Alina Bradford

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The importance of saving for a rainy day

If we really were to save up for a rainy day, we’d be spending the money before we’d even had time to save it with the weather being so bad! Of course, the “rainy day” that the saying is really referring to, is that day when your car needs an expensive repair; your washing machine breaks or the cat racks up a huge vet bill. This could easily lead to you getting into debt and needing the help of Creditfix.co.uk; however if you make a conscious effort to save for a rainy day, life will seem a little sunnier. 

How to save for a rainy day

When there are things that you need and want right now, it can be hard to find the motivation to save up for a rainy day. After all, you could put that $100 into a savings pot for something that might not happen, or you could spend it on a new game, right? As tempting as this might be, it’s not the right way to do things and so to avoid the temptation to dip into the pot, set yourself up a direct debit and pay it as if it were any other bill. 

You could also ‘round-up’ your purchases and put the spare change into your savings. For example, if you buy something for $4.75, 25 cents goes into the pot. It’s such a small amount that you’ll barely notice it going, but it will really add up. 

Nip it in the bud

One really good thing about having a rainy day fund is that you can fix things before they become a big problem. For example, if your car starts to make a worrying noise, you have the money to get it looked at right away and fixed. However, without a rainy day fund, you might not have that money to hand, so you keep driving it until something goes really wrong and it ends up costing you a whole lot more. By acting before the event, you’ll save yourself a lot of stress, and potentially money too. 

One important thing to consider when planning your rainy day fund is the different types of savings accounts. For this particular pot of money, you will ideally want something that you can withdraw easily, as you might need to get it at the drop of a hat to pay for the repair or replacement of something vital in your home. Some savings accounts are high interest, but have a notice period for withdrawal, which is great if you’re saving long-term but not so much in an emergency. 

Financial experts often recommend having savings that add up to 3-6 months of expenses, just in case anything were to happen and you couldn’t work for a few months. The Coronavirus is an excellent example of something unexpected happening and leaving many households without an income, so hopefully, it has inspired more people to look at building up their rainy day fund. 

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