Every household should have an emergency fund of at least $1,000. Emergencies come up and you need to be prepared. You don’t want to finance emergencies with your credit cards. Having a fund set aside will help you avoid the trap of credit card debt.

How Do You Get to That $1,000?

Start out small. Most families should be able to put aside $1,000 in 1 – 3 months if they focus on the goal. Here are some ideas on how to build up your mini nest egg:

• Get a second job for a few months
• Hold a garage sale – get rid of unwanted clutter at the same time!
• Sell unused items on online auction sites
• Cut back on unnecessary expenses like eating out, fancy coffee, those cute boots…

Once you get $1,000 saved, you need to keep it out of easy reach. If it’s in your wallet or your cookie jar it’s easy for a passing whim or hard-to-resist temptation to take over and turn your savings fund into a new sweater or concert tickets.

Open a Savings Account

Open up a savings account for your emergency fund to reduce your stress level and protect your family. Depositing funds is easy and you have access to these funds if an emergency occurs before you are finished building it. Now, that seems like a real bargain.