Do you save for Emergency Money?
By serena_wai
@serena_wai (970)
Malaysia
June 23, 2007 1:18pm CST
Do you save for Emergency Money?I used to accummulate my saving in a separate bank account. It was an advise i adopted from some financial article to do a saving in a isolated bank account which was not related to your salary, not related to any of your expenses,like loans, etc. However i was pissed after knowing the pathetic interest after 3 months. The money grows like a turtle, it was only 3% per annum, and it's pro-rated. If you save 1000, u will get 30 in a year time; so, in 3 months, my interest is only 7.5.
Thus, i decided to pour all my money after deducting all the necessity into investment. I have 0% left on saving. All balance was sent to grow money.
I was so sure that there weren't any need for emergency money. All my family got medical insurance, except my grandparents. They have retired long time ago. Each of us has steady income and credit card standby for emergency.
Well, my grandpa suddenly fell asick, heart problem and needed operation immediately. Large sum money requested and each of the family need to contribute some money.
I was in shocked that there is none saving stagnant in my bank account. All money was flowing everywhere and it's difficult to collect 'em back in a short notice.
I realize it is so important to have at least a few thousands in a super-slow glowing saving account so that when there is emergency, we can withdraw it anytime.
Do you save for emergency?
3 people like this
5 responses
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
23 Jun 07
Wow, you have so much money! Or is 3% the norm in Malaysia? Here it is about 1% odd unless you can talking about fixed deposits - then yes, at its peak, it was about 3% p.a.
I do not totally agree with what you did though (but who am I to say what you should do with your money lol :p). I feel that you should indeed put aside 6 months of your expenditure amount in some fail-proof no-risk account.
No investment is completely safe so the "what if" is always there. I do hope though that nothing goes wrong for your case. Maybe if you make some profit, quickly withdraw 6 months and leave it somewhere safe. Even 3 months would be great.
But as I read to the end of your discussion, I guess you've already "learned your lesson". You don't mind me teasing, do you? :P
@serena_wai (970)
• Malaysia
23 Jun 07
3% is normal for fixed deposit. For normal saving account, i don't think it even reach 1% interest per annum.
I am totaly agree that saving up is very importance, but due to the inflation rate (4%) in malaysia is high, saving up money is actually losing its value in long term. I am very careful in investment. 40% in ebay business, 50% in another commission based internet business and 10% in buying my own company share.
Ya, You're right, I'd learned my lesson. I should seriously start saving now.
2 people like this
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
24 Jun 07
What is this ebay business? Care to share?
1 person likes this
@smoke_gun (1243)
• Malaysia
23 Jun 07
serena,if you want independent from financial,you should buy some shares,not keeping all the money in your fix deposit account.3% interest is not enough for malaysian cover yearly inflation.beside,our daily expenses increase with no limit day by day,from petrol,toll fee to food.if you interesting about share,feel free to check this blog,its a review of share investment.
http://yy-mylifediary.blogspot.com/
i hope you read mandarin.
@smoke_gun (1243)
• Malaysia
24 Jun 07
yes,most peoples have an idea about share is risky,but if you did read warren buffete"s book,you'll learn that share is the best investment for long term.example magnum,there are millions of peoples bet on 4d,if we save the money from betting and buy magnum's share,thats mean we gain the profits too from gambler.sound good,right?so,the most important for buying share is how to choose a profitable share,and not be misleading by market.
@serena_wai (970)
• Malaysia
23 Jun 07
Exactly right, I just replied the wizzt's post about money value vs. inflation.
Share is not my best favourite because of the risk involved and blue chips are expensive for me. However I have bookmark the link, will be a regular reader now.
1 person likes this
@samtaylorskykierajen (7977)
• Canada
24 Jun 07
i realize this is a good idea but have never got around to being able to save money either . It seems that each month we only have enough to get us through the month and if we do get a little extra money then we tend to buy something we have been waiting a long time to buy or just do something that we wanted to do .
I believe we get ourselves in habits that are hard to break and even though we may have a few dollars here or there , we don't think about the day we may need this money and although it builds up slowly , it does build up .
I would like to get us in the habit of putting aside something even if it was only five dollars a week but am having a hard time doing this because there always seems to be something to spend the money on . I realize this makes me a bad financial person but can't seem to break the habit and my husband is no better .
I am sorry to hear about your grandpa and hope that he is doing better now . Take Care !!
@whyaskq (7523)
• Singapore
24 Jun 07
I try to save money, but is it for emergency, I do not know. I only know I need to save money in case I need it for some extra expenses that may come along unexpectedly. I believe in having sufficient insurance coverage as well. So that when one passes on, the dependents are not left hanging in the air should the dependents have no extra savings to tide through.
@vegangoddess (175)
• United States
23 Jun 07
Yep, I save for emergencies and am working to get out of debt. You can read about it here www.mydebtfreegoal.com
@serena_wai (970)
• Malaysia
23 Jun 07
That's very cool! How I wish I could be debt free!
I have to say that writing comes with talent. I wasn't born with the talent in writing, especially when English as my second language.
All the best for your newborn baby on 7 July.
1 person likes this
