No one ever plans on experiencing a financial emergency, but they happen to all of us at some point or another. When they do, it’s crucial to have a solid plan in place to help you recover as quickly as possible. One great way to do that is by building an emergency fund. This dedicated savings account will give you peace of mind knowing that you have a cushion of money available if and when you need it most. In this blog post, we’ll discuss what an emergency fund is and how you can start building one today.
¿Qué es un fondo de emergencia y por qué es necesario?
Un fondo de emergencia es una reserva de dinero para gastos imprevistos. Muchos expertos financieros recomiendan tener un fondo de emergencia que cubra entre tres y seis meses de gastos de manutención. El objetivo es tener suficiente dinero ahorrado para poder capear una tormenta financiera sin endeudarse.
There are many reasons why an emergency fund is important. First, it helps to protect your credit score. If you have a good credit score, you’ll be able to qualify for lower interest rates on loans and credit cards. This can save you thousands of dollars over the life of a loan. Second, an emergency fund gives you peace of mind. Knowing that you have a cushion to fall back on can help reduce stress during difficult times. Finally, an emergency fund can help you avoid expensive late fees and other penalties. If you’re unable to pay a bill on time, having an emergency fund can give you the flexibility to pay it when you’re able.
While there are many reasons to have an emergency fund, it’s important to remember that it’s not intended to be used for everyday expenses. Ideally, you should only tap into your emergency fund in the case of a true financial emergency, such as a job loss or major medical expense. With careful planning and discipline, an emergency fund can give you the security and peace of mind that you need to weather any financial storm.
Cómo empezar a crear su fondo de emergencia - Las Estrategias
Now that you know why you should build and keep an emergency fund, let’s talk about how to build one for yourself and your family. The strategy to build one depends on various individual factors, but here are our go-to strategies that work again and again.
Estrategia #1: Fijar objetivos
The first step always needs to be evaluating the status quo (where you actually are) and where you want to go. Determine how much you need to save based on your unique circumstances. Are you single with no dependents? Do you have a partner and/or children? Do you own a home or rent an apartment? Answering these questions will give you a better idea of how much money you’ll need to cover your expenses in the event of an emergency.
Once you have a goal in mind, break it down into smaller, more manageable pieces. For example, if your goal is to save $20,000 in two years, that’s $833 per month. Or, if you want to save $500 in one month, that’s just over $16 per day. By breaking your goal down into smaller chunks, you’ll make it feel more achievable and be less likely to get discouraged along the way.
Estrategia #2: El hábito del ahorro
How do you eat a whole cow? Steak by steak. If you constantly put money away, building an emergency fund becomes a lot easier. If you’ve not yet adopted the mindset of saving regularly, here are some key tips to create a savings habit that will lead to your goal:
- Sepa por qué: ¿Por qué ahorra? ¿Qué espera conseguir? Tener un objetivo concreto en mente te ayudará a mantener la motivación. Saber tu porqué es siempre la mejor motivación, no sólo para crear y mantener un hábito de ahorro.
- Empezar poco a poco: Si ahorrar te parece abrumador, empieza con una cantidad pequeña y ve aumentándola con el tiempo. $50 a la semana puede parecer más manejable que $200 a la semana. La clave es empezar y coger impulso.
- Hacerlo automático: One of the best ways to make saving easier is to automate it. Have a fixed amount transferred from your checking account to your savings account each week or month. This way, you won’t have to think about it—the money will just automatically be there.
- Controla tu progreso: Keep track of how much you’re saving each month. This will help you to see your progress and keep you motivated to continue saving. Saving regularly is one of the best ways to quickly build up your emergency fund. By setting aside even a small amount each week, you’ll be well on your way to reaching your goal.
- Celebrar los éxitos: That’s a big motivator for building any habit. When you reach a milestone—like saving $500 or $1000—give yourself a small reward. This could be something as simple as buying a new book or going out to dinner. The key is to celebrate your successes, no matter how big or small, to keep yourself motivated.
Estrategia #3: Gestión de tesorería
Cash flow management is an essential skill for anyone, but it’s especially important if you’re working to build up an emergency fund. By getting a handle on your spending and creating a plan for your money, you’ll be in a much better position to reach your savings goals. Cash flow management means to get the timing when money comes in and leaves perfected.
El primer paso es conocer sus hábitos de gasto. Lleve un registro de dónde gasta su dinero durante al menos un mes, si no dos. Esto le ayudará a hacerse una idea de adónde va su dinero y en qué áreas puede recortarlo. Por ejemplo, averigüe las fechas de vencimiento de sus facturas de servicios, primas de seguros y otros gastos fijos como su tarjeta de crédito.
Once you have an idea of your spending, you can start to put a plan in place. When you know that you’re running short at the end of the month, you can deal with this situation by adjusting the due dates accordingly. You can then use the weeks when you have more money coming in to make a bigger dent in your savings goal and cover expenses.
By getting a handle on your cash flow, you’ll be able to better manage your finances and reach your goal of building an emergency fund.
Estrategia #4: Aprovechar las oportunidades puntuales
Tax refunds or annual bonuses are often thought of as one-time opportunities. However, you can also use them to help you reach your savings goals. If you know that you’re going to receive a large sum of money, consider using it to make a dent in your emergency fund. The same goes for any other one-time windfalls like an inheritance or a financial gift.
Saving a one-time opportunity is a great way to quickly boost your emergency fund. However, it’s important to keep in mind that you shouldn’t rely on these opportunities to fund your entire savings goal. Instead, think of them as a way to give you a head start or help you reach your goal more quickly.
Estrategia #5: La automatización es tu amiga
This is maybe the easiest way to contribute to building your emergency fund: make it automatic. You can do this by setting up a recurring transfer from your checking account to your savings account. This way, you won’t have to think about it—the money will just automatically be there.
Otra opción es utilizar un servicio como Digit, que se conecta a tu cuenta corriente y ahorra pequeñas cantidades de dinero automáticamente. Puede ser una buena forma de aumentar tus ahorros sin sufrir demasiado.
El escollo que debes evitar son las comisiones por descubierto. Esta estrategia está relacionada con la gestión de la tesorería, así que asegúrate de comprobar tu saldo y de transferir la cantidad adecuada en el momento oportuno.
Estrategia #6: Utiliza tu sueldo
Another great strategy to get money into your emergency fund is by splitting up your paycheck. When you get paid, automatically send a portion of that money into your savings account. This is a great way to make sure that you’re building up your savings without even thinking about it.
One thing to keep in mind with this strategy is that you need to make sure you have enough money left over to cover your expenses. You don’t want to end up in a situation where you can’t pay your bills because you’ve already sent all of your money to savings. So, be sure to budget accordingly and leave yourself some wiggle room.
Estrategia #7: Vender algunas cosas extra
One of the quickest ways to get extra cash into your savings account is by selling some of your unwanted items. Take a look around your house—do you have any clothes that you never wear? Any furniture that you don’t need? Any electronics that are just collecting dust?
If you have any items that you can part with, consider selling them online or at a garage sale. You’d be surprised how much money you can make by getting rid of some of your unwanted stuff. And that money can go straight into your emergency fund.
Selling your unwanted items is a great way to declutter your home and boost your savings at the same time. So, it’s a win-win.
Strategy #8: Side Hustlin’
If you’re looking for a more sustainable way to boost your savings, consider picking up a side hustle. A side hustle is simply any gig that you do outside of your regular job to earn extra money. This could be anything from dog walking to freelance writing to becoming an Uber driver.
There are endless opportunities when it comes to side hustling. And the best part is that you can often do it on your own time. So, if you’re looking for a flexible way to make some extra cash, a side hustle might be the perfect solution.
Estrategia #9: Haz que sea un juego
Ahorrar dinero sólo por ahorrar parece aburrido. Pero, ¿y si lo conviertes en un juego?
Hay varias formas de hacerlo. Una opción es establecer un reto de ahorro en el que intente ahorrar todo el dinero posible en un periodo de tiempo determinado. Otra opción es concederse recompensas por alcanzar determinados hitos de ahorro. Por ejemplo, podrías darte una recompensa de $50 por cada $1000 que ahorres.
Convertir el ahorro en un juego puede ayudar a que el proceso sea más divertido y motivador. Y quién sabe, puede que incluso acabes ahorrando más dinero del que habías planeado en un principio.
¿Cuánto dinero debe ahorrar en su fondo de emergencia?
Muchos expertos en finanzas personales recomiendan tener un fondo de emergencia equivalente a entre tres y seis meses de gastos de manutención. El objetivo de un fondo de emergencia es ayudarle a cubrir gastos inesperados en caso de que pierda su empleo o se enfrente a otro contratiempo financiero.
While three to six months of living expenses may seem like a lot of money to save, it’s important to remember that an emergency fund is not meant to be used for everyday expenses. Instead, it’s there to help you through a difficult period until you can get back on your feet. If you’re not sure how much money you should save in your emergency fund, a good rule of thumb is to start with enough to cover three months of living expenses and then build from there. By taking the time to develop a healthy savings cushion, you can give yourself peace of mind in the event of an unexpected financial emergency.
We have listed 9 awesome strategies above to get you started and create the right mindset. If you can’t even set aside money to cover three months of expenses, no problem. Start with whatever you can and build your emergency fund at your own pace. Don’t fall for the mistake of not building one because you can only save $50 per month. Every little bit counts and it will all add up eventually.
Dónde debe guardar su fondo de emergencia
Your emergency fund is your insurance policy against life’s unexpected expenses. So where should you keep it?
Lo más importante es elegir un lugar seguro y de fácil acceso en caso de que necesite recurrir a él. Una opción es guardar tu fondo de emergencia en una cuenta de ahorro en un banco o cooperativa de crédito. This way, you’ll earn interest on your money while still having easy access to it if you need it.
Otra opción es invertir su fondo de emergencia en un fondo de obligaciones a corto plazo. Esto le proporcionará cierta protección frente a la inflación, al tiempo que le permitirá acceder a su dinero con relativa rapidez si lo necesita.
Puede utilizar servicios como PayPal con tarjetas prepago. Se trata de una solución más independiente del uso de los bancos. Sin embargo, puede seguir utilizando la cuenta PayPal como una cuenta de ahorros y añadir o retirar dinero según sea necesario.
Efectivo sigue siendo el rey para muchos de nosotros, así que también puedes optar por mantener tu fondo de emergencia en efectivo. Eso sí, asegúrate de guardarlo en un lugar seguro, como un caja fuerte ignífuga o caja fuerte doméstica.
No matter where you choose to keep your emergency fund, the important thing is that you have one in place so that you can weather life’s unexpected storms.
Cuándo utilizar el fondo de emergencia y cuándo no
Your emergency fund is there for a reason: to cover unexpected expenses when you don’t have the cash on hand. But that doesn’t mean you should dip into it for every little thing. So when is it appropriate to use your emergency fund, and when should you let it be?
Generally speaking, you should only use your emergency fund for, well, emergencies. That means things like job loss, major medical expenses, or natural disasters. If you can cover the cost another way, like with savings or income from a side hustle, then you shouldn’t touch your emergency fund.
There are, of course, grey areas. If you need to make a large purchase that you can’t afford with your current budget, but it’s not strictly necessary, then you may want to consider using your emergency fund. Just be sure to replenish it as soon as possible so that you’re prepared for actual emergencies down the road.
Don’t be afraid to use your money if you need it. Remember the way you built your emergency fund and what you learned along the way. If you have built one before, you can replenish or even build one from scratch again. You have learned some invaluable savings and money management skills. Be proud of yourself and build an emergency fund again and again and again if you need to.
¿Qué opina sobre la creación de un fondo de emergencia? ¿Tiene ya uno? ¿Cómo te sientes sabiendo que estás preparado para lo que te depare la vida? Háznoslo saber en los comentarios.
