How to Start an Emergency Fund

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One of the best things you can do for your personal economy is to start an emergency fund.

Your emergency fund can help protect you against financial setbacks, since it provides you with a little extra cushion to draw on.  Rather than turning to debt, you can use money in your emergency fund to cover unexpected costs.

Experts recommend that you save at least six months’ worth of expenses in an emergency fund.  So, if you spend $3,000 a month, you need to have $18,000 in an emergency fund.

That’s a daunting task.

How can you get started when you have that huge amount of money hanging over your head?

Here’s How to Start an Emergency Fund

Break It Down

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Second Marriage? Have a Financial Date Before You Tie the Knot

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With a divorce rate that is commonly quoted as being 50%, second marriages are common. 

However, according to the Wall Street Journal, many experts cite the divorce rate of second marriages to be 40%.

Second marriages come with more baggage — ex-spouses, stepchildren who may or may not like the new step parent, and, of course, financial complications including spousal support and first family obligations, just to name a few.

It’s no secret that money disagreements can be one of the top causes of divorce.

According to a study conducted by Jeff Dew of Utah State University, “Couples who reported disagreeing about finance once a week were over 30 percent more likely to get divorced than couples who reported disagreeing about finances a few times a month” (The New York Times).

So how do those in second marriages, who perhaps bring more money issues and baggage into their marriage with them than they did their first marriage, avoid financial conflict?

One strategy is to have a financial meeting before they marry (and some may argue before they even get engaged).

Make sure to consider these financial topics before that next marriage:

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Happy Mother’s Day 2013 and Links

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Today we tip our hats to Moms everywhere.

As Jim Gaffigan says in one of his hilarious standup routines: “Women are amazing. A woman can grow a baby inside their body. Then somehow a woman can deliver the baby through their body. And then by some miracle a woman can feed a baby with their body.”

Your mother did that for you.  And then she kissed your boo boos, got you to school on time, and supported you in every wacky endeavor you took on.

Even better if Mom showed you how to budget for a family, get the best value at the grocery store, and the value of time spent with family.

So thanks, Mom, and all Moms who are involved with their children’s lives.

Here are some great reads this week:

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Gold Price Shakeup and Links

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The price of gold took a big hit a few weeks ago.

In the last 30 days the price has dropped from a high of $1,606 to a low of $1,360.  The drop was significant and only over a few day period.  The price has since rebounded a bit to $1,453 but that is still a drop of $153 or 9.5%.

Those that are pro-gold used it as an opportunity to buy even more while detractors pointed out the instability in the price of the commodity.  If you were able to snag more gold at $1,360 you have since earned a return of 6.8%.

No matter how you feel about gold you need free cash available to be able to purchase some. That means taking care of your finances, which these articles will help you do:

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Bitcoin Bonanza and Links

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The alternative, virtual, and unregulated currency Bitcoin experienced quite the bonanza over the last few weeks. 

The price skyrocketed to over $200 per coin, then plummeted 50%, then rebounded a bit.  The fledgling new online currency has made millionaires from early adopters but is still struggling to go mainstream.

I honestly don’t know what to think of Bitcoin.

There are only a certain number of coins that can ever exist, you have to run complex equations on a computer to “mine” a coin (or purchase them from an exchange), and the coins are stored on your computer.  However, real people are using them for real transactions instead of US dollars.

As great as it would be to buy a bunch of coins at $3 per coin in the early stages and watch it skyrocket to $200… I can’t imagine a sustainable currency fluctuating that much.  Merchants can accept Bitcoins for payment, but how can you calculate how many coins to charge if the price is constantly changing?  That $200 transaction for one coin just became a $120 transaction when the price plummets.

Instead of worrying about alternative currencies to get rich, here are some more traditional methods:

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Five Ways Fantasy Baseball is Like Personal Finance

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I had my draft for my fantasy baseball league I’m in earlier this week.

I’ve been in the league with these particular guys now for over ten years.  It’s not a money league but we’re real competitive nonetheless.

I gotta say I’m real excited!  Real baseball starting soon (go Mets!!) and I love following baseball along-side my fantasy league.

As I was going through all of my work for the draft I realized that fantasy baseball is a lot like personal finance.  We could probably learn a thing or two about personal finance from fantasy baseball.

Without further ado here are five ways fantasy baseball is like personal finance:

Fantasy baseball and personal finance

Research

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Unsexy Personal Finance: 6 Things You Need to Take Care Of

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Personal finance isn’t always the exciting place that we personal finance bloggers seem to think it is.

While there’s something sexy about finding the right index fund for your Roth IRA, there are plenty of other unsexy things that you just have to do.

Unfortunately, some of the most important items related to your financial situation are often the things that are overlooked.

So, while it might be unsexy, here are 6 personal finance actions you need to take:

1. Create a Will

Thinking about death isn’t usually a lot of fun.  But it needs to be done — preferably before it happens.

What will happen to your assets if you die unexpectedly?  Who will care for your children?

These are questions that deserve serious thought, especially if you care about your family.  Consider how you would make sure your children are cared for, and how you would make sure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes.
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Ten Things The Walking Dead Can Teach You About Life and Money

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You don’t really believe a zombie apocalypse will come to fruition, do you?  [Well, not really...]

But you may be one of the millions that loves the AMC show The Walking Dead.

Like most great series you get more than just entertainment from The Walking Dead.  If you pay attention you can learn a lot of great lessons that can help you, even without a zombie-pocolypse.  (This is a continuation of our previous article on our site, 10 Life Lessons from the Television Series “The Walking Dead”.)

Here are ten things to learn from The Walking Dead about life and money:

1. When It Comes to Survival Tools, Simple Is Better

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Michigan Takes Over Detroit and Links

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File this under things I’ve never heard of.

The state of Michigan has announced it plans to take over the city of Detroit due to massive cash flow and financial issues for the city.  The city government has 10 days to appeal (which I am assuming they will do), but the state seems pressed to take over operations.  In the event the state takes over they will put an emergency manager in place who has the authority to make drastic changes for the city to include voiding contracts with unions.

While the takeover isn’t official, it underlines the point that we all need to manage our finances.

Despite a comeback in the auto industry after the Great Recession the financial situation within Detroit has not improved.  The city has issued new debt to cover its obligations, and we all know how swiping our credit card to pay for things we can’t afford works out.

Avoid spending more than you earn — like Detroit did — with some of these tips:

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Exploding Meteors, Electric Car Problems, Ruined Cruises and Links

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It certainly was an interesting week in the news. 

First, you have a cruise ship lose all power and drift for a while in the Gulf of Mexico before two tug boats could slowly pull it back to safety.  Passengers slept on the deck of the ship, had no working toilets, and food started to get low.

Then you have a meteor unexpectedly exploding in the air over Russia with the equivalent power of 20 Hiroshima-sized nuclear weapons.

Lastly, you have an aspiring electric car maker sparring with the New York Times’ reporting of its vehicle.

But a piece of news that you might have missed, but is likely more important to you personally: The National Foundation for Credit Counseling launched a Spanish version of its online tool called MyMoneyCheckUp.  The tool aims to help consumers evaluate different areas of the personal financial lives such as planning for retirement, saving money, budgeting, and credit management.

You input some data about yourself and your habits, and the tool gives you a report of things you should keep doing as well as serious risks you are currently taking.

Tracking all four of the above money topics is critical in life. Here are some reads to guide you in some of them:

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