Emergency Fund

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Stuff happens. And it usually costs money. If you don't have an emergency fund equal to three to six months worth of basic living expenses, you're living on the edge. There's no time like the present to get started.

Your success in building your emergency fund depends on your consistency in socking away money on a regular basis, and your ability to resist digging into your emergency fund for non-emergencies.

Saving for emergencies

Your emergency fund should contain three months' worth of living expenses. The amount does not have to equal three months worth of your salary, but only what you need to pay the rent or mortgage, repay debt, buy food and make the car payment. While you're at it, you should also set up a basic record-keeping system using a personal finance program like Microsoft Money.

Emergency money must be accessible. Of course, therein lies a danger. If youre not disciplined, you can easily tap into it for impulse purchases, like weekend vacation trips and new hi-fi equipment. This money, however, should exist for medical bills, brakes for the car, a spell of unemployment and the like. If there's talk of layoffs at work, increase the amount you put into it. When you must use money from this fund, make repaying it your top priority.

Put your emergency money in a highly liquid account, such as a saving account or money market account (which pays higher interest rates).

No maintenance fees
Wherever you open an emergency fund, persuade your banker to eliminate any account maintenance fees, which can run as high as RM100 a year or more. In most cases, you can automatically eliminate these fees by maintaining a minimum balance. Look for a bank or credit union that uses an average daily balance method for computing this rather than a minimum daily balance. The latter will charge a fee if your account falls below the minimum on just one day. You can also avoid a fee by linking a checking account to a savings account or an interest-bearing checking account.

Putting the cushion in a smart place
Once you have built up a three-month cushion, you can also consider putting a portion of it into a certificate of deposit, or CD, to earn a higher interest rate. The longer the term of the CD, the higher the rate. But if you lock up your money for too long, you've defeated the purpose of easy access.

Once you've got your emergency fund in place, then you're ready to invest. Walla!