The financial stability of many Americans is quite poor. It’s estimated that more than half of all Americans would have trouble handling an emergency expense of $400. Many Americans spend as much or more than they make each month. This precludes the accumulation of emergency savings. The lack of emergency savings is problematic because most financial experts recommend having between three and six months of expenses stashed away for unexpected events, and even then that won’t cover life-changing expenses like car accidents or property being destroyed in a fire, and people might turn to GoFundMe to raise some emergency relief funds, as their savings will likely not be nearly enough to cover the costs. In spite of the problems many Americans have building emergency savings, it’s not impossible to achieve. Here are a couple of steps Americans can take to help build their emergency savings.
Cut Back on Expenses
One way to have more money for an emergency fund is to cut back on expenses. Cutting back on a daily latte habit could save around $100 each month. While that will help a bit, it’s more likely that cutting back on bigger items will help even more. For example, living in a huge apartment when a smaller one will suffice could cost several hundred more each month. Eating out every day could also add up to hundreds each month. By cutting down on the money spent on housing, transportation, and food, it’s frequently possible to free up several hundred from a monthly budget. Once that’s done, it could be just a few months before an emergency fund is completely funded.
Find Other Ways To Make Extra Money
The other side of the coin when it comes to building up an emergency fund is the earning side. Many people think they have to get by only on what their employer pays them on a weekly or monthly basis. This is not always the case. Those who work on an hourly basis might find it worth the effort to ask for extra hours on their jobs. Many Americans are also taking up side hustles. This can involve working at a restaurant or retail establishment on the weekends. It might also involve offering a service like mowing lawns or watching pets for people who are out of town.
A lot of Americans are also experimenting with cryptocurrency and investing in that because over the years, it has become an increasingly popular way to earn a bit of extra cash. Regardless of whether you buy something like this bitmain antminer s19 pro to mine your own cryptocurrency and sell it from there, or if you try and find the most commonly-used sites when it comes to making an all-important investment in bitcoin and cryptocurrency, it doesn’t matter, as either option is a great way to earn a bit of extra money on the side. Additionally, many people enjoy gambling, so they use Ethereum gambling websites, or whatever currency they prefer, to try and make some extra money through that. There are many options for earning money on the side, and those who make enough to pay all their bills without extra income could use any new money they earn from side hustles to build up an emergency fund.
Building an emergency fund might seem like a daunting task. It doesn’t have to be. By focusing on a combination of making more money while spending less, it’s possible for most people to start building up a stash of emergency savings. Setting a monthly goal can be a great way to visualize progress and ensure that the fund builds over time.
Avoid Debt
This may seem like an obvious one but many people do not realize that they have fallen into extreme debt until it is too late. They think that they will be able to pay it back the next month but unfortunately, all that seems to happen is the debt builds and builds. A solution to this before they end up losing their home would be to hire a company like Equity Experts to aid them with debt consolidation and help to organize their assets. This will then help to build a strong financial base to start growing funds and save for an emergency situation, meaning that they should never end up facing debt again.
About The Author
Yuri Vanetik is an Entrepreneur, Private Investor, Coalition Builder, and Philanthropist in Orange County, California. He is the Managing Partner of Vanetik International, LLC, a management consulting firm which offers advisory services and strategic planning to businesses and industries. He is also the Managing Partner of Dominion Asset Management, a technology-driven opportunity real estate fund that invests in undervalued real estate throughout the United States. Yuri Vanetik brings over 20 years of professional experience in a variety of roles, and has been in featured in notable publications, including the Wall Street Journal, California Business Journal, Bloomberg Law, and Forbes.