Building an emergency fund

If Covid taught us anything it is to be prepared for the unexpected. In March 2020, my husband and I were self-employed, cleaning houses. When former President Trump asked that only the essential workers go to work. We thought we were doomed! Having a house-cleaning business, we felt we were a luxury and we would lose our business. But God took care of us. Our clients were loyal customers who made sure we were taken care of during this difficult time. They continued to pay us while we were unable to work. After a few weeks our clients were telling us we were an essential business. LOL.

Brian and I weren’t in a good spot and had no savings. We decided then we can’t let this happen again. We have to be better with our money. That’s when we decided to go back to Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace plan. Two years later, with determination and God’s help, we are in a lot better shape.

Let’s seek God’s Word

In Genesis 41 Joseph, a man of God, could interpret dreams. Pharaoh had dreams no one was able to interrupt. God used Joseph to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams and warned him. Joseph explained to Pharaoh that there would be seven years of great harvest in Egypt, followed by seven years of famine. So Pharaoh elected Joseph to be in charge of his crops, storing them and then distributing them as Joseph saw fit. Because of Joseph’s faithfulness, he was able to also help the surrounding nations through the famine.

God gifts us jobs that provide for our families. Sometimes He blesses us with extra money but how we use it is up to us. No one but God could have predicted Covid just like no one but God saw the famine coming in Egypt. We see money as a reward for our work and feel entitled. We tend to say, “I worked for this money therefore I can have fun with it.” Though that is true, God sees the big picture and we should store some away for the difficult times in our life.

Building an Emergency Fund

We need to prepare ourselves for things to happen whether it's buying something that the kids need or an appliance breaking down or Covid. We need to store money away to help us through the lean times. Dave says to start with $1000, which will get you through most emergencies. Then pay down your debt. When you are free from debt it will be easier to save and build a better safety net for the worst-case scenarios like losing a job or a medical issue that makes it to where you can’t work. Sounds impossible right? We have to be intentional with our finances. But you might think, “I deserve to be rewarded!” You're absolutely right. But we tend to go overboard on our wants leaving us with nothing to save. Like Joseph, we need to be responsible for saving for the famine.

Techniques for Saving:

• Cut down on unnecessary expenses (like going out to eat 3 times a week or Starbucks every morning)

• Meal plan- have a grocery list and stick to it

• Get rid of unused subscriptions

• Multitask- get all errands done in one day than in multiple trips

• Gas discounts - sign up for loyalty members discounts. Most are free and don’t need a credit card to use.

• Conserve on electric and water usage

• Sell items in a garage sale or on a market site

• Find a part-time job

• Side job using your talents, cleaning, baking, photography, building projects, mowing yards

• Donating plasma

Remember life is what you make of it. If you don’t plan for the future you will struggle during the difficult time.