How long did it take you to save $1000 for EF?

**dancar3** · 03-01-2008, 09:30 PM

I've been reading and rereading Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover, and in it it said that for most people, it should take only a month to save $1000 for your Emergency Fund. He said do a part time job, sell something, work overtime. Well, it has been one month for us and we are nowhere near that $1000 BUT, at least we are working on it. I know when those tax rebates come in a couple of months, we'll fund it w/ that, but I guess I feel a bit bad that we can't do it within a month. For others that are doing/have done an EF, how long did it take you to come up with a $1000?

**Jskell911** · 03-01-2008, 09:42 PM

My initial EF took about 4 months to fund. We ended up depleting it for our dog's surgery in Dec and are just now getting back on track. As with everything else, it just takes time. Do not get frustrated. Some weeks your contributions will be better than others.

**dcompton** · 03-01-2008, 11:24 PM

I don't know, but it certainly took longer than a month. I would think that for those already stretched with bills and without a high income, $1000 in a month is pretty big stretch. Not everyone has things to sell or can find and work extra jobs or extra hours. Don't be discouraged at missing some arbitrary deadline. Do what you can, as you can.

**mom2matty** · 03-01-2008, 11:36 PM

It took us about 3 months to fully fund the baby EF.

**forHISglory** · 03-01-2008, 11:43 PM

I don't rightly remember; it's been a long time ago. But I do remember that it took us much longer than a month! We were both teachers, and by the time we put in 8 hours at school and then another 6-8 hours in grading at night, there was NO time for a second job! Plus we didn't have medical insurance coverage from the employer back then, so a sizeable chunk went out every month for that. Plus we were just getting established with a truck payment and a house payment, plus the various utility, insurance, etc. bills. And because we were just starting out, we had nothing of value to sell. I think that saving $1000 in a month is pie in the sky for a lot of people.

**suki** · 03-02-2008, 04:48 AM

I've never read Dave Ramsey. But, I would think like a lot of people who make money dishing out advice, it's very generalized. I wouldn't be too surprised if it's not targeted at those with $100K incomes (general book sales market). So, don't beat yourself up over how long it takes. Just work on it.

I'm more discouraged over how quickly it can all be erased. At one time I had over 1 1/2 years salary saved... then, medical bills hit and it was gone in two months. I don't know if I'll ever be able to set aside that much again.

**Daisygirl** · 03-02-2008, 07:41 AM

It took me a couple of months of ups and downs to get the $1000.

My perks that helped:

~ Received one of the few sporadic child support payments from EXH (that is found money since I don't rely on it)
~ I get a large bonus check every month, so I was able to fiddle around with some bill payments and take from that
~ Just got my tax return for the last $300

So basically, the planets aligned, the stars were in Saturn, and the moon was standing upside down on her head.

I think that if you use "found money" it really helps. So the money that is not normally in your budget. Like you said, your tax return, if you have a month coming up with an "extra" paycheck, if something costs dramatically less than usual, if someone pays you back for a loan. That type of thing.

I also have nothing I could really sell to make any money. Now the goal is to take 10% off any money that comes into my bank account and transfer it directly into my savings account. I have been doing that since the New year as well.

I hope some of these suggestions were helpful! Good luck!

**Mamaw** · 03-02-2008, 08:33 AM

Use your tax refund. It took us much longer to fund that 1000 than a month! Some months you can add more, other months you add less. The important thing, I believe, is to have something in place and to only use it in an actual emergency! That is really the hard part!

**claimsgirl66** · 03-02-2008, 10:10 AM

It took me about 4-5 months. I opened up savings acct online with $50 and then set up automatic transfer of $20 from each paycheck to go into it. I had been focusing on debt repayment but last Fall started dumping $$ into the E.F. to get it up to $1500.

I have had to dip into it this year for some dental and medical bills, but have kept minimum of $1000 in there. Online banking makes it easy to transfer $ into the savings account and one tip I have is to just dump little extra amounts during the month from checking into savings:
example of you have $517 balance in checking, transfer the $17 to savings so you have an even $500 in checking and then a little extra in savings. It does not sound like much, but you do that a few times a month and it can add up to get that EF up there! Good luck!

**prairiewife** · 03-02-2008, 10:22 AM

It is taking us longer than a month. It's been about 2 months and we are still $200 short. I'm just glad we haven't had to take anything out.

**peanut** · 03-02-2008, 11:19 AM

Ah, I never followed the Ramsay plan because we never had CC debt, or the opportunity for me to work, etc. So it took me over 20 years to get $1000 in an EF!

We threw everything at the mortgage. Guess it all depends on your perspective...

Jean

**Cricketlegs** · 03-02-2008, 11:25 AM

There is no way I could ever put more than $300 a month in savings and that is when all the planets line up right.

Just make sure you put the MOST you can every month and get there ASAP.

I KNOW you are probably aching to move to step 2 and the EF is holding you back.

Another thing is to remember that any addition cash not put in the EF tends to get blown. Better to get all extra in the EF.

**dancar3** · 03-02-2008, 01:40 PM

I am happy to see that most of you, if not all, took longer than a month to come up with that $1000 for the EF. I was thinking, if we had that kinda money each month.......we wouldn't be in this predictament right now!

We are putting everything into it that we possibly can at the end of each month and since last month was our 1st, we had $82 left over which was a first for us. All of our money is budgeted for this month, but if the opportunity comes open for me to put in more hours this month, than that money will be able to go to the EF as well. I am hoping to have a bit more in there before the tax rebate comes so then we can start w/ baby step #2.........I can't wait!

**Holly** · 03-02-2008, 06:34 PM

when I was reading it. I remember him saying if you couldn't fund $1000.00 then start with $500.. Even that will help.
Thats what I'm going to do . $1000.00 just sounds insurmountable so I need to focus small . Then do another $500
and I'll get there.
Might be an option !

**redhead68** · 03-03-2008, 07:59 AM

I agree with starting small. One step leads to more steps. About 12 years ago, my husband and I were making very little, up to our eyeballs in debt, and losing sleep with worry. Even a $15 unexpected purchase was enough to through our budget completely out of whack. I don't recall how long it took to put together our first emergency fund, but as you can see from my signature, it is now more than sufficient. Life is like a marathon, just put one foot in front of the other.