Update: July, 2020 - Well, it looks like the recession has arrived suddenly! With the Coronavirus/COVID19 pandemic currently sweeping the world, I put together a FREE Financial Crisis Survival Guide (blog post with available printable PDF) to help those of you either preparing for or responding to a cut in hours, layoff or termination.
Here's the blog post for the guide: Financial Crisis Survival Guide (Version: COVID19) Blog Post Version
Here's the free downloadable PDF version of the guide: Financial Crisis Survival Guide (Version: COVID19) Downloadable PDF version
Unlike many of my posts, this one is actually going to be really short and to the point. :)
When you’re in the process of building your emergency fund, whether it be your initial $1000 “starter fund” or your 3-6 months of saved expenses (the one you build after you’ve completed your debt snowball), there are 3 main ways that you can get that fund filled quickly.
And by the way, this is an excellent strategy for any time you need to quickly build a pile of cash for a sinking fund like: car replacement, furniture replacement, down payment for a house, home repair, vacation. You get the idea. It’s a great mindset to try and find money so that you don’t have to just automatically spend what you have.
If you’ve engaged in our “8 Steps To Erase Debt” material, then you’re already well entrenched in putting together and constantly refining your monthly budget.
You’re saving receipts, writing down your expenses and rewriting your budget every month. This practice helps you to stay super close to every penny coming in and every penny going out.
If you are just starting out in this whole debt elimination process or have stalled out and are trying to restart, I highly recommend you download our “8 Steps To Erase Debt”, which will also subscribe you to our weekly "self-coaching" newsletter.
You will also get free access to our budgeting forms, debt snowball forms and much more.
Additionally, here are some related posts that will help you to solidify your budgeting:
The Forgotten Budgeting Step (aka "Budget Insurance")
How To Start Budgeting When You're Terrible At It
4 Not-So-Obvious Reasons To Rewrite Your Budget Every Month
How To Budget For Irregular Expenses
You Have Full Permission To Be A Colossal Budgeting Nerd
Emergency funds tend to start small. The important thing is to start.
There’s nothing like getting to the point of being completely disgusted with your debt and finding a way out to ignite the “anti-hoarder” gene in us all.
All of a sudden, stuff that’s been “laying around” the house, garage, attic, storage unit starts to look like dollars.
That’s when you want to crank up your LetGo, Craigslist, FaceBook Marketplace and even Amazon accounts to start to exchange this unused stuff into real dollars you can use to build up that emergency fund fast.
By the way, you can and should use this "sell some stuff" to help put a dent in your debt snowball as well.
An excellent source of both short and long-term side hustles.
Whether it’s overtime at your regular job/gig or finding a side hustle or two (or three), extra work is a key to adding dollars into your emergency fund pile of money.
I have students who:
There’s no limit to the number of possibilities for extra work there is to do in this economy.
Is it tough? Of course it is. But I promise you, it's worth it.
You might have complications like your commute or having to juggle kids’ and spouse’s schedules, but I can promise you that, when you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired enough, your willingness to find extra work will likely become insatiable.
From a longer-term perspective, your side hustle may ultimately turn into something that you can jump into as a career.
Blogging is an example of this. While it does take tame to get it all going, long-term it can actually be a highly profitable endeavor.
Nick Loper’s “Side Hustle Nation” podcast is one of the best resources out there to get your side hustle ideas flowing.
He literally has hundreds of interviews of all different types of side hustlers. I highly recommend you check out is content, no matter where you are in your journey.
Whether you've not started yet or you've started and stalled out. You can do this!
If you're having trouble, don't hesitate to reach out to us directly. Plus, here are some related articles that will help you get the ball moving down the field toward debt freedom.
Let me know what's working for you in the comments section below!
Now that we've addressed how to get your first $1000, let's talk about plugging you into a proven personal finance/debt-elimination system.
0. Stop All Retirement Investing (Until Step 4)2. Starter Emergency Fund of $10003. Eliminate Debts Smallest To Largest (a.k.a The Debt Snowball)4. Full Emergency Fund of 3-6+ Months’ Expenses5. Invest A Minimum of 15% Income Into Retirement Accounts (and increase savings rate to 50%+ if possible)6. College Funding (if applicable)7. Pay Off The Home Mortgage8. Build Wealth, Serve, Be Ridiculously Generous And Go FI (Financial Independence)!
What To Do When You Can't Pay Your Bills - Dave Ramsey's "4 Walls"
18 Expenses You Should Obliterate From Your Budget
How To Start Budgeting When You're Terrible At It
8 Steps To Erase Debt - And Get Your Life Back
9 Things We Do To Save Money Like "The Millionaire Next Door"
7 Budgeting Mistakes We All Make (And How To Correct Them)
The 4 Most Popular Reasons People Seek Financial Coaching
When Is It Okay To Say "I Can't Afford It"
How To Get Your $1000 Emergency Fund - Fast!
12 Things We Don't Spend Money On
How To Be Financially Prepared For The Coming Recession
11 Irregular Expenses You Probably Forgot To Budget
4 Not-So-Obvious To Rewrite Your Budget Every Month
12 Things You Should Buy At The Dollar Store And 5 You Shouldn't
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