Are you getting started on your budget? If you’ve followed my blog for a while you’ve heard me mention that a few years ago my husband and I got fed up with living paycheck to paycheck and got serious about living on a budget. We decided to start following Dave Ramsey and followed his baby steps to get out of debt. Here is a list of my favorite 7 Ways to Build Your Emergency Fund.
This post is sponsored by Chapes-JPL
After sticking to our budget for about 10 months we were able to pay off over $10,000 worth of consumer debt leaving us debt free. It was such a freeing experience to finally be able to break free of the debt.
When we started our first steps we knew we had to come up with the $1,000 for our emergency fund really quickly. Dave says “sell so much stuff that the dog and kids think they are next.” And, that’s one of the steps we took to help us get ahead quickly. I’ve put together the list of items that we sold to help us gain quick cash and we haven’t missed them yet!
Books Are One of the 7 Ways to Build Your Emergency Fund
I’m an avid reader and I had a pretty large stash of books. I sold most of them on Amazon and Ebay. Yes, it was a small amount of hassle having to ship them but I made over $250 by selling them so it was worth it!
Clothing
Our daughter was small at the time and was growing like a weed. I gathered up all our clothes including hers that no longer fit and listed them all for sale in the Facebook marketplace or took them to consignment stores. Selling your unused clothes helps you clean out your closets and helps you achieve your emergency fund even faster.
Jewelry, Watches and Purses
If you are like me you have a jewelry box full of pieces that you no longer enjoy. I do not have the same taste in jewelry that I did 10 plus years ago. And, I don’t see myself ever going back to those yellow gold pieces. I now prefer white gold or platinum. You can sell off your unwanted jewelry, watches and purses at Chapes-JPL. If you are like me and live in the Metro Atlanta area you can sell gold in Loganville. One of the best things about cleaning out your jewelry box and closet is that it cleans up your space and makes you feel better and less cluttered but it also brings you in some extra cash helping you make your $1,000 emergency fund goal.
Take on an extra job another of the 7 Ways to Build Your Emergency Fund
Picking up an extra job like Uber, DoorDash or walking the neighbors dog can help you bring in some extra cash quickly. Not only can picking up a side hustle help you save up your emergency fund it can also help you pay off your debt faster if you keep it through your entire paying off debt process.
Crafting
Did you have a crafting habit? If so, you can sell your homemade crafts on Facebook Marketplace, Etsy, and even on Ebay. If you are able to make a large amount of your crafting items you could even search for local craft fairs around your area and sell your items there.
Furniture
Do you have furniture in your house that is just getting in your way? When we were building up our emergency fund we took the time to get rid of several large pieces of furniture that we no longer had a use for. We sold them at a garage sale that we had. However, you could also sell them on Ebay or Facebook Marketplace.
Cutting your budget
One of the fastest ways to save your emergency fund quickly is to just stop spending on unnecessary items. Eat the things you already have in your house instead of making an additional trip to the grocery store. Cancel cable tv and just use netflix or Hulu instead. Stop eating out at restaurants or going through the drive thru and pack a lunch from home. It’s amazing how much money you can come up with quickly when you start to pay attention to your spending and prioritize your goal of saving money.
We did a variety of all these things and were able to save up our $1,000 within two weeks of starting. Now, it wasn’t easy however it was worth it. No matter what you end up needing to do to get your emergency fund started, just keep plugging along. I promise the reward is well worth the effort that you put in.