Most people are familiar with the phrase “save for a rainy day." The idea is that you should tuck away money when times are good so that you're financially prepared for the unexpected. However, according to a recent Bankrate survey, only 39% of American households have enough in their savings to cover a $1,000 emergency. Are you prepared to handle an unexpected financial strain such as job loss, vehicle repairs, home maintenance or emergency medical bills? If not, here are a few easy strategies to help you start a rainy day fund today.
Cut back on excess spending
At first, it can be difficult to find extra cash to contribute to your emergency fund. Start by reviewing your monthly spending habits to identify any unnecessary expenses such as dining out, going to the movies or buying extra clothing. Cutting back on just a few of these extra expenses each month will help you build up your emergency fund in no time.
Save your spare change
Did you know that your spare change could add up to major savings? You can go the traditional route by using a coin jar to stash your spare change at the end of the day or use a savvy savings tool like Wright-Patt Credit Union's EasySaver® round-up program^. When you sign up for EasySaver, every purchase you make with your debit card will be rounded up to the nearest whole dollar and deposited into your EasySaver account^. Over time, you'll see your everyday purchases turn into significant savings!
Make saving automatic
One of the best ways to build your emergency fund is by automating your savings. Start by designating a portion of your paycheck to go directly into your savings account. WPCU's Mobile and Online Banking makes it simple and easy to schedule recurring transfers from your checking to your savings account each month. Chances are, you won't even miss the money if you never see it in your checking account!
Grow your money at great rates
Unexpected events and emergencies can happen to anyone, at any time. Make the most of your rainy day fund by putting your savings into a high-yield, interest-bearing account. Store your money in a safe, easy-to-access account, such as WPCU's TrueSaver® savings account or a Money Market Account to grow your fund at some of the best rates around.
While you can't predict events like job loss or a medical emergency, you can plan for them. With careful preparation and a diligent savings strategy, you will establish a financial cushion for whatever the future may hold.
^When you open an EasySaver® account, Wright-Patt Credit Union (WPCU), on a daily basis, will round up the amount of each debit card purchase posted to your checking account to the next whole dollar amount and transfer the total excess amount from your checking account to your EasySaver® account. WPCU will aggregate the rounded-up amounts from purchases that post to your checking account each business day and make a single transfer (“daily round-up transfer”) at the end of the business day. If on a business day you do not have sufficient available funds in your checking account, or if any transaction has overdrawn your checking account, we do not round up purchases posted on that business day and we cancel the daily round-up transfer for that day. If your debit card purchase is subsequently cancelled or reversed, such as a returned purchase, the corresponding daily round-up transfer will remain in the EasySaver® account. Refunded or adjustment transactions will not be rounded-up. WPCU will match 50% of the daily round-up transfers that post to the EasySaver® account in the first 30 days after enrolling in the program. This 30-day period begins when the first daily round-up transfer posts to the EasySaver® account. After the first 30-day period, WPCU will match 5% of the daily round-up transfers that post to the EasySaver® account. To receive the Credit Union Match (“CU match”), you must have an open EasySaver® account, be enrolled in the EasySaver Debit Card Program and enrolled to receive eStatements, at the time of quarterly match. The CU match amount will be credited to the EasySaver® account at the end of each calendar quarter in an amount based on the applicable percentage of the accumulated daily round-up transfers for that calendar quarter or the actual balance in the account at the end of the calendar quarter, whichever is less. The annual cap on the CU match amount is $300.00. The annual amount of the CU match will be reported to the IRS on Form 1099-MISC. If you close your EasySaver® account before the CU match amount is posted to the savings, you will not receive the CU match for that calendar quarter. The minimum balance to open an Easysaver® account is $0.00. The minimum balance to open an EasySaver® is in addition to the purchase of one $5.00 membership share required to be maintained in your TrueSaver™. The EasySaver® account is a variable-rate account. The Credit Union reserves the right to cancel or modify the EasySaver® account at any time, at its sole discretion. Only transactions posted to your account as debit card purchases are eligible. The Credit Union does not control whether a transaction is processed as a debit card transaction and is not responsible for how the merchant or any network processes a transaction. For additional account information about the EasySaver account, please visit EasySaver Truth-in-Savings Disclosure.