Build a Rainy Day Fund
Could You Weather a
Financial Emergency?
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Financial emergencies come in all shapes and sizes, from a natural disaster destroying
a home to sudden unemployment to unexpected illness or injury. You usually can't
predict when or where a crisis may strike, but you can prepare. As a matter of fact, one
trait that most financial emergencies share is that those who are adequately prepared have
a much better chance of surviving with no long-term ill effects.
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Spotlight on …
The Cost of
Getting Married
- Tying the knot in style. The average
cost of a traditional American wedding
is $22,000. 2.4 million weddings are
performed in the U.S. each year, making
it a $50 billion-a-year business.
- Say cheese! The average cost of a wedding
photographer/videographer
is $775.
- An engagement ring costs $2,000 on
average. Three-quarters of first-time brides
will receive a diamond engagement ring.
- Here comes the bride.The bride's
wedding dress will cost $800, on average.
- A rose by any other name. Wedding
flowers, including the bouquets, cost
$1,300 on average.
- The average cost for a honeymoon is
$4,000. This is three times as high as the
cost of the average vacation. One-third
of newlyweds choose Hawaii for their
honeymoon destination.
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Financial experts recommend that you
build an emergency fund of three to six
months' worth of living expenses and keep
it in an easily accessible, liquid account.
The reality is fewer than four out of 10
American adults have such a cushion,
according to a nationwide poll.* Older
survey participants were more apt to have
money on hand. More than half of people
age 65 or older could get through a three-month
emergency, while less than a quarter
of those age 18 to
24 could.
Preparing for the Unexpected
For most people, no matter what age,
there's room for improvement on the
financial cushion. Consider these tips.
- Get started. Choose a vehicle, such as
a Justice FCU Share Savings or Money
Market** account, and make an initial
deposit.
- Add to it regularly. Make frequent,
affordable deposits. The key is to make
regular deposits, not necessarily huge
ones. Direct deposit or an automatic
transfer from a checking account puts
your savings on auto pilot.
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- Maximize earnings. If you can't afford
the initial minimum deposit of a money
market account, start with a savings
account, then transfer the money to boost
your earnings when you've saved the
money market account's minimum.
- Keep it growing. Resist the temptation to
dip into your emergency fund for anything
other than a true emergency. A three-day
sale on that sound system you've been
eyeing doesn't count.
Turn to the Experts
Visit www.jfcu.org to open an account, set
up direct deposit, or arrange for automatic
transfers.
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