquid assets?

The answer to this is as varied as it is when you ask what the perfect asset allocation is.

We don't have anything we specifically refer to as an emergency fund.  We do have what is essentially slop in the checking account so we aren't having to constantly balance to the penny or worry if we both withdraw cash on the same day.  Then we have our monthly investment amounts, which can be turned off if we have a larger expense, so that by the end of the month, that bill can easily be paid. For truly large expense, or just convenience, we also consider our large HELOC to be a source of emergency funds.  (This has been argued repeatedly on here, but we feel very comfortable with it as it is nowhere near the total equity we have in our home and thus very unlikely to get canceled.)  And as another line of defense, we have investments (taxable accounts, and retirement accounts if it ever got that far, which is difficult for me to imagine).  Those could be liquidated. 

For someone else, and EF might be $10,000 in a savings account. 

Dicey

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #64 on: March 19, 2017, 11:36:16 PM »
Dental work. I had to get a tooth pulled and the dentist was going to put in a fake tooth. Then they decided not to, and I got my $1,750 back.
Oh c'mon, the suspense is killing me! They didn't pull the tooth or they didn't put in a fake one?

VoteCthulu

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #65 on: March 19, 2017, 11:38:19 PM »
What do you mean by emergency fund?

Seriously. I thought I knew what this meant, but reading through the replies I get the impression that a number of you are talking past each other because you mean different things.

Is it cash? A savings account? Liquid assets?
Any of those could be your emergency fund, it's simply the money you pull from when an emergency that requires cash arises.

Most people do keep their emergency funds in a checking or savings account so they don't worry about needing to sell an investment during a dip, but others might keep it in a coffee can buried in the back yard.

MoonLiteNite

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #66 on: March 20, 2017, 02:28:00 AM »
I just use credit for those cases, and pull money from index funds to cover them before % gets me.
But i have had the main water line break, i THOUGHT it was under my house, so paid a pro. Ended by up being just by the side, oh well, that was 3k down the drain, but then i just asked them replace everything with PEX so 5k gone.

Lmoot

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #67 on: March 20, 2017, 03:15:53 AM »
Am I the only one who thinks emergency funds are stupid? To me the whole concept just reeks of "Well, given that my liquid net worth should *normally* hover around zero, I'm going to be responsible and set aside a 10k buffer in case shit happens", which sad to say is probably not too far from fact for the average North American.

If you're saving and investing a large % of your income as preached here to become FI, constantly growing, that sort of serves as a de facto emergency fund. More accurately, you're financially independent enough to cover anything big that comes up. What's the point of having a disparate "emergency fund" of 10k, when you have 200k of other highly liquid assets, some of which are in conservative places which you can basically access by initiating a trade online?

The whole premise of an "emergency fund" seems to revolve around your default financial state being precariously balanced on the point of a needle.

You are assuming that a large percent of one's income, is always a large amount. For a lot of people, especially younger people starting out, or for people investing in less liquid assets (like real estate), or for those who just make less money, there isn't much left over to invest, after maxing out retirement. Having an invisible $10,000 buffer built into $100,000 in mutual funds allows a reasonable expectation that it will be there, even in a down market. Counting on access to at least $10,000 in a down market when you only have 20-30,000 in non-retirement investments (in a balanced market), and things get a little "gamble-y".

I am one of those who both doesn't make a large enough income to put anything significant aside (let alone max out retirement yet), plus I am currently investing in real estate and can't afford to make any headway in either venture if I were to also contribute large amounts in non RE investments. It's a goal of mine, but not a current goal of mine.

I think sometimes people forget around here that while yes, we may have similar goals....they are still just that for some people..goals; things that they are still working towards attaining. Yeah, I want several $100k in investments so that I won't need an efund. That would be GREAT. But it's not an option for me right now. A $10k efund, while not the best option for someone who fits your scenario, is the safest/best option for someone who fits mine.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2017, 03:23:51 AM by Lmoot »

kimmarg

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #68 on: March 20, 2017, 07:30:38 AM »
There's nothing wrong with being prepared. In fact, it's quite an admirable trait.

Apologies for the harshness, but I feel my point stands. People don't get into trouble for want of an emergency fund, but for want of liquid assets. I'd be curious to see how many people opted for 70% interest payday loans, because although they had a quarter million dollars invested, they had no marked "emergency fund" so had no other option.

This is simply an extension of foolish "bucket finance". That is you have a bucket of money for food, one for gas, one for emergencies etc. A far better way is to simply have one bucket, - your liquid assets, and try to conserve and grow it as much as possible. The problem is, is that if you save money for whatever reason on say food (good sales), then people are tempted to piss away the rest because that "bucket" has some left over. A far better way is to simply buy things at the best possible price - it costs what it costs - but you know you're getting the best reasonable deal, and consequently growing/conserving your net worth as effectively as possible.

I think this is a bit of a mental game. As it happens I have 7 savings accounts earmarked for different things. Yes, I know having one would have the same mathematical result but it has a different mental result.  I do see your part that 'emergeny fund' is sort of silly if you have a high net worth but it works well for someone starting. Initially I had an emergency credit card with a $2k limit and no cash, then I had $2k cash, then $10k etc etc.

I used my emergency fund to replace the boiler while on maternity leave.

Warlord1986

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #69 on: March 20, 2017, 08:06:54 AM »
Dental work. I had to get a tooth pulled and the dentist was going to put in a fake tooth. Then they decided not to, and I got my $1,750 back.
Oh c'mon, the suspense is killing me! They didn't pull the tooth or they didn't put in a fake one?

Hah, bad writing on my part. Sorry. They pulled the tooth, but didn't put in the implant. So now I am missing a tooth. It's in the back of my mouth so nobody can tell, and it doesn't hurt or anything. It just feels weird when I run my tongue along there and there's a hole. :/

I feel like I could turn this into a mighty saga that details the great and harrowing loss of one of my beloved chompers, but it's early and I've only had two cups of coffee so far today.

Dicey

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #70 on: March 20, 2017, 08:20:33 AM »
Or it could turn into a frugal saga of how you got it fixed for a fraction of the cost by practicing a little dental tourism. Whatever happens, waiting too long could prove costly if your teeth start to shift, which they have been known to do.

marielle

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #71 on: March 20, 2017, 08:23:37 AM »
Dental work. I had to get a tooth pulled and the dentist was going to put in a fake tooth. Then they decided not to, and I got my $1,750 back.
Oh c'mon, the suspense is killing me! They didn't pull the tooth or they didn't put in a fake one?

Hah, bad writing on my part. Sorry. They pulled the tooth, but didn't put in the implant. So now I am missing a tooth. It's in the back of my mouth so nobody can tell, and it doesn't hurt or anything. It just feels weird when I run my tongue along there and there's a hole. :/

I feel like I could turn this into a mighty saga that details the great and harrowing loss of one of my beloved chompers, but it's early and I've only had two cups of coffee so far today.

I almost had a panic situation like this, but while still in school and only had $5000 or so to make it the whole year. They quoted me for $2000+ after insurance. Root canal, crown, redoing several fillings, etc. I ended up getting a second opinion and paid $40 just to get a filling on the one tooth, no root canal. I seriously was going to pull the tooth even though it could be saved because I couldn't afford the root canal.

Always get a second opinion if your dentist starts adding crazy things or tries to max out your insurance...

Warlord1986

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #72 on: March 20, 2017, 08:37:06 AM »
My dentist (who was the only dentist in town who didn't regularly screw people over) didn't get the money! He showed me the x-ray of my tooth decaying from the inside out, then referred me to some sort of specialist. The specialist took the money, pulled the tooth, and was going to give me an implant. Prior to the implant going in, he did a 3D model of my jawline and noticed that no matter which angle he drilled, I would end up looking like a snaggle-toothed neanderthal down the road. So he refunded me the money (minus the cost of pulling the tooth).

I'm just doomed to live the remainder of my life with only 31 teeth. Whomp whomp.

After 5 years in braces, I take care of my teeth. So I was really grateful to have that money saved to be able to fix things. It was a little tight, but I was able to make it work.

Laserjet3051

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #73 on: March 20, 2017, 09:24:02 AM »
2008/9 financial meltdown led to a 1.25 year of unemployment. Zero income, two kids. During that 1.25 years, the EF was used to:

- buy food to eat
- pay mortgage to stave off homelessness
- pay medical bills not covered by govt insurance for the poor (zero income)
- Buy clothes for kids as they grew out of the old ones
- Pay utility bills to keep the lights on and the stove burners working to cook
etc...

Could I have maxed out my 25% interest credit cards? Sure. But my max credit limit would have been hit before I regained employment 1.25 years later, so still would have needed an EF even if maxing credit lines. But 30 days after each charge, the interest would have started accruing, that would have been one GIANT hole of interest and debt. Glad I DIDNT do that, but used my EF to survive (alonjg with radical reduction in expenses/savings.

HCOL area, so mortgage alone was a 200 ton weight around my neck for the 1.25 years with no income for a family of 4. Yes, MMM's springy debt article has some merit. But I will never rely solely on  credit lines for my family's survival. You can choose your path, I've chosen mine.

clarkfan1979

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #74 on: March 20, 2017, 09:53:31 AM »
Mostly just peace of mind.

I ended up taking a new job that I enjoy more and also paid more money. However, it cost me about $3000 of my own money to relocate. We moved from Florida to Hawaii. Work paid for $3000, but the total bill was probably around $6000 if you include buying new furniture.

If I didn't have an emergency fund I would be stressed about the move. I would either not taken the job or put everything on a credit card and hope for the best.

EarlyRetirementGuy

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #75 on: March 20, 2017, 10:50:22 AM »
Motorbike died on the way home from work last December. Having the emergency fund allowed me to walk into a dealer the next day and buy my replacement bike immediately with cash.

Lis

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #76 on: March 20, 2017, 12:43:16 PM »
I have different levels of "emergency funds" that I'm not sure which one counts as what.

- I save my mortgage & maintenance payments a month in advance, so my 3/31 paycheck will cover the second half of my May mortgage and maintenance (first half was covered by my 3/15 paycheck).
- I keep $1000 in my savings account as a "slush" fund. This is my max deductible, so if I get in a car accident and need repairs, that money is available immediately. Same for other smaller emergencies.
- I have about $4k in cash at an online savings account that would take 2-3 days to transfer to my main. I also have ~$2500 in a CD ladder. That would take maybe a week? I'd only touch this after a job loss.
- All else fails, my Roth IRA (which is where all my extra cash is currently going). That would be a last resort after a job loss, after I depleted other, more liquid cash funds, and after I explored all other options.

2Birds1Stone

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #77 on: March 20, 2017, 01:07:38 PM »
Hookers & blow.

davef

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #78 on: March 20, 2017, 01:35:45 PM »
I've never had to use mine.
I keep a 3-5k buffer in checking
a 5k savings (emergency fund)
and everything else is invested.

My heathcare is a HDHP with 5K family out of pocket max.
So i have 5k taken out of my check every year and plan on not seeing any of that.
As a result, as long as I stay in network I'll never have to tap any of my budgeted $ for heath care.
Dental and vision are separate, but thankfully, we have not had large expenses there.

Unexpected bills over the past few years
12,000 New Roof
8,000 new AC and Furnace
1,000 auto repair bill
1,000 fence replacement
Several 200-500 charges

When an unexpected bill comes:

my first question is,
#1. Do I have enough in checking that I can take the hit and still be in my 3-5k buffer range? If so, I do that.
#2. is 0% financing an option?  If so, I do that.
#3. will charging it on a credit card and giving my self 30 days of float allow me to pay it off without breaching my buffer? If so, I do that, and I always pay it off, even if it drives my buffer down a little lower than I like.
#4. Would be to tap the emergency fund, which I have yet to have to do.

CryingInThePool

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #79 on: March 20, 2017, 02:44:53 PM »
I prefer the term FUMoney to EF.  As previous comments made clear at certain savings level the ability to float expenses that crop up unexpectedly means you don't really need to access an EF for those emergencies as you can just wait for next paycheck.   

However, my cash FU Money is to make sure that I can say take this job and shove it - anytime the stress or bullshit get to be too much or in case of nonsensical reorg or job pivot.  That I don't need to run the numbers or liquidate in a down market is incredibly an liberating benefit of being FI while continuing to work.

But to answer OP question-  No.  I've not used mine (*yet)

Tigerpine

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #80 on: March 20, 2017, 06:38:09 PM »
The only time I've had to use my EF was after the "1000 year flood" a couple of years ago to replace my car.  It pretty much wiped out my EF completely, but it allowed me to get a decent car at a decent price to replace my car-turned-submarine.

If you don't have a lot of assets outside of retirement accounts, an EF is a godsend to have.

Rosy

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #81 on: March 21, 2017, 01:32:14 PM »
Medical expenses - 6K for lens implants that were not covered by insurance. Home and Vehicle expenses - incl a small remodel and a new/used car purchase.

In other words - I'm about to totally wipe out my EMF, except for 5K which will remain as an iron reserve. It is my security blanket so I can sleep at night and I'll sleep a lot better when it is back up to at least 10K again.

DirtDiva

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #82 on: March 21, 2017, 05:59:11 PM »
3.5 months out of work, 5 days a week x 6 weeks in a city 3 hours from home for daily radiation and weekly chemotherapy treatments, transportation and food during my weekly stays in the city, 10k in medical bills after insurance covered the other $240,000...

I am very glad I didn't need to charge it all on a credit card with no income to pay it back.   I'm more safety-conscious than ever now; my emergency fund is 3x larger than it was before cancer entered my life. 

Nope, I don't consider my emergency fund "stupid".  It provided security and reduced stress during a major shitstorm.

HipGnosis

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #83 on: March 21, 2017, 07:46:41 PM »
I have trouble answering this question because I've had many situations that would have been emergencies if it weren't for my available funds.  Where do you draw the line?
And because of this, I call my fund my life fund.  Because life happens.  Emergencies may happen.

better late

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #84 on: March 21, 2017, 08:17:20 PM »
My DH was the picture of health - long distance runner - when he started feeling "weird".  What followed was: an admit to the Emergency Room and 5 days in the hospital - and MRIs, EKG, Biopsy, etc., followed by travel to specialists across the country for 2nd opinions,  3 months of chemotherapy, travel to a center of excellence for an organ transplant, lodging for 2 months for the pre- and post-op recovery from the transplant, travel home again, endless medications (like 6 pills 5 times a day). At the same time, somewhere in there he went on long-term disability, so we started to receive only 66% of our household income for several months.

« Last Edit: April 04, 2019, 08:30:44 AM by better late »

Dicey

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #85 on: March 21, 2017, 11:00:17 PM »
My DH was the picture of health - long distance runner - when he started feeling "weird".  What followed was: an admit to the Emergency Room and 5 days in the hospital - and MRIs, EKG, Biopsy, etc., followed by travel to specialists across the country for 2nd opinions,  3 months of chemotherapy, travel to a center of excellence for an organ transplant, lodging for 2 months for the pre- and post-op recovery from the transplant, travel home again, endless medications (like 6 pills 5 times a day). At the same time, somewhere in there he went on long-term disability, so we started to receive only 66% of our household income for several months.

Oh, and all this happened during the market downturn of 2008...with the transplant in October 2008
Oh, Better Late, I hope he is okay now! To you and to Dirt Diva: I, too, am a cancer victor. Having an emergency fund (and family) made all the difference. I'll never be without one (hopefully) because the serenity it provided in a difficult time was priceless.

Nudelkopf

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #86 on: March 22, 2017, 03:23:36 AM »
I haven't had to touch mine, but I'm only on my mid-20s, and life's been good to me so far. I keep $8k-10k (6ish months expenses) in cash (2% "high" interest account). Government job, so not too worried about job loss. I am keeping the E.F. amount in cash separate for a few reasons: (1) Parents get sick/die & I want to take extended leave, or (2) I get sick myself (especially the nearest proper hospital is a 12 hour drive away), or (3) Mental health causes me to take a bbreak from work as Insurance doesn't cover this. I don't own a car or a house which need repairs/replacements.

Reading people's replies to this thread make me a bit scared though. So many things could f up!

Linea_Norway

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #87 on: March 22, 2017, 03:38:22 AM »
Our (second hand) car was stolen once, right after we bought it. Luckily we had bought an all-risk insurance on it. But it takes a long time before the insurance pays out. As we were in a period of moving to another house, we needed a car and could buy one for a similar price with our last remains.
We had actually spent most of our money on financing 20% of our new house, but my parents in law had decided to give us a windfall for the new house occasion. That did cover the car and some other things.

zinnie

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #88 on: March 22, 2017, 04:20:44 AM »
This post made me realize I've never used it, except when I was fresh out of college with no job and rent to pay. We have always been able to rely on CCs or the checking account balance. The worst that has ever happened for it is investing a few weeks late.

But I'm still keeping one 😉

better late

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #89 on: March 22, 2017, 08:38:20 PM »
My DH was the picture of health - long distance runner - when he started feeling "weird".  What followed was: an admit to the Emergency Room and 5 days in the hospital - and MRIs, EKG, Biopsy, etc., followed by travel to specialists across the country for 2nd opinions,  3 months of chemotherapy, travel to a center of excellence for an organ transplant, lodging for 2 months for the pre- and post-op recovery from the transplant, travel home again, endless medications (like 6 pills 5 times a day). At the same time, somewhere in there he went on long-term disability, so we started to receive only 66% of our household income for several months.

Oh, and all this happened during the market downturn of 2008...with the transplant in October 2008
Oh, Better Late, I hope he is okay now! To you and to Dirt Diva: I, too, am a cancer victor. Having an emergency fund (and family) made all the difference. I'll never be without one (hopefully) because the serenity it provided in a difficult time was priceless.


Dicey - yes, thank you!  He's back 100%. And I'm glad to hear you and Dirt Diva are also doing well! 

I wish we had had a specified "emergency fund" at the time; we blew through the cash we had on hand quickly. You do whatever it takes but whoa the medical bills are staggering.

Dicey

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #90 on: March 22, 2017, 08:53:26 PM »
I wish we had had a specified "emergency fund" at the time; we blew through the cash we had on hand quickly. You do whatever it takes but whoa the medical bills are staggering.
Amen, sister! That shit adds up fast and worst of all, you're hemorrhaging money (even with insurance) on stuff that has ZERO fun quotient. Glad that he's recovered now. That was a scary story.

better late

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #91 on: March 26, 2017, 08:56:51 PM »
I figure if people here want to "stress test" their emergency funds, they can run it through different scenarios based on some of our stories ;) 
And thanks for the kindness, Dicey.

DirtDiva

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #92 on: March 27, 2017, 07:19:11 AM »

Amen, sister! That shit adds up fast and worst of all, you're hemorrhaging money (even with insurance) on stuff that has ZERO fun quotient. Glad that he's recovered now. That was a scary story.

Negative fun quotient?

I understand the logic that an "emergency fund" is just a method of segregating funds in my mind.  Money is fungible, and if I'm lucky I'll be able to spend it on traveling or something with a POSITIVE fun quotient.

I raise my glass:  good health to us all. :)

Dicey

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #93 on: March 27, 2017, 08:07:26 AM »

Amen, sister! That shit adds up fast and worst of all, you're hemorrhaging money (even with insurance) on stuff that has ZERO fun quotient. Glad that he's recovered now. That was a scary story.

Negative fun quotient?

I understand the logic that an "emergency fund" is just a method of segregating funds in my mind.  Money is fungible, and if I'm lucky I'll be able to spend it on traveling or something with a POSITIVE fun quotient.

I raise my glass:  good health to us all. :)
I'm smiling and feeling another great, big "Amen, sister!" coming on...

Beridian

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #94 on: March 27, 2017, 10:57:19 AM »
A new roof - $5700.   We had 65 MPH winds in Michigan a few weeks ago.  My roof was already due for replacement, 19 years old and pretty shabby.  The winds forced the issue and took off a few shingles.  As much as it hurts to part with $5700 cash it is a nice feeling to have a new properly installed roof over my head. 

deek

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #95 on: March 28, 2017, 08:15:25 AM »
What is a good timeline for building a full safety net of 5-10k? Or do I just say hell with the timeline and keep saving what I can to go toward the safety net? And eventually I will get there.

Retire-Canada

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #96 on: March 28, 2017, 08:39:52 AM »
What is a good timeline for building a full safety net of 5-10k? Or do I just say hell with the timeline and keep saving what I can to go toward the safety net? And eventually I will get there.

Depends if you are making $30K/yr or $250K/yr....also depends if your savings rate is 10% or 75%.

deek

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #97 on: March 28, 2017, 08:48:02 AM »
What is a good timeline for building a full safety net of 5-10k? Or do I just say hell with the timeline and keep saving what I can to go toward the safety net? And eventually I will get there.

Depends if you are making $30K/yr or $250K/yr....also depends if your savings rate is 10% or 75%.

I make just less than 40k before taxes and I'm single. Hopefully that will be up around 45-50 in the next 2-3 years.
For right now, I think I can probably put 30-35% of my total after tax earnings into savings/investments..  maybe less than that some months. (In August that 30% figure will change, due to rent that will kick in).

Dicey

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #98 on: March 28, 2017, 08:56:14 AM »
What is a good timeline for building a full safety net of 5-10k? Or do I just say hell with the timeline and keep saving what I can to go toward the safety net? And eventually I will get there.
I don't understand this question at all. An EF is something you create to make your life easier. Why would you want to drag your feet, or be pushed by someone else's arbitrary date? Just do it as you can. What matters is that you have it if you need it, not how long it took you to accumulate it.

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Re: What Have You Needed Your Emergency Fund For?
« Reply #99 on: March 28, 2017, 09:09:59 AM »
DH (then boyfriend) and I used our EF when we were first living together. DH works for a small company (at that time, 3 people including him- now up to 6, haha). He gets paid monthly. When we had first moved out together, I quit my job and went back to school so he was supporting us. And some clients tried to stiff the company, so no one got paid for THREE MONTHS. Luckily, I've always been financially-minded enough to have an EF around. We lived off the fund for the 3 months until he got paid again (and what a paycheck that was, haha). At the time, we really had no other assets- I had $1640 in an IRA, I think that was pretty much it between the two of us. I wasn't even taking full time enough classes that I could have gotten good student loan rates to live off of.

To be fair, in some respects it is a "pride fund". If things had gotten bad enough, either set of parents or the one living grandparent would certainly have cash flowed us until things got better. So it's not like we would have starved. It just allowed us to not have to ask for help. Obviously, we are very lucky to have safety nets like that if we need them.