O Emergency Fund, Emergency Fund! Where For Art Thou Emergency Fund?

Have you ever had a true emergency fund before?

They say, once you go emergency fund you never go back. Having my beloved emergency fund in my life has been amazing, and I became a better person for meeting her. Ever since the first day I laid eyes on my one true emergency fund, I new I was a changed man. The way she comforted me and made me feel all safe and fuzzy inside. I got butterflies whenever I would think of her. I just knew she was the one!

Can you tell I’m struggling? My emergency fund was everything to me, and now she’s gone! It happened so suddenly. Some nonsense about it not being about me, “It was her.”

Photo Credit: Karie_Marie

She said she’s confused. That’s original!

She said she wants to be with me, but she felt she had to leave. She said it was better for both of us. I found out that she ran off with someone else! I tried to stop her even though I knew that letting her go was the best thing for both of us. I’ve been sobbing for an entire month now, but I think it’s time I move on.

Sometimes you just have to let your emergency fund go.

I’ll never forget my very first emergency fund. Even though we were together for only a year, she made me feel things I had never felt before. I felt alive. I felt young and energetic. She removed most of my insecurities and made me feel confident for the first time ever.

Don’t think I didn’t change her too though, cuz I did.

Before she met me she said she had many relationships, but nothing like ours. She said she was always seeing this bank or that bank, and you know what kind of trouble banks can be. They wanted her all to themselves — she was just a possession.

One time, she told me a story about how she was forced into this relationship and was unhappy for six long years. He was a real car salesmen that guy! He only wanted to see her once a month and if she didn’t stop by, he made her life completely miserable. What a control freak!

I treated her differently though. I cared about her and treated her like she deserved to be treated — like a princess — or so I thought.

She told me there were lots of emergency funds that got treated the same way! They just couldn’t get away, but she was lucky — she found me.

I made her feel important.

She said I allowed her to be what she always knew she should be. She wanted to be the best emergency fund ever, and I enabled her to do just that. She was a very good emergency fund, but sometimes I guess it’s just not meant to be.

I’ll miss her.

I have since found a new emergency fund, so things have since improved. My new emergency fund may not have as much experience as the last one, but she’s definitely mature for her age and growing leaps and bounds by the month! She’s already up to $3,500. I feel like she’s a bit more passionate and motivated in life than my last one.

I will always have special feelings for “you know who”,ย  but I think this new one is a better match. She may not reach $15,000 by the end of 2010 like I wanted, but I know she will do her best to protect me.

I love you emergency fund! Let’s grow together, you and I.

XOXOXOXO

About Brad Chaffee

12 Responses to “O Emergency Fund, Emergency Fund! Where For Art Thou Emergency Fund?”

Read below or add a comment...

  1. I cannot say that I have been THAT passionate about my EF, but my first one was only $1000, then $2000 and now it’s definitely ballooned into $30,000.

    (I think she’s been snacking on my bank account at night)

    • Brad Chaffee says:

      Hahaha FB! Yeah I was just trying to find a creative way to express my feelings about just having to use $7,000 of my emergency fund. It hurt pretty bad having to let it go like that, but our second mortgsage is paid off so it was totally worth \”letting her go.\” ๐Ÿ˜€

      $30,000 is one heck of an emergency fund, I am so jealous! ๐Ÿ˜‰

  2. Steve @ The Debt Solution says:

    Having an Emergency Fund will make you feel more secure and at ease. A good friend/business associate of mine told me years ago how he would save money (he’s from another country) he told me to put an amount aside and no matter what keep doing that. Regardless of what my expenses were to make sure I did that.

    I’ve came up with a better way since then but he was right…if you have a goal to save a certain amount of money you must stick to putting away each week, bi-weekly or monthly that amount to make your goal even if it gets tight.

    My emergency fund that I currently have will allow me to live years without needing any additional income. It affords me and my family a security that I can’t express in words.

    • Brad Chaffee says:

      Right on Steve! Going from living paycheck to paycheck to having almost $10,000 in the bank certainly makes me appreciate the value of having such a fund available. That\’s precisely why it was so hard to have to use some of it to pay off my second mortgage. It hurt! LOL

    • Jaki "B" says:

      I like your post Steve. I’m just starting my EF (better late than never) … Do you have any suggestions/tips for me? May God continue to bless you and your family ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. Dd says:

    HAHA I love it! My Emergency fun loans herself out to anyone… I am just happy she is around when I need her ๐Ÿ˜‰

  4. Money Funk says:

    Too cute. ๐Ÿ˜‰

    FB, I like your response, too. LOL.

  5. My emergency fund continues to mature, and I’m happy to have her/him around! Interestingly, I don’t differentiate between an EF and a savings account. I’m not a break-it-into-categories type of gal at the moment. I just sock the money in the account and don’t touch it!

    • Brad Chaffee says:

      That is interesting Penny Frugalista (love that name btw)! Savings and an emergency fund are quite the same but to me there is a big difference. My emergency fund is something that I save for those things in life that pop up from time to time. I see savings as really nothing more than investing. My savings would never be touched, but my emergency fund keeps me from having to borrow money when life decides to happen.

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts. ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. In these uncertain economic times, if I come across extra money is it wiser to pay off extra credit card debt or put the money to the emergency fund to ensure security, a safety net. I just have a baby emergency fund and I feel like I need more but freedom from credit cards is nearing, maybe I should accelerate that. So besides spending money, saving or paying down, that is the question.

    I like what you are promoting here Brad.

    • Brad Chaffee says:

      Accelerate that! ๐Ÿ˜€ That\’s what I would do, then kick your emergency fund\’s butt!! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Thanks for the compliment Professor Budget! Thank you very much!

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