5 Money Saving Tips to Build an Emergency Fund Quickly

Do you have an emergency fund? If you answered no, then you aren’t alone. Most Americans don’t have enough money saved to cover an unexpected emergency or cover three months’ worth of expenses. 

Unfortunately, emergencies do arise, whether you are ready for them or not. You will experience far fewer complications if you have an emergency fund to cover unplanned expenses. 

You shouldn’t feel discouraged if you are having trouble building an emergency fund. You will be able to save more quickly if you take the following measures. You can find more tips from Qapital. 

Find temporary Gigs to make extra money 

Many financial advisors will suggest taking on a part-time job to save for a rainy day. Unfortunately, this advice is not very practical. Most part-time jobs expect you to work long-term. Employers don’t look too fondly on people that quit after a couple of months just to meet their financial goal. 

A better alternative is to take on one-time income opportunities. Here are a couple of ideas to consider. 

House sitting or pet sitting 

Do you know somebody that is going on vacation? They might be willing to pay somebody to house sit or pet sit. The great thing about a gig like this is that it requires little extra work. As long as it isn’t too far from your regular job, then it can be decent income for minimal work. You will literally make money while you are sleeping.

Online surveys  

You are not going to get rich taking online surveys. However, they can still be great for making extra money. The nice thing about them is the flexibility. You can take surveys whenever you feel like it, so you can earn some side income without the stress of committing to a regular job. 

Gig economy sites 

The gig economy is growing at a surprising rate. The most recent data shows that 57 million Americans are part of the gig economy. 

You can find a number of giga economy sites that offer opportunities to make quite a bit of money. Uber is obviously the most well-known. You can also try Upwork or Fiverr.

Stop making unnecessary purchases 

Most people think that they are more frugal than they really are. One study found that the average American adult spends $18,000 a year on unnecessary expenditures.

You should review your monthly purchases carefully. You will probably see that there are a lot of expenditures that you can cut back on. Netflix, Starbucks, pricey gym memberships and regular outings at the pub are all things that you might be able to cut back on. 

Drive less flashy used cars 

Many people have to purchase the latest and most expensive car on the market. You are going to have a very difficult time saving an emergency fund if you insist on buying cars outside your price range. 

Some economical cars that you might want to consider are the Toyota Prius, Honda Accord, Kia Niro and Volkswagen Golf. You should try buying or leasing these types of cars, instead of a Lexus or other luxury vehicle. Your monthly payments will be much lower, which will make it easier to save. 

Be careful with high maintenance friends and family members

Everybody has friends and family members that can’t seem to get their life together. They are constantly reaching out to everybody else in their life and asking for money. They always have the same old story and don’t seem to be willing to make the hard choices to turn things around. Instead, they want to rely on everybody else. 

These types of friends will easily bleed to try. You need to be careful about giving money to them, even if they claim that it is an emergency. They will often exaggerate or even an outright lie about their circumstances to earn sympathy to pressure you into giving them money.

Make it a priority to build an emergency fund

There are a lot of things that you need to do to keep your financial life in order. One of the most important is to build an emergency fund. The tips listed above should help you reach this goal. Make sure that you follow through with them consistently.