Living without a net
You’ve probably heard the advice: If you’re financially healthy, you should have at least three to six months of living expenses squirreled away for an emergency. Given the continued weakness of the current economy, you might want to have more. But you should definitely have something, because you just never know when you might need the extra cash. (And no, I’m not talking about an “emergency” shopping trip to Macy’s.)
How many of us have that emergency money lying around? Not so many. In fact, about a quarter of us have more in credit card debt than we do in emergency savings, according to a recent Bankrate survey. Another 20% has no savings, Bankrate finds.
But it only takes one bit of bad news to upset your financial balance, and if you have no safety net, you’re going to have to scramble to find the money somewhere -- or put yourself into crazy debt. Here are a few real-life examples of the kinds of emergencies that can torpedo your finances.
