Emergency Cash Fund
An emergency cash fund is an important part of financial planning. Not only can an emergency fund/cash reserve mean staying out of debt, but it can also mean peace of mind. For those who have never had emergency savings, or a savings account, it may be a little confusing where to begin. Getting started with an emergency cash fund can be simple! However, because there are so many ways to save during different life stages, it will be important to find a savings plan that will work for you.
If you need some cash upfront, a loan option may be your best. At Max Cash® Title Loans, we work hard to connect people with title loan lenders. Apply for an online car title loan right away! Once approved, the cash could be a great starting point for your savings!
Below you’ll find out about the different emergency cash funds out there, along with a few ways to save!
The Basics of Creating an Emergency Fund— Budgeting
Budgeting is an important part of creating a savings account or an emergency fund. To create a budget, you will have to allocate funds to your living expenses, essentials, and recreational expenses.
One of the basic budgeting strategies is the 50/30/20 rule. With this plan, you roughly spend 50 percent of your after-tax income on essentials, 30 percent on recreational expenses, and 20 percent on savings.
Here are some of the basics that people have a part of their budget:
- Rent or mortgage payments
- Basic utilities
- Insurance (health insurance, car insurance, etc.)
- Food
- Health Care (for chronic illness, deductibles, prescriptions, etc.)
- Debt payments (student loans, medical bills, credit cards, loans, etc.)
- Child Care/Dependent Care
- Pet Care
- Home Maintenance/Home Repairs
- Transportation
When creating a budget, definitely adjust to your financial goals and your lifestyle.
How Much Should my Emergency Cash Fund Be?
In general, financial advisors’ rule of thumb is that households should save 3-6 months’ worth of living expenses. Some people may even want to save as long as a year, or even longer. Although this may seem like a huge savings goal, it can be possible overtime! Additionally, a large savings amount can be extremely helpful to cover months of expenses if you face a job loss or a layoff, or other large unexpected expenses.
Where Should I Keep My Emergency Cash Savings— the Different Kinds of Savings Accounts
There are many types of bank accounts and investing options to store your savings. Here are a few:
A Standard Savings Accounts
Banks and credit unions have a standard savings account option. However, the interest rates can be very low. Along with that, there may be penalties for multiple transactions in a short period of time. The convenient thing about having a checking account and a savings account with the same institution, is that it can make it easier to transfer funds to your debit card. Additionally, setting up things like automatic saving payments in sync with your monthly income can be very simple.
High Yield Savings Accounts
These are a type of savings account where you earn interest on your deposits. The savings rate for a high yield savings account is much higher than an average savings account. Keep in mind that they may have some fees, and there may be minimum balance requirements.
Money Market Accounts
Money market accounts are similar to high yield savings accounts, except they earn more interest. However, they do have more fees than high-yield bank accounts. And so, it is important to make sure that you are not losing more than you are saving.
IRA Options
An IRA is similar to a 401k retirement account/ plan, but instead of an employer having set this up, the person retiring sets it up through an independent financial institution. There are generally three types of IRAs out there:
- A Traditional IRA—a traditional IRA is not taxed until it is withdrawn in the future. Ideally, this money is kept in the account until you retire and get the benefit of the lower tax bracket for retirees.
- Roth IRA—a Roth IRA is where you add money to the account after you have already paid taxes on that amount. That way, when you do finally retire and access that account, all of those savings are tax-free.
- Rollover IRA—these are accounts for savings that have been “rolled over” from previous savings accounts. For example, if you leave your job, the 401K savings can be rolled over to one of these accounts.
CDs
A CD is a type of investment account where you put away your money for a specific period and interest is added to it. Although many CD’s have penalties if a person withdraws from their account early, there are some CD’s out there that do not have this penalty.
Treasury Bills and Savings Bonds
These are investments that take a few years. However, they can be a good tool for saving long term, for things like retirement. One thing to keep in mind is that there are early withdrawal penalties. And so, it may not be a good idea to invest all of your emergency savings in them.
Mutual Funds
Mutual funds are an investment program that is funded by shareholders, and they carry less of a risk than something like stocks. Mutual funds can be a good idea for those who want to take a small risk in order to see a good amount of growth.
Loan Options to Build an Emergency Fund
In some cases, you may want to have a good amount of cash to start your rainy-day fund. And if you don’t have enough money upfront, then a loan may work for you. Here are a few loan options, which could make for emergency money, or used to build your safety net:
- Credit Cards — Credit cards can be used for all kinds of expenses. And for many people, credit card purchases can be convenient. However, if you don’t have an open line of credit, then you’ll need a good credit history for a new credit card.
- Personal Loans— personal loans can come with short term or long-term repayment terms, and different loan amounts. They can also come with good interest rates, but you need to have good credit to be approved!
- Payday Loans — Payday loans use the borrower’s income as security for the loan. In general, these loans are for $50 to $500, and need to be repaid in a few weeks.
- Car Title Loans— car title loans use the borrower’s vehicle as collateral. Eligibility and loan amount will be based on the value of your vehicle, your monthly income, and ability to repay the loan. When looking for a title loan it will be extremely important to find the right title loan lender.
Begin with Max Cash Title Loans for a Title Loan
At Max Cash Title Loans our process can be extremely fast. There are a few reasons for this. One reason is simply because of our online process. Secondly, the way that we operate is unique. Instead of giving out loans ourselves, we are a loan connection service. We are the middleman between a borrower and a direct lender. By offering this service, we cut down tons of time with the lending process.
Here are a few things that we eliminate or improve on, simply because of the way we operate:
- A completely online process.
- Our team has done research on every individual lender in our marketplace.
- The loan agents on our team do all the work of comparing loan rates.
- We will send the information to lenders
- We can give you all the ins and outs of the title loan process
As you can see, we do a lot of the work for you with title loan lending one of the huge advantages of using a loan marketplace instead of doing it yourself.
Get Started with Your Emergency Cash Fund Today!
Whether you are a saver or not, it will be important to start building your emergency savings account! And the good news is that you don’t have to be a financial planner to do so!
Having proper savings can provide security for your personal finances, cushioning for financial emergencies, and can prevent things like credit card debt or debt in general. When you need cash upfront to start saving, then a loan option may work. For those who are looking for a title loan, Max Cash Title Loans is the best place to start! To get things started simply head online and apply for a title loan. Or give one of our friendly loan agents a call at (855) 561-5626. We are here 7 days a week to help you get started with your rainy-day fund!