Further Proof of the Importance of an Emergency Fund

A few weeks ago my wife and I noticed that the A/C was on but it wasn’t blowing out any cool air. Turns out it was a bad capacitor. That wouldn’t have been so bad but while they were here fixing it they noticed that our electrical panel is in poor shape. Water should NOT be getting in to the electrical panel. There is lots of rust and corrosion in there and the whole panel needs to be replaced. They quoted a price of $4000. That is a high quote, other folks seem to think $1500-$2000, but the fact still remains, this is the reason you need an emergency fund.

Dave Ramsey talks about it all the time. So do all the other financial “gurus.” It is just common sense and it is very important to have some money stashed away for those times when things like this happen. Fortunately we’ll be able to pay for it, but we’ll definitely need to build up our emergency fund when we’ve paid off our debts, BEFORE we go buying any toys or anything else. The recommended amount for your emergency fund is approximately 6 months of expenses. In these tough times some are even saying 8 months or more.  So start saving up some money as an emergency fund now, before Murphy and his Law come knocking at your door.