Financial Smarties: You CAN save for emergencies. Here's how.

It’s always a good idea to have an emergency fund.  Even a smaller emergency fund can help stave off many unexpected financial situations such as car repairs, appliance repairs, temporary loss of income, and medical emergencies.  An emergency fund may not cover it all, but it will give you some breathing room.

It sounds like a good idea, right?  But where can you find that money?  If your finances are a little tight to start an emergency fund, then now may be a good time to cut back on expenses.  Check out our post Financial Smarties: Simplify Your Expenses for some great tips.

An easy way to create your emergency fund is through automatic savings.  Automatic savings can be set up through payroll deduction or automatic transfers.

Payroll deductions are a great way to save some of each paycheck before it even hits your account - then you’re less likely to miss it.  You can even make it be a percentage of your income so that every time you get a raise, your savings also gets a raise.  Check with your payroll department to get started.

Automatic transfers can be set up through your financial institution or via online or mobile banking.  Automatic transfers offer more autonomy.  You can decide when your money gets transferred and how often.  This is a good choice as long as you have the self-control to keep it going and growing.

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Setting up an emergency fund is a financially smart choice and the first time an emergency presents itself, you’ll feel like a financial smarty for having something on which to fall back.