Ever wonder how much you really need to have in savings in case of an emergency? The standard rule of thumb is to have the equivalent of three to six months’ of expenses socked away. This savings would be to cover the things you hadn’t planned on happening, such as emergency home or car repairs, pet health expenses, or even unemployment. These things happen and you don’t want to turn to high-interest credit cards or loans to get you through!
However, saving three to six months of expenses isn’t easy so the key is to start small. Think baby steps. Aim to build your emergency savings fund up to $1,000 and then set the bar higher and higher in manageable steps. Fidelity has interest-yielding savings options that can help you build your emergency fund and you can even schedule regular automatic withdrawals from your checking account to a savings account so the deposits are made for you. If you should receive any work bonuses, tax refunds, surprise monetary gifts from a long-lost relative or even hit a lottery ticket (you never know!) put those unexpected monies into your emergency fund.
Speak with a Fidelity advisor to learn more about Fidelity’s savings options or visit Fidelity’s website at https://www.fidelity.com/learning-center/overview and type “emergency savings” into the search bar.