How Much Should Be In Your Emergency Fund? (Episode 315)

0:31 Well, good afternoon, Michigan Anders. It is Tuesday, April eighth, twenty twenty five, and of course this is Tuesday with Tom, Michigan's only weekly internet show where we do answer your questions about a state planning and a state settlement in the state of Michigan, and we don't send you a bill. As always, I'm your host, Tom Doyle, a state planning attorney, lifelong Michigan resident, and ambassador for all things good in this great state of Michigan. Welcome, welcome to to day's program. Well, our last episode, why now is the right time to get your estate plan in order? If you've been watching the news stressful time President Trump. When he ran for election, he promised to build the greatest economy in history. But if you look what's happened in light of what he's done, in particular with the tariffs, S and p is down over seventeen percent, nine point six trillion dollars has been simply erased from the market. And with that political uncertainty, many people are understandably feeling uneasy about the future. But unfortunately,

2:02 as I talked about in last week's episode, that uncertainty actually increases the likelihood of unexpected events. So now more than ever, and I know a lot of people are sitting back right now waiting to see what happens. We don't know what's going to happen with our s so SOI security. We don't know what's going to happen with our investments, so we're gonna sit We're going to wait, and maybe we'll get our state plan done later. But the fact of the matter is, as. I gave. Information last episode, this time of uncertainty is more likely.

2:42 It's actually going to increase the possibility that you might actually die in the meantime. So if you're thinking about putting things off, I encourage you listen to last week's episode, well today's episode. I normally don't talk about money. I normally talk about state planning, but because of what's going on, I was reading an article, so I thought it might be an interesting topic for today's conversation, and that is how much should be in your emergency fund. Again, we're talking about something it's not exciting, but it could end up being what might be considered your financial superhero.

3:27 That is an emergency fund, whether it's a car that's not going to start or surprise medical bills or if you're working unexpected layoffs. Look what's happened to a lot of the federal employees. That are out there. So today we're going to talk a little bit about how much should be in your emergency fund. But please remember what I'm about to discuss during the program is, as always, for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be legal or financial advice. You need to work with your attorney and your financial advisor and your tax advisor to determine what is appropriate for you and your estate and financial plan. So let's start with what is an emergency fund. If you don't have one, you need to understand what an emergency fund is, and we start with an emergency fund is simply a stash of cash set aside for yes, you guessed.

4:43 It, emergency emergencies. Think of it as a financial safety net. It's not for vacations, it's not for a new TV. It's for those moments in life that's in life, that's a surprise and your bank account says not today. So why do you need one? Well, even if you have a steady job. And good insurance, emergencies still cost money. Having an emergency fund keeps you from relying on high interest credit cards. It can give you peace of mind. It helps you make better long term financial decisions without panic. Think of it as actually like insurance you give yourself. So even if you have a steady job, or even more important, if you are retired, having that emergency fund because you don't have the ability to simply now replace income, so you need to plan for possible emergencies in saving that money inside your emergency fund. What should you say, Well, there are, according to financial planners, some general rule of thumbs.

6:05 If you're just starting out, perhaps five hundred dollars to one thousand dollars to cover some basic emergencies would be a good place to begin. It certainly better than nothing. It's better than simply taking out your credit card to cover those basic emergencies. Longer term goals, certainly if you're working normally, longer term goal, according to experts, is going to look at some three to six months worth of expenses. So take all of your expenses, your rent or your mortgage, or your car payments or your student loan payments, and food and expenses, your normal expenses.

6:49 Just lay them all out. If you haven't done that, take a piece of paper, write them all down, what are they, Look at your bank accounts so that you make sure you're accurate in the is that you're writing, and then multiply them by three to six months, and that's going to give you the general number that you should be shooting for to cover emergency expenses. Now, it's going to be different if you're retired. Again. If you're retired, you don't have the ability to simply earn more, or work more or work longer in order to build up that emergency fund. So the normal wisdom, if you are retired, it's going to be longer. You should be shooting for twelve to eighteen months worth of expenses if you are retired. But those are some targets to look at again. Start five hundred to one thousand dollars to cover your basic expenses. Look at three to six months worth of expenses if you're working, But if you're retired, shoot for that twelve to eighteen months, because you all know during that time you can have unexpected metal expenses, unexpected car breakdowns, whatever it happens to be.

8:07 So ask yourself, essentially, if you lost your income tomorrow, if you're working, how many months could I live on what's in my account? Your emergency fund should answer that question with confidence, knowing that if something happened, you don't have to panic. You don't have to dig in deeply in expensive credit card debt to cover those expenses. Once you decide that, then the next question is where should you keep it? Where should you keep your emergency expenses fund or your emergency fund? Well, think about that. You want it to be someplace secure, So you don't want it to be in the stock market. Look if you had your emergency funds right now in the stock market and you look at what's happened over the last few days, you would be panicking because you would have lost potentially significant portions of your emergency fund. So it needs to be in a secure location. So normally you're going to be looking at something like a high yield savings accounts.

9:23 High yield savings accounts are ideal why because they're easy to access, but they're not too easy to spend. So I'm talking about a high yield savings account. It is not your checking account. Don't keep your emergency fund and your checking account because you'll spend it on pizza or impulse buying. Or whatever it happens to be. So you need to have a separate account. Again, high yield savings account is ideal because it's not too easy to spend it. You might even put your high yield savings account in a different bank. Then you have your normal a checking account, so that you can't easily just write a check and take it. You have to think about it when you're taking funds from your emergency expense. And again, don't have it in the stock market, because it's an emergency fund that you need to make sure is there to cover emergencies.

10:22 If you don't have an emergency fund already, then just start small, even if you don't have much, start small and start building it up. Maybe you set up automatic transfers from your checking account, maybe ten dollars a week. You need to look at your finances and see what you can afford, but don't put it off. Make sure you are investing in yourself and your emergency fund. Tax refunds. Everyone's filing your income tax returns right now. You're looking at getting a refund. Consider putting your tax refund into that emergency fund. You get a bonus at work, move that bonus into that emergency fund, or whenever you have any sort of a financial windfall, consider moving that money into that emergency funds.

11:21 Think of it. Savings are important and they're not negotiable. Cut out small expenses, maybe skip a few takeout meals and status the savings aside. But treat savings kind of like a bill. It's something that you have to pay. So you have to pay into your emergency fund on a regular basis, in addition to with any sort of windfalls that you might be able. Now, it's not about being perfect. It's not about. Saying, oh, my calculation is I need exactly this amount of money, and I'm going to be perfect about in having exactly that amount.

12:04 It's not about perfection. It's really about progress, making sure that you are moving in the right direction with that emergency fund. So common mistakes to avoid regarding your emergency fund. The biggest dipping into the fund for non emergencies. Think about a black Friday is not an emergency. Buying pizza is not an emergency. It has to be for true, unexpected emergencies. And then when you do use the funds to cover an emergency, don't forget to replenish it. So if your car breaks down and you have to use one thousand dollars from your emergency fund to get your car fixed. Make sure that you have a plan for now replay fleshing that thousand dollars after you use it. Another pretty common mistake that people will make is waiting until I make more money to start my emergency fund.

13:15 I'll wait. Maybe I'm gonna make more money next year. Maybe I'm gonna make more money five years from now. I'm gonna wait until I'm making more money. No, you need to think about now and begin now, and not simply wait until you make more money, because if you do that, you will likely never have that emergency fund built up. Bottom Line, life isn't gonna wait for you. Emergencies are gonna happen, and you have to prioritize setting funds aside to make sure that you can match those emergencies again without having to dip into expensive.

13:57 Credit card debt. A lot of people sit been said, well, if there's an emergency, I'll just use my credit card. If you have a choice, building up the fund using your own money, avoiding that maybe twenty five percent interest rate on your credit card. Is the better option. So what we're talking about basically having an emergency fund. It's not very glamorous, but it does give you options and it can help give you peace of mind. And if there's something that you know that Amanda and I are areas talking about relative to a state planning, is to have peace of mind. The peace of mind that comes from knowing that you have a plan in place, the peace of mind that comes from knowing that if something happens to you, your loved ones will.

14:48 Be taken care of. That same peace of mind, though, is applied when you have the confidence to face financial emergencies. So think about it in the overall piece of mind contact and make sure that you are putting together your emergency fund so that you will have that peace of mind. Of course, while we can't do the financial planning for you and put together emergency fund, a man and I would be honored to have the opportunity to help you protect your loved ones by putting together your state plan, amending in a state plan that you already have, or assisting you in settling a loved one's estate. Simply head on over to the office website DOYLELOWPC dot com.

16:08 There you're gonna find information. How do you schedule a consultation. With the office. It can be in the Grand Rapids office, it can be in the Lansing office, or it can be a virtual consultation which could be either via zoom or telephone. So all that information is available at DOYLELOTPC dot com, or you can always call the office at five one seven three two three seven three sixty six as well. Remember two if you simply need an individual legal document, maybe all you need is a new power of attorney, or all you need is a new certificate of trust, whatever happens to be. Head head on over to Doyle LOTPC dot com, click on the Legal Store. There's a link at the top says legal Store, and there you're going to find information about how you can order individual documents through the internet. So again please visit DOYLAPC dot com for more information. Well, I think that's going to be it for today's show. But as always, if you have a comment about the program, a topic that you'd like to have me discuss, or questions that you'd like to have answered, head on over to Tuesday with Tom dot com. You can leave a voice message by clicking

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19:55 Stay safe. Tuesday with Tom has been brought to you by the estate planning attorneys at Doyle Law PC. To learn how we can help you with your estate plan or with settling a loved one's estate, please call us today at five one seven three two three seven three sixty six. That's five one seven three two three seven three sixty six.