Finding Money for an Emergency Fund
Make some money on the side
Pro
- You may be able to use earnings made from a temporary part-time job pay for your emergency expense.
- You can also use this income to build an emergency fund.
Con
- If the emergency expense is pressing, you may not have the enough time to work for the needed funds.
Selling unused or unwanted items
Pro
- Selling unused or unwanted items that you already own in a yard sale, on Craigslist, or local classified websites could earn the money you need to take care of the emergency.
- As an added bonus, you will be de-cluttering your home!
Con
- You may not have enough unwanted items to sell to produce the needed funds.
- Also, you may not have the time needed to advertise and sell the item(s).
Re-examine your budget
Pro
- You may discover some spending leaks that you could plug. You can then use that unspent money on your emergency.
- You use this new source of savings to begin to fund an emergency fund.
Con
- If your budget is already stretched thin, then you may not find anything to cut back on.
Borrow from family or friends
Pro
- Taking out an informal loan from family or friends lets you avoid the typical underwriting process of formal lenders.
Con
- Your relationship may weaken if you are unable to pay back the loan in the time period you agreed to.
If you have a specific emergency, figure out your rights as a consumer to see if someone else may be obligated to cover some or all of the expense. You may already be covered by a service contract, warranty, or insurance. Or if you made the purchase using a credit card, you may have some protection.
Pro
- You may find that some or all of your emergency expense is paid for.
Con
- This takes some research and trying to understand the fine print on disclosure documents.
- This might also require time that you do not have if the emergency is pressing.