I was and am pissed off by hubby’s impulse buying again! Argh, …

He spent some $180 on shoes and clothes yesterday afternoon while I was working hard at home comparing auto insurance quote websites and writing reviews.

So out of $300 that I set aside as this week’s family budget, $180 was gone because of his shopping spree.

Am I too tight when it comes to family budget? But if I don’t control the budget, there will always be no savings for emergency needs.

You know, one of my new year resolutions is not to borrow money from family or friends anymore in year 2010!

I am happy for buddies who are going to enjoy their holidays at one of the south beach hotels the end of the month.

How’s your vacation plan going on? And how are your Christmas shopping sprees? Hubby and I aren’t going anywhere and won’t be spending much on Xmas gifts.

We want to save more money as emergency fund and pay back some money loaned to us by family members.

It’s time for us to really start paying them back although they are so kind and never rush us to pay them back.

My younger sister advises me to invest in silver or gold coins if I have spare money in hand.

According to her, now is the best time to buy silver bullion. As the world demand for silver has already exceeded the annual production and will keep on increasing while the supply for silver bullion is on the decrease, it’s wise to buy silver coins to keep.

Too bad that I am in the midst of saving extra money as emergency funds, otherwise, I will consider sharing with my sister.

It’s important for me to have enough emergency funds before I can think of any investment.

Will you confess to your loved one about your stash money?

You see, my buddy has been putting $700 a month from her salary in a second account. She loves knowing it’s hers, to spend how she wants.

One of her buddies who is a financial planner suggests her to be upfront with her loved one that she keeps money for emergencies.

Huh? Do you think it’s necessary?

Well, I would tell my hubby if it were more than 10 years ago. Now I will keep the secret of stash money to myself.

My sister suggests me to use my spare money to invest in the gold coins or mutual funds she bought. No way!

I am in the midst of saving extra money as emergency funds and it hasn’t even reached my basic $1,000 goal yet.

Even if it hits the $1,000 first goal, it must remain in the savings account as my emergency funds.

I never know when I need the emergency funds. There are simply too many what if questions playing in my head that the only thing that can calm me down is knowing there is some money saved in the bank.

It’s February and news about layoffs, job cuts, job losses, store closings is still seen and heard every day.

A few of my blogging pals’ husbands have already been terminated or have had pay cuts.

This really worries my blogging pals who are not making much from their online businesses yet and have not much emergency funds in their savings accounts.

Hubby suggests we organize a garage sale next month. He, together with some buddies, has lots of sports gifts and game stuffs that can be sold at good prices.

I know them. Selling their old sports and game stuffs off and then buying new ones.

Of course, I totally agree with the idea of garage sale. There are some furniture pieces and bedroom decor items that I would like to get rid of. Selling them off means I can save more money as emergency funds.

In life you should expect the unexpected, and this is why you need an emergency fund. Emergency fund is an absolute necessity for financial security because it gives you fund to fall back on if you become ill or disabled and can’t work, or if you or your spouse lose your job, incur large medical bills, or have an unexpected large bill such as a major car or home repair.

Without an emergency fund, you may be forced to incur credit card debt that could take you many years to pay off and end up costing you much more in the long run.

Start small. If you currently don’t have an emergency fund or find it difficult to save money the key is to start small. Read more »

Emergency funds are considered to be a necessity as far as financial security is concerned.

Emergency funds can provide you with financial resources that you can resort to and depend on when an emergency arises such that when you are sick and have the burden of paying huge medical bills, or unexpected home or major car repair.

When you have no emergency fund, you can be obliged to acquire debt on your credit card that might take several years to repay with interest that would later cost so much more.

However by putting an extra thirty to fifty dollars every month in an individual “emergency savings account” you can be secured with what emergency the future may bring. In doing this, it is recommended that you regard the emergency fund as an additional bill, to be punctually paid each month.

Yes, you can and should budget and allocate the extra money for emergency fund, as this is very significant when one refers to his “financial future”. Here, the goal is to create savings from budgeting your income; the emergency savings should ideally be equal to at least three months your living expenditures.

What’s important is that you should steadily put a certain amount of money aside, and only use it for real emergencies.

Not like an investment, the success of your long-term savings funds does not really count on the amount of return or interests but on placing a fixed amount of money away constantly and steadily so to have immediate access to it at all times.

In spite of your financial status, the initial step in the process of constructing an emergency fund is by knowing where your money is presently being consumed or spent.

When you recognize and determine where your earnings are spent, then it will be easy for you to choose and make a decision where to trim down expenses. In other words, budget.

Budgeting is putting or setting aside money for anticipated and unanticipated future use. It is here that you set up a goal so as to save. So set an emergency fund as your goal.

Checking, savings, money market accounts and “certificates of deposits”, are great places to keep your cash that might be needed on quick notice.

The amount saved from budgeting can either go to your savings goal, emergency fund or both. You could utilize the money saved from budgeting financial expenses by saving half of it to your savings account and half of it for emergencies. This way, you achieve your goals in savings and at the same time put in funds for emergency use. It’s your choice.