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You are here: Home / Naturally Frugal Living / How to Build an Emergency Fund on a Limited Budget

How to Build an Emergency Fund on a Limited Budget

March 15, 2019 by Editor 3 Comments

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Use these tips on how to build an emergency fund on a limited budget to stash away money for unexpected expenses.

How to build an Emergency Fund on a Limited Income

Having an emergency fund is important. It is something to rely on in times of trouble so you don’t have to immediately panic or wonder, “What now?” Building an emergency fund can be hard if you are living paycheck to paycheck. It may seem nearly impossible. Here are some ways you can build your emergency fund even if you are struggling.

How to Build an Emergency Fund on a Slim Budget

First, have a goal in mind. An emergency fund does not have to be a year’s worth of expenses. It can start out as just a couple hundred dollars in savings. The goal is to eventually grow it, but any money is better than no money in the case of an emergency.

If it is easier for you, try having your paycheck direct deposited. This way, you won’t see the money in your hands and it might be easier for you to resist spending. You can also utilize bank services such as having money auto-transferred as soon as it is deposited.

Ask your bank to save back a reasonable amount from each paycheck for you and put it in a separate account. It can be as little as $25 or $50 from each paycheck. For most families, this is just a night out at a restaurant you are giving up.

Save your change. It is amazing how fast it adds up. Just saving change in a jar can mean several hundred dollars after several months and it is easier to not spend it because it is change, not bills.

Look for ways you can trim your monthly expenses to add extra money to your emergency fund. Could you give up cable and go with a streaming service instead for TV? Could you go without new clothes this season and instead buy used? Small changes like this are nearly painless and add some money where you thought there was none to your fund.

Stop a bad habit and add the money that would have been spent on that to your fund for a period of time. This includes fast food, smoking cigarettes, going for shopping trips with no real need and so on.

Coupon your way to an emergency fund. If you don’t already coupon, now is the time to start. There is no need to go all extreme couponing with it, unless of course, you want to. Just buy what you would normally buy and put the coupon savings back into your fund. It will be like making money appear from nowhere and not having to give up anything that you need or normally would buy.

Keep making “payments”. You may be close to paying off something you are making monthly payments on. If this is true, keep making the same amount of money payments to your emergency fund instead. You are already budgeting for it, so it won’t hurt you where you are currently.

Stack Savings Tips

When I started making my husband’s lunch, he calculated how much he would save by not eating fast food. Then he went to the bank and had that amount taken from his paycheck and deposited directly into a savings account.

The most important thing to consider when creating an emergency fund is, it is not for extras. It is just for maintaining your basic needs. Being honest with yourself can help you be more realistic about how much money you will need to have in the event you need to dip into it in the future.

What are some ways you have saved money for an emergency fund? 

More Money Saving Tips

How to Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck

10 Tips for Staying on a Budget

101 Ways to Save $1.00 a Day

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Comments

  1. Cara @ Fashionably Frugal says

    September 26, 2016 at 9:09 am

    These are great tips.
    One big thing I started doing is purging my house, which doesn’t sound related at all. Anything that I decided not to keep or throw, I sold online. All of the money goes into my emergency fund, whether it’s $2 or $200. It’s a great way to clean your house and build up that safety net. Thank you for sharing your experience!

    Reply
  2. Elizabeth Ferree says

    October 1, 2014 at 6:05 am

    I have 3 small debts (hospital bills) and once I pay those off I will be making my emergency fund. Another tip is to make homemade instead of store bought when you can.

    Reply
  3. Hayley @ Disease Called Debt says

    August 5, 2014 at 10:03 am

    I’ve built up my emergency fund doing much of the above suggestions. A really good one is giving up a bad habit. I gave up drinking wine on an evening, saving money and feeling healthier in the process.

    Reply

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Prep-Ahead Breakfasts and Lunches by Alea Milham

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Welcome. I'm Alea!

On Premeditated Leftovers I share simple recipes made with whole foods, practical shopping tips, time saving techniques, and meal planning strategies. I also share tips for minimizing food waste, so more of the food that is purchased ends up on the table.

While volunteering as a budget counselor, I realized that food is the element of most people’s budgets where they have the greatest control. I set out to develop low-cost recipes from scratch to prove it’s possible to create delicious meals on a limited budget. Eating well while spending less is about more than just creating recipes using inexpensive ingredients; it’s about creatively combining ingredients so you don’t feel deprived and are inspired to stick to your budget.

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