WEBVTT - Buy yourself an extra month 

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to boost your emergency fund by one month.

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<v Speaker 1>Well this sounds like a financial tip, it's actually a

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<v Speaker 1>move to buy time time without being anxious about money.

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<v Speaker 1>An extra month is doable no matter where you're starting,

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<v Speaker 1>so that makes it a good goal. I'm writing this

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<v Speaker 1>and what are to put it mildly highly uncertain economic

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<v Speaker 1>times so far two thousand twenty has reminded us that

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<v Speaker 1>people can make all the right choices and still have

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<v Speaker 1>businesses shuttered for months. It's easy to feel helpless in

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<v Speaker 1>the face of this injustice. But one thing we can

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<v Speaker 1>do is channel this anger into making sure not to

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<v Speaker 1>feel bliss in the future. The best way to do

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<v Speaker 1>that is to build up enough cash that day to

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<v Speaker 1>day crises are just not a big deal. Now. I

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<v Speaker 1>know that a lot of financial podcasts and blogs focus

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<v Speaker 1>on the idea of achieving financial independence. This is the

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<v Speaker 1>point where the income from your investments can cover your

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<v Speaker 1>living expenses. Translation, you would not have to work for

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<v Speaker 1>a living. This is certainly a great long term goal.

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<v Speaker 1>It's really the idea behind retirement, but long before you

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<v Speaker 1>achieve that having enough cash in relatively liquid assets to

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<v Speaker 1>cover a year or so of living expenses can change

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<v Speaker 1>your entire mindset. You wouldn't have to find anything for

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<v Speaker 1>quite a while. In a year, you could probably figure

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<v Speaker 1>out something, especially if you have multiple sources of income. So,

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<v Speaker 1>knowing you had the time without having to dip into

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<v Speaker 1>retirement savings or sell a house or anything like that,

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<v Speaker 1>you could start approach all of life with a new

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<v Speaker 1>sense of freedom and calm. Everyone is at different places

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<v Speaker 1>on their financial journeys, but today's tip is for anyone.

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<v Speaker 1>Whatever the size of your emergency fund, now, how could

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<v Speaker 1>you increase it to cover one more month in a crisis?

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<v Speaker 1>Even an extra month might be helpful. Over the past

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<v Speaker 1>several months, we've seen that some state unemployment systems are

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<v Speaker 1>unable to handle large volumes of claims. Even if you're

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<v Speaker 1>entitled to payments, you might not get them quickly. Policymakers

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<v Speaker 1>might allocate extra funds, but some people stimulus checks took

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<v Speaker 1>a long time to come. An extra month buys breathing room,

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<v Speaker 1>and even if you already have, say, six months of

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<v Speaker 1>expenses in an emergency fund, which is great and you

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<v Speaker 1>have other assets invested, which is also great. A little

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<v Speaker 1>extra might still feel a little better. Tough economic times

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<v Speaker 1>often lead to market swoons. You need the fortitude not

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<v Speaker 1>to sell in a down market, and having enough liquid

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<v Speaker 1>assets that you wouldn't have to can keep you from

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<v Speaker 1>constantly checking on your stocks. Worry consumes all kinds of time,

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<v Speaker 1>and I like to help people save time. So if

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<v Speaker 1>you haven't done this already, figure out what kind of

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<v Speaker 1>cash your household goes through in a given month, then

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<v Speaker 1>figure out how you might find this number in additional resources.

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<v Speaker 1>Not over one month, of course, but over time. The

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<v Speaker 1>first place to look money you're not spending on gas,

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<v Speaker 1>if you're working from home more and taking fewer trips.

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<v Speaker 1>Refunds from vacations not taken can also pad the pile,

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<v Speaker 1>as can cash from meals not eaten out. I think

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<v Speaker 1>every household could try to have some sort of side hustle.

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<v Speaker 1>At very least you can look into one of the

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<v Speaker 1>discounts cellphone providers to save a little bit here and there. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>there may be some folks out there whose emergency funds

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<v Speaker 1>are too large, they have too much in cash and

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<v Speaker 1>not enough invested. But I suspect that most people are

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<v Speaker 1>not in that position. Well, it's a good goal to

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<v Speaker 1>have an emergency fund that can cover an entire year.

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<v Speaker 1>I know that can seem daunting, but an extra month

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<v Speaker 1>that's doable. Aim for that, and then over time you

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<v Speaker 1>can look for ways to buy yourself more time. In

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd

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<v Speaker 1>love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

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<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,

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<v Speaker 1>Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b E

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<v Speaker 1>the number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can

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<v Speaker 1>also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at

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<v Speaker 1>i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled

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<v Speaker 1>out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look

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<v Speaker 1>forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

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<v Speaker 1>of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,

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