Emergency funds

pupsicola

Do any of you have emergency funds put by? Or do people not bother with building one up anymore. My parents told me years back to always have something set aside incase of car trouble or some other unexpected expense rearing its ugly head. Dont know if its an outdated idea now, especially since the recession hit and lots of families are struggling to make ends meet. Interested in your opinions.

elf06

Its something I always try and do but never actually succeed in doing
Think its a sensible idea though!

roadiegirl

I'm only 19, but have an emergency fund for while I'm at uni. I have about £200 put aside incase of real emergencies, like my car breaking down or something. Its also in an account I cant just access from an ATM, I have to go into the bank and physically withdraw it, so I know that I can't be tempted by it! My parents have always drilled this into me, as well as when I go out, always keep a bit of money away from my handbag (tenner in a pocket/bra), just incase something happens, and I've been doing this since I was about 14!

elvis86

I think it's a bit of a no-brainer really.

It's obviously a desirable thing to have (I can't think of any reasons that you wouldn't want savings?!).

Unfortunately it's seemingly not something that most people are responsible and restrained enough to ensure that they do have (me included, really). I think that modern attitudes do have an impact on that (ie the "I want it and I want it now, regardless of whether I can afford it" mentality).

And for a rare few, it's just not possible at all as things are so tight and they literally scrape by and have a p!ss poor standard of life as it is.:(

Katie-Kat-Kins

It is a good idea to have one, and I do a DD to a separate account for this too. However it is less crucial if you have access to credit, I have a credit card with a £6k limit so in an emergency I would use that and work out how to pay it back afterwards. Certainly if you have debts it is better to pay off your debts than save due to interest rates so if i had debts (as long as they weren't so bad I couldn't get credit) I would put my emergency fund toward the debt.

Tropez

Yes and no.

I don't maintain any form of specific fund for the types of incidents that you refer to. I do maintain a savings account with approximately six to seven months worth of wages in it just in case I'm ever unable to work for a long time.

I also have a few other savings accounts and have a safe at home with a small amount of cash in it.

The truth is though that I put a lot of my wages into savings for the simple reason I want to retire before I'm 45 so if there ever was an unexpected large expense I would be able to cover it from those savings if all else failed but it would serve as an inconvenience.

faithcecilia

I had a reasonable sized one until very recently, when the emergency happened:cool: I hated having to spend it, but it did show me how important said fund was - I have no access to credit at present. So now I am trying to rebuild it, hopefully will be a reasonable figure again by May/June.

Becles

I have.

I don't have any insurances for things like boiler cover, appliance cover, pet insurance etc. Rather than pay out various premiums each month, I've got a fund that I can dip into in case something breaks down or needs replacing or the dogs need medical treatment.

DogsBody

I am one of these

elvis86 wrote: »

And for a rare few, it's just not possible at all as things are so tight and they literally scrape by and have a p!ss poor standard of life as it is.:(

But I have an 'empty' credit card that is just for emergencies (after the washing machine broke and we had to hand wash everything for about 6 months until we could save up enough to replace it:eek:)

The 'emergency card' is currently holding on to a large vet bill from last Nov until the insurance comes through to pay it off. If I actually had savings I'd worry about spending them on todays emergency, because what if tomorrows emergency is even worse!!!:D

mum2twinsx2

sorry posted in wrong place

mum2twinsx2

I have emergency funds not alot, wouldnt buy me a washing machine, god forbid it did break, but would cover half the price.
I had to give it too my dad as know way i would i not dip into it.
I only have this money thanks to tax credits owing me a little extra when i split with childrens dad.

I have emergency fiver in my purse, my mum tol me to do that, and ive used it and replaced it few times.