Emergency Fund Poll - How prepared are you for an emergency?

System

I have zero savings and £610 of debt

So i'm screwed :eek:

PasturesNew

Once it's gone it's gone - and for single income working households on lower wages it can be wiped out quickly, yet re-saved so slowly.

A salary of £18k even would yield a take home salary of £1300. Rent might be £600, council tax £120, travel to work £80. So that's £800 gone and you've not even turned the lights on yet. Basic utilities, TV license, contents insurance, say another £100, so now you've £400 left. £100 for fairly basic food, you've got £300 left .... but you're in work so you need to "keep smart" and buy clothes/have your hair done, so knock £50/month off that ... and now you've £250 left. Internet/phone/similar is another £50/month. £200 left and you've not left the house yet...

If you lose your job and have just one week between jobs (almost impossible) ... it could take you 3-4 months just to catch up to where you were.... have one month before you get another job and it can take you a year to catch up - and if in that year your landlord decides to sell up ... well, now you're stuck....

Mrs_Ryan

Our boiler is newish and we have full boiler cover with British Gas so if the boiler went we would be okay.
The washing machine is as far as I know still under manufacturers warranty.
The car- hmmm that could be a problem. I have 1k stashed in an ISA for the wedding but in an absolute desperate emergency it is accessible.

Lucius45

Car-wise, I work from home 3 days a week so I'd have to deprive the missus of hers for the other 2. Boiler-wise it is 35 y/o and seems to just keep going and going. Any household appliance - got a little bit back to cover it

What's up with putting it on an interest free credit card for 24 months? Obviously you need to be extremely disciplined after and make sure you'll raise the money in time

Marvel1

Yes - I'm MSE to the core! Emergency Fund at the ready!

If I lost my job, i worked I can roughly cover myself for 2 years, having a mortgage repayment of £197 helps! As I live on own, saving is harder as the other bills I have to pay solo there is no 50/50 and low salary.

Malthusian

Lucius45 wrote: »

What's up with putting it on an interest free credit card for 24 months? Obviously you need to be extremely disciplined after and make sure you'll raise the money in time

If you know you can raise sufficient money to pay off the credit card when the time comes, then why not just do it now so you're not at the mercy of the credit market?

A shortage of money is most likely to arrive at a time when lenders are most reluctant to lend, due to either or both of economic conditions (recession / financial crisis) and personal circumstances (unemployment).

Lenders offer 0% credit cards because they know a significant percentage of the people that take them out will still have debt on them at the end of the offer period and won't move it elsewhere. 100% of people who take out a 0% credit card think they'll pay it off by the end of the period. A large number of them are wrong.

JadedAngel88

I have no emergancy fund nor have I had the spare cash to save for one.


I need one now though as the brown stuff has well and truly hit the fan. I am up said creek and I'm drowning. I do not have credit to rely on either.


So I think your poll could have done with a third option of No, and no life jacket either. :rotfl:


Btw it's a health issue rather than a money one just incase you were wondering.

Former_MSE_Andrea

Hi to our regular forumites.

Our poll is on the main site homepage today so you may see some newbies joining to post and vote.

Please make them feel welcome

Andrea