I'm not talking about the cash thread, I'm talking about being able to cover your bills when you can't work for 6 months.

6 months is minimum, IMO. I know it's hard for a lot of people to build such an emergency fund, but just like prepping, start small. You don't have to fully fund it immediately. It's too late for this crisis, but after seeing how many people are going to default on everything because they live paycheck to paycheck and don't have an emergency fund, it's important to realize how important this concept is.

It takes discipline to put money into the fund, and then not touch it when that shiny thing comes along that you want.

I struggle with the having the discipline to not touch my emergency fund, so I keep it in a Synchrony bank high yield savings account that I can't easily draw from. I would have to jump through transfer hoops that dissuade me from tapping the fund for frivolous purchases, but still accessible enough that if I needed to tap them for an emergency, I can.

Similar to starting small with prepping, try putting 10 dollars/week aside. Skip a box of ammo. Skip eating out once/month. Skip that streaming service for one show. Skip that starbucks. Etc etc etc. When you really analyze where you're spending your money, I bet most people can come up with 100/month that they could divert to an emergency fund.


Let's hear your ideas and strategies for saving for and not touching an emergency fund.