Building an Emergency Fund

By now, you may have already received your stimulus payment.
For some people this is a lot of extra money and if you're not behind on payments and bills you may be wondering what is the best thing to do with it?

While there is definitely no one size fits all right thing to do with your stimulus money there are some important considerations to take into account. than one job, check in with your HR representative to adjust your withholding.

Emergency Fund- If you don't already have an emergency fund (3-6 months of basic living expenses and 6-12 months even better) this would be an ideal time to either start one or perhaps replenish since it may have been depleted during the pandemic. If you don't yet have an emergency fund, or your fund isn't large enough to cover several months without a steady income, you many want to use some of the stimulus money to build it up so you have a cushion to fall back on during lean times that may be ahead of us. If this past year has taught us anything, it's that life is certainly unpredictable. You don't want to find yourself struggling due to some unforeseen expense during this ongoing pandemic.

Extra Cushion-  If your emergency fund is fully funded, consider saving the money to fund long term financial goals such as going on that vacation you probably put off, or much needed home repairs or just an extra cushion as a buffer between you and "life happens." If you're in a position to save your stimulus money it would be a decision that will likely benefit you in the future and might also help you fell more secure.