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Whether you’re trying to pay off debt or just getting your financial life in order, we all need an emergency savings fund or a rainy day fund.

Emergency funds are so essential for our financial security.

When a financial crisis and unexpected expenses occur, instead of swiping your credit card and trying to figure out where the money is going to come from, you’ll have a plan instead of using the credit card!

Having extra money set aside in your savings account for a “rainy day” is something we all should be doing, and every day that goes by without it you’re taking a chance. A safety net is a must!

If you need to fill your emergency fund fast, I’m going to show you how you can fill that emergency fund with extra money in just two months!

You can quickly add to your emergency savings fund with a little bit of work and determination. While you can’t prevent a financial emergency, you can be prepared with a fully-funded emergency fund.

I’ll show you how to build an emergency fund fast by cutting your budget and selling items you don’t need to reach your savings goal.

Plus, these emergency fund ideas and tips will help you to determine where you need to make up the difference to build your emergency money fund.

How much you keep in your emergency fund is entirely up to you, but for the sake of this post, we’re going to go with the average which is $1,000.

The most important thing is to not get into more credit card debt! So let’s get started finding that extra cash!

emergency savings fund

Sell Something

One way on how to build an emergency fund fast is to sell items for your emergency savings fund. Start by selling items around your house that you’re not using and add that cash to your bank account.

You can use sites such as eBay, Amazon, or Craigslist to sell your items or host a yard sale. If you’re active on Facebook, you can even use their marketplace section to sell your items as well!

Spend a few hours going through each room of your house and ask yourself what items you are no longer using or needing. If you haven’t used it in more than a year, it’s fair game in my book.

BONUS FREE DOWNLOAD

Create A Plan For Your Money

These FREE Budgeting Spreadsheets will help you keep a pulse on your money (from the palm of your hand).

Collect all of these things in a box (or multiple if you have a lot of stuff), and then see how much they are worth.

Your child’s old toys, your unused exercise bike, and those power tools collecting dust can get you one step closer to filling that emergency fund.

Items To Consider:

  • Small kitchen appliances
  • Treadmill, workout equipment
  • Sports equipment
  • Tools
  • Winter clothing
  • Jewelry: real & costume
  • Shoes in good condition
  • Bedding
  • Purses, backpacks, briefcases
  • Furniture
  • Game systems

Have a Yard Sale and get top dollar with these tips!

You will be amazed at how fast your emergency expense account can grow just by selling stuff around your home.

emergency savings fund

SAVE Your Tax Refund

I don’t know about you, but I love getting that tax refund back in the mail each year. It sure beats having to pay, doesn’t it?!

Instead of blowing it…(I know – it’s so hard!), SAVE IT!

Add that tax refund into your savings account to help you reach your financial goal.

Remember the goal of having a rainy day fund is to give you financial security and to help you when a financial emergency does happen.

It’s never a matter of if, but a matter of when an unexpected expense happens. Your emergency savings account can help you during a very stressful time and just knowing that you have a fully-funded emergency fund can help you stave off more credit card debt.

Last year I had a friend whose air conditioner died. The next day when the repairman gave them the bad news, their electrical panel started smoking.

While they were able to pay for the electrical panel from their financial emergency fund, the air conditioner was an emergency expense they had to put on a credit card. And while it was a stressful time, knowing that at least one unexpected expense was taken care of from their emergency fund.

These unplanned expenses can be so stressful. But in a financial crisis, it’s good to know that you have an emergency expense account that can help keep your head above water.

emergency savings fund

One Time Jobs

One-time jobs are a great way to earn some extra cash and help you make money quickly. These could include options such as answering surveys, pet sitting, focus groups, or things of that nature.

These small jobs usually don’t take much of your time, and you can use your extra earnings to pad your emergency savings fund!

One Time Job Ideas:

  • Dog Walking
  • Seasonal work
  • Cleaning houses
  • Volunteer for overtime
  • Babysitting
  • House sitting
  • Yardwork: mowing, pulling weeds, washing windows, pressure washing, shoveling snow, cleaning gutters, setting up holiday lights
  • Tutoring
  • Teaching music
  • Donate Plasma

Here are some more ways to earn $1,000 with small jobs!

emergency savings fund

Get A Part-time Job

If you are desperate to fill your emergency savings fund, or pay off your debt sooner, looking for a part-time job for a side income could be the answer to your financial goal and stave off a financial crisis.

Even four weeks of extra income could make a significant impact on your emergency fund. If you work a regular 9-5 job, you can work nights or weekends for spare cash.

You may even be able to find a few work-at-home opportunities to help you earn extra money. Even one extra paycheck every month could help you towards your financial goal of a fully-funded emergency fund.

When things were really tight for our family my hubby decided to deliver pizzas on weeknights and weekends after his day job so that we could pay down debt and get ahead a little bit. It was tiring but only for a short season and helped us get financially ahead, much quicker.

emergency savings fund

Sell Unused Gift Cards

Whether they were a thoughtful gift or something you thought you’d use later, gift cards can sometimes sit in our wallets forever!

If you don’t think you’ll use the gift card, you can sell them online! It’s one way how to build an emergency fund fast!

When I’m selling my gift cards, I use Cardcash or Raise, and they even have gift cards you can buy at a discount (I try to buy one before we go out to eat…sometimes on our way to the restaurant).

If you think you are going to use your gift cards, then when you go to spend them, add the cash you would’ve spent from your bank account into your emergency savings fund.

You get to clean out your wallet and pad your rainy-day fund all in one!

emergency savings fund

Complete A Spending Freeze

If you have a lot of extra room in your budget, living a little more frugal for the next two months could replenish your emergency fund without much trouble.

But if you’re having trouble squeezing more out of your budget, doing a Spending Freeze can help you raise that emergency money to build your safety net.

A Spending Freeze is exactly how it sounds. No extra spending…period. That could be for a day, week, month, or even longer.

Besides food and bills, a spending freeze can help you curb and retrain your spending habits so you can save more money each month in your checking account.

At the end of your Spending Freeze, you can transfer any unused funds into your emergency savings account.

I saved almost $1,000 at the end of a Spending Freeze so I know it can be done to gain financial security!

emergency savings fund

Cut Your Budget Drastically

This is not an ideal approach when it comes to filling your emergency savings fund, but if you are short on time and ideas, this could be your answer.

First, take a look at your monthly expenses. See what you can cut back on like eating out, canceling a subscription, or any little expense you can cut out. Keep your savings goal in mind and find the best way to meet it.

Learn how to reduce your grocery bill and reduce your electric bill by making changes around your home to find that emergency money.

BONUS FREE DOWNLOAD

Create A Plan For Your Money

These FREE Budgeting Spreadsheets will help you keep a pulse on your money (from the palm of your hand).

Take a look at your monthly expenses and see if there are other items where you can save money by cutting entirely or cutting back to save the difference.

We cut our cable bill and continue to save big money each year!

By keeping a tab on your monthly expenses, you can see where your money is actually going. Take a look at your bank account and where you swipe that debit card often. If you only have one job, you need to make sure that your paycheck is maximized towards your savings goal.

Look for unique ways to save on your groceries and more to help reduce your overall grocery budget to fill your emergency fund. Any non-essential expense should be on the chopping block.

Unplanned expenses pop up often, so it’s a good idea to learn how not to use your credit card and get into more debt.

emergency savings fund

Return Unused Budget Portions Into Your Emergency Savings Account

This kind of goes with the cut your budget categories, but when we save more in one of our budget categories, we tend to give them to another category.

For example, if we spend less than we anticipated at the grocery store, we just move the extra cash into the eating out or fun money category instead of saving it for our rainy day fund.

If you save more in any of your categories, add the savings in your emergency savings fund!

If your emergency fund has been spent, or you’re just looking to add a little more to your emergency fund, these tips will help you fill your emergency fund in only two months or even less!

You will be able to quickly add to your emergency savings fund with a little bit of hard work and determination. Even when unplanned expenses hit, hopefully, you’ll be able to not get into any more credit card debt.

I’ll show you how to build an emergency fund fast by cutting your budget and selling items you don’t need because it won’t build itself all alone.

And, these emergency fund ideas and tips will help you to determine where you need to make up the difference to build your fund and safety net.

While your results may vary with some of these options, if you give them a try, you’ll have no trouble finding the extra cash from your paycheck or by working hard to fill your emergency savings fund.

 

YOUR TURN: What changes are you making to put more in your emergency savings fund? Let me know in the comments below!

emergency savings fund
How To Fill Your Emergency Savings Fund In Just 2 Months
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