Saving for a rainy day can help us to prepare for the unexpected.
This post is a part of Women’s Money Week 2012. For more posts about Saving and Investing, see womensmoneyweek dot com.
I believe that we should try to save for a rainy day. As I was writing this post, a quote that I heard on The Cosby Show came to mind. That particular show had nothing to do with finance or money, but I find that the particular quote rings true for many things, including saving for a rainy day.
“You never know what you’re going to get until you get it.” Rudy Huxtable.
This premise is applicable to almost every aspect of our lives. It effectively highlights how unpredictable life can be. One minute you could be sitting watching TV and the next, a car could find itself through your front door!
Saving for a Rainy Day
When thinking about money, it drives home the notion that we should try to be financially prepared for some things. I’ll admit that it is impossible to save for every possible malady that could come our way. But wouldn’t you prefer to be safe or as close as possible to safe rather than sorry? I know that I would.
Saving for a rainy day is essentially the same as creating an emergency fund. It does not necessarily mean that you’re saving for the day when something goes wrong. In fact, the term might differ from person to person. Retirement, balloon loans/ mortgages are some examples to which the term applies. Actually, I’ve read several articles which list the following as other examples of saving for a rainy day:
- Home repairs and maintenance
- Car repairs and maintenance
- Unemployment
- Medical emergencies
- Education
- Illness
Benefits of Saving for the Unknown Unknowns
It’s always a good idea to save for known and unknown risks. For known risks, you have a clear idea of what could happen. For unknown risks, you are simply preparing for the unexpected. Some of the benefits of saving for a rainy day are:
- You will be ready for anything
- You can relax knowing that you will be okay financially
- Your other savings accounts do not have to be touched
- You can keep going because you have the funds to pay for stuff
I’m terrified of getting into any type of financial difficulty where I can not help myself. So when Rudy Huxtable said that “You don’t know what you’re going to get until you get it” I took it as a message which declared that I should be prepared for whatever might come. I also love the idea of having a little extra tucked away, because I never know when I might need it.