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Logan loves to run in the outdoors

Over the weekend our dog, Logan, needed an emergency surgery.  On Saturday night he was larthergic and wasn’t interested in eating dinner.  After refusing his dinner he turned around and collapsed.  When we noticed that his gums were light in color, we made contact with our vet and described the situation.  Our vet believed that our dog had internal bleeding.  After an ultrasound, the vet recommended an emergency surgery.  The surgery was completed Sunday night and a growth the size of a grapefruit was taken out.  I have been through a lot of emotions.  Shock at how quickly all this happened, sadness that he experienced the internal bleeding, fear that he may not live a lot longer, and joy of the great memories that we’ve had to date.  Since the time he’s been a puppy my wife and I have created and funded an emergency fund for these life challenges.  It’s a blessing to have a rainy day fund so that we can focus making decisions that are best for his quality of life.   
     
I recommend that you create an emergency fund equal to half a month of living expense. This may range from $500 to $3000 depending on your income and expenses.  The important thing is to pick an amount that is appropriate for your household and then work to save up this amount of money.

I recommend that you establish your emergency fund separate from your credit union or bank checking account to prevent easy access to the money. You may for example start a money market account at a no-load fund family or you may choose to set up a separate savings account at another credit union.  Only use a separate account at the same institution with a high degree of discipline.  Of course the most important part of an emergency fund is that it is used only for emergencies.  A purple leather couch and an airplane ticket to visit a friend, while they may seem important in the moment, do not count as emergencies.

Save up your emergency fund by tightening your spending and living within your means. I recommend that you put your credit cards on sabbatical at this time and carefully map out your spending.  Discipline and persistence will enable you to quickly save up your emergency fund.  After you have your emergency fund established, then you can continue the your journey by working your financial plan by next eliminating high interest debt.  In time I recommend that you fund a rainy day fund with 3 to 12 months of living expense.

My vet indicated that he recommends that clients create a $1000 emergency fund the first time he meets them with a new puppy.  Just after a few days Logan is walking and feeling better from the surgery. 

Follow your dreams,  Achieve your goals!