It Wasn’t Raining When Noah Built The Ark

Some people find themselves in real financial trouble without a rainy day fund with relatively small problems, perhaps in part due to a naïVe hopes that the rain will be never. As surely as the sun comes up in the morning, the rain will eventually come. Could any of these problems is true of you?

1. Your child needs braces. Or she is accepted by study abroad. Or he makes the football team and is given in respect of his personal gear.

2. The transmission fails. Or the engine. Or the brakes, tires, air conditioner, or starter motor.

3. The old refrigerator dies. Or the dishwasher, washing machine, dryer or other household appliance.

4. You twist your ankle, requiring an emergency room visit and three days off work. Or your appendix bursts. Or, heaven forbid, your heart.

5. Johnny loses his rented trumpet, meaning that he not only has a duty to pay for the one he lost but needs to rent a new one.

6. You have sex off from work.

7. Your home is located in a storm and you get a $500 deductible. Or your home is flooded but, you have no flood insurance at all.

8. Your husband is involved in an accident with an uninsured driver and your insurance won’t pay for the rental car you’ll need for two weeks while your car is repaired.

9. You’re mugged at an ATM pulling out $400 for the week. Or getting out of the bank after cashing your $1200 paycheck.

10. Your laptop, smart phone, tablet computer or other device jumps into the bathtub with your four-year-old—all by itself.

Life isn’t fair. Sometimes it is downright unfair. Some of these problems could require tens of thousands of dollars to fix, but many can be corrected or mitigated with just a few thousand dollars.

The key to financial disaster preparedness is to have some savings where you can get it when you are needed. When you use it—in a real pinch—, make sure to focus on replenishing it as soon as possible.

You know the old saying that it wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark. If you are young, you may not yet have tripped over any of life’s little problems, but surely they will come. While it would be great if we could all have a million dollars in the bank, the truth is we can get a lot of practical protection from having just a few thousand dollars in a savings account where we can get it at any time the rain starts to fall.