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Welcome to the Hardcore Husky Forums. Folks who are well-known in Cyberland and not that dumb.

Emergency fund

jecorneljecornel Member Posts: 9,727
edited May 2022 in Tug Tavern
How many months do you have set aside if you lost all incoming monies?

Any way to protect emergency funds from inflation? online savings accounts are shit. If you never use it and it just sat there for 15 years you lost a lot of potentials gains by investing.

Ramit Sethi is adamant to build up a year of emergency cash.
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  • greenbloodgreenblood Member Posts: 14,505
    edited March 2021
    We are only about 2 months saved, and are working on expanding that. The IVF treatments ate most of our previous savings.
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  • creepycougcreepycoug Member Posts: 23,633
    I've tried to follow the rule of a year's gross salary. I was down from that for about 4 years during overlapping college tuitions, but am working my way back up.

    I may stay away from that much cash given the concerns you articulated, but I'm conservative and assume that I would not be able to replace my gig within, say, 6 mos. So a year is my paradigm, even though I know it's a bit excessive.
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  • creepycougcreepycoug Member Posts: 23,633
    Also, thanks for posting Little Jimmy Cornel.
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  • BearsWiinBearsWiin Member Posts: 5,034
    Fully invested in hog futures, if I need cash I'll tap into my HELOC
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  • creepycougcreepycoug Member Posts: 23,633
    PurpleThrobber said:

    BearsWiin said:

    Fully invested in hog futures, if I need cash I'll tap into my HELOC

    Your wife's name is HELOC?!?




    C'mon - even in @creepycoug 's gentlemens club I had to jump on that softball.
    Agreed.

    Re HELOC, this is a little old fashioned, but I try not to think of the primary home as an investment and instead think of it as a basic necessity. For that reason, I like to own it outright and then I know I only ever have to keep the electricity on and pay my property taxes. I can survive for a good long while on that basis no matter how bad it gets.
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  • USMChawkUSMChawk Member Posts: 1,800
    I have 4 months of cash. Originally I was going for 6 months but I keep skimming anything over that 4 months to buy stocks and mutual funds. I’m comfortable doing that so, 4 months is my revised goal.
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  • Doog_de_JourDoog_de_Jour Member Posts: 8,041 Standard Supporter
    edited March 2021
    creepycoug said:

    RaceBannon said:

    I kept enough for 2 weeks to flatten the curve

    As proof that God protects idiots I was a the top of my savings last March. Rode out 2020 with some fed checks and UI after the shut down in July of the bidness

    Haven't done shit in 2021 except collect UI but I still have at least a year in savings. So I have that going for me which is nice

    Given the volatility and uncertainty of the times, maybe it's not overly conservative to have a year.

    PS: My fund, which my colleagues and I used to call the "Fuck You" or "Fuck Off" fund, and which is now called the "Oh Shit!" fund, is kept in account that I never look at or think about, and about which my Chief Spending Officer knows nothing. She literally doesn't know it exists. It must be nice to have blonde hair, blue eyes and big tits and go through life wondering why things always just seem to work out for you. Just lucky I guess.
    Heh. Many women have similar accounts that their husbands know nothing about. As my forensics accountant buddy likes to say, “keeps me in business”.

    RE: the emergency funds, obviously more is better, but speaking as someone who went through two layoffs in her younger years, people should also come up with emergency *contingency plans* along with cash reserves.

    What discretionary spending could you cut out immediately (streaming services, gym memberships, etc.)? If push came to shove, what could you sell? Who would be willing to help you out with free child care? What if you had to move temporarily?

    Reason I bring this up is you can stretch your emergency fund dollars if you’re smart about it. Most people (pre-COVID) are only out of work about 2-3 months. You probably don’t have to burn as much savings for job loss if you’re smart about it. (Not saying job loss isn’t an emergency, but I am shocked how many people burn through their savings quickly because they didn’t prepare or were willing to make some short term sacrifices.)
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  • creepycougcreepycoug Member Posts: 23,633
    Doog_de_Jour said:

    creepycoug said:

    RaceBannon said:

    I kept enough for 2 weeks to flatten the curve

    As proof that God protects idiots I was a the top of my savings last March. Rode out 2020 with some fed checks and UI after the shut down in July of the bidness

    Haven't done shit in 2021 except collect UI but I still have at least a year in savings. So I have that going for me which is nice

    Given the volatility and uncertainty of the times, maybe it's not overly conservative to have a year.

    PS: My fund, which my colleagues and I used to call the "Fuck You" or "Fuck Off" fund, and which is now called the "Oh Shit!" fund, is kept in account that I never look at or think about, and about which my Chief Spending Officer knows nothing. She literally doesn't know it exists. It must be nice to have blonde hair, blue eyes and big tits and go through life wondering why things always just seem to work out for you. Just lucky I guess.
    Heh. Many women have similar accounts that their husbands know nothing about. As my forensics accountant buddy likes to say, “keeps me in business”.

    RE: the emergency funds, obviously more is better, but speaking as someone who went through two layoffs in her younger years, people should also come up with emergency *contingency plans* along with cash reserves.

    What discretionary spending could you cut out immediately (streaming services, gym memberships, etc.)? If push came to shove, what could you sell? Who would be willing to help you out with free child care? What if you had to move temporarily?

    Reason I bring this up is you can stretch your emergency fund dollars if you’re smart about it. Most people (pre-COVID) are only out of work about 2-3 months. You probably don’t have to burn as much savings for job loss if you’re smart about it. (Not saying job loss isn’t an emergency, but I am shocked how many people burn through their savings quickly because they didn’t prepare or were willing to make some short term sacrifices.)
    All true. Although knock on wood I haven't had to live on the fund, by whatever name I give it, and so it's also smart to pre-think through all the adjustments you'll make to minimize the bleeding.
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  • Doog_de_JourDoog_de_Jour Member Posts: 8,041 Standard Supporter
    creepycoug said:

    Doog_de_Jour said:

    creepycoug said:

    RaceBannon said:

    I kept enough for 2 weeks to flatten the curve

    As proof that God protects idiots I was a the top of my savings last March. Rode out 2020 with some fed checks and UI after the shut down in July of the bidness

    Haven't done shit in 2021 except collect UI but I still have at least a year in savings. So I have that going for me which is nice

    Given the volatility and uncertainty of the times, maybe it's not overly conservative to have a year.

    PS: My fund, which my colleagues and I used to call the "Fuck You" or "Fuck Off" fund, and which is now called the "Oh Shit!" fund, is kept in account that I never look at or think about, and about which my Chief Spending Officer knows nothing. She literally doesn't know it exists. It must be nice to have blonde hair, blue eyes and big tits and go through life wondering why things always just seem to work out for you. Just lucky I guess.
    Heh. Many women have similar accounts that their husbands know nothing about. As my forensics accountant buddy likes to say, “keeps me in business”.

    RE: the emergency funds, obviously more is better, but speaking as someone who went through two layoffs in her younger years, people should also come up with emergency *contingency plans* along with cash reserves.

    What discretionary spending could you cut out immediately (streaming services, gym memberships, etc.)? If push came to shove, what could you sell? Who would be willing to help you out with free child care? What if you had to move temporarily?

    Reason I bring this up is you can stretch your emergency fund dollars if you’re smart about it. Most people (pre-COVID) are only out of work about 2-3 months. You probably don’t have to burn as much savings for job loss if you’re smart about it. (Not saying job loss isn’t an emergency, but I am shocked how many people burn through their savings quickly because they didn’t prepare or were willing to make some short term sacrifices.)
    All true. Although knock on wood I haven't had to live on the fund, by whatever name I give it, and so it's also smart to pre-think through all the adjustments you'll make to minimize the bleeding.
    You’re lucky.

    While the most common emergencies for families are major household repairs and car expenses, those can be mitigated somewhat by good maintenance and can be budgeted out/negotiated. It’s the sudden medical issue or change of life stuff (divorce, forced relocation) that I think are the most devastating. I try to think about how to respond to those.
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  • BearsWiinBearsWiin Member Posts: 5,034
    creepycoug said:

    PurpleThrobber said:

    BearsWiin said:

    Fully invested in hog futures, if I need cash I'll tap into my HELOC

    Your wife's name is HELOC?!?




    C'mon - even in @creepycoug 's gentlemens club I had to jump on that softball.
    Agreed.

    Re HELOC, this is a little old fashioned, but I try not to think of the primary home as an investment and instead think of it as a basic necessity. For that reason, I like to own it outright and then I know I only ever have to keep the electricity on and pay my property taxes. I can survive for a good long while on that basis no matter how bad it gets.
    Investment return >>> HELOC interest
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  • creepycougcreepycoug Member Posts: 23,633
    BearsWiin said:

    creepycoug said:

    PurpleThrobber said:

    BearsWiin said:

    Fully invested in hog futures, if I need cash I'll tap into my HELOC

    Your wife's name is HELOC?!?




    C'mon - even in @creepycoug 's gentlemens club I had to jump on that softball.
    Agreed.

    Re HELOC, this is a little old fashioned, but I try not to think of the primary home as an investment and instead think of it as a basic necessity. For that reason, I like to own it outright and then I know I only ever have to keep the electricity on and pay my property taxes. I can survive for a good long while on that basis no matter how bad it gets.
    Investment return >>> HELOC interest
    Well, yeah, I get that ... I am after all the King of the Finance board. I acknowledge it's a little old school but if my investments go sideways I like to own outright the thing that keeps me out of the rain ... a considerable risk where I live.
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  • FireCohenFireCohen Member Posts: 21,823
    greenblood said:

    We are only about 2 months saved, and are working on expanding that. The IVF treatments ate most of our previous savings.

    Damn, hopefully it worked
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  • FireCohenFireCohen Member Posts: 21,823
    I am too cash heavy. Over 12 months is fucking stupid, but I am fucking stupid. Need to just invest my way into something
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