11 Oct 2024 | Edukatips

Emergency Fund: Why and How to Set Up One?

An emergency fund is a crucial financial safety net for unexpected emergencies like sudden illness, car trouble, or other urgent needs. It plays a vital role in safeguarding your finances during unforeseen circumstances, so it’s important to understand more about emergency funds.

Here are some important factors to consider when establishing an emergency fund:

  1. Determine the amount of the emergency fund that meets your individual or family needs. As a general rule, if you are single, it’s recommended to have an emergency fund of at least 3 times your monthly living expenses or salary. For married individuals, the recommendation is to have at least 6 times your monthly living expenses or salary.
  2. Choose the right type of product for your emergency fund. This can include cash, deposits, and easily accessible investments with reasonable withdrawal costs, such as money market funds.
  3. Keep your emergency fund separate from long-term investments with higher risks to ensure that it remains safe and available when needed.
  4. Your emergency fund should be liquid, safe, not volatile, and easy to withdraw when necessary.
  5. While an emergency fund should be kept safe and easily accessible, it’s important to consider investing in options that can keep pace with inflation. This will help safeguard the value of the emergency fund against the erosive effects of inflation on purchasing power.

One option is to allocate emergency funds through investments available at myBCA, which can be accessed anytime and anywhere. myBCA offers a range of products from deposits to Mutual Funds. With the Welma feature, you can compare different investment products to find the right fit for your individual needs and goals.

By following these guidelines, you can effectively and optimally prepare and manage your emergency funds. Always remember that emergency funds are a crucial foundation for a healthy financial plan. Download myBCA from the App Store or Play Store to explore the convenient world of myBCA (#NyamannyaDuniaMyBCA!).