Since I started reading about personal finance, I’ve always known that having an emergency fund was important. Still, it isn’t until an emergency actually happens in my life that I really feel like “Damn, I’m so glad I set this money aside!” Not matter how much planning you do in your life, something unexpected will always come up and most of the time it’ll cost you.
That’s why I believe setting up an emergency fund is one of the first things anyone should do, no matter what their financial situation. I don’t care if you have debt to pay off still, you should always be prepared to afford life’s unexpected expenses.
The reason I’m bringing this up is because recently I found out that a member of my extended family has fallen ill. I don’t want to get into the specifics, but basically, I’m planning on flying back home for a bit to see them. As awful as this situation is, it would have been even more awful if I didn’t have the money to make this trip home.
But because I’ve been so diligent with putting aside money for future travel and emergencies, money was the last thing on my mind when I got the news. I need to be there, and because of my strict budgeting I can afford to be there without ever having to worry about getting into debt or waiting until my next pay cheque to pay for it all.
That’s really the big thing that happened to me this week. It’s funny, I’ve been waiting for the last few weeks to request some vacation time off, but for some reason I just couldn’t bring myself to hand in the request form.
I just kept forgetting or putting it off for some unknown reason. I wonder if this is why. As if somehow, I knew I’d have to fly home earlier than expected. Life sure can be strange and mysterious sometimes.
Well, thanks for reading and I’ll have a new post ready for Monday. I am also still working on my podcast like I mentioned last week. I even recorded my first episode. I’m hoping to record a few more episodes soon and making sure they are all up to my HB’s high audio standards before releasing them, but I’m really excited about it.
When I was doing it, I felt like a different part of me finally got a chance to express itself. Can’t wait for you all to hear it.
