How does one get money when they don’t have an emergency fund?
Where do they find funds when they have an unexpected expense they need to pay for? Are there ways to get money when you have none?
How Would You Get Money When You Need It?
MSNBC summarized a study that asked respondents the following question:
“How confident are you that you could come up with $2,000 if an unexpected need arose within the next month?”
The results of that study showed how many people have trouble coming up with just $2,000 in an emergency situation.
Half of all U.S. households say they “certainly” or “probably” could not come up the funds to cope with such an ordinary financial emergency, according to a new study on financial fragility. Of households making between $100,000 and $150,000 annually, nearly one-quarter said they “certainly” or “probably” would be unable to come up with the $2,000. The amount was meant to suggest a major car repair, a co-pay on a medical expense or a home repair. It is far lower than the three to six months’ worth of expenses that financial planners typically recommend people have in savings. Yet 28 percent of respondents said they could be “certainly” unable to cope with the $2,000 expense, while 22 percent said they “probably” would not. The survey was conducted in 2009 near the depths of the Great Recession, but the findings were broadly consistent with other data about Americans’ financial resources.
How To Get Money When You Have None
There are several ways to get money when you have none in the bank but these are ways to get money that you probably wouldn’t resort to unless you are facing an emergency situation and need money but have no other options.
They are the ways to get money as a last resort.
- Beg from family and friends
- Use a credit card
- Get a payday loan
- Get a payday loan alternative
- Take a loan from yourself via a 401k
Believe me, I don’t recommend many of these products on a normal basis. But if it’s life or death and you need money? They exist for a reason.
How To Make Money When You Have None
There are also ways to earn a little bit of extra money quickly in case of an emergency.
- Sell blood
- Sell plasma
- Have a yard sell
- Raid your piggy bank
- Pawn your valuables
- Sell your gold for cash
- Sell used books on Amazon
- Bake and sell cookies or cupcakes
- Check Craigslist for a weekend gig
- Offer up babysitting skills
- Rake yards, mow grass, and do yard work for neighbors
- Sign up for Amazon’s Mechanical Turk and complete tasks
- Rent out extra space in your house or garage
There are tons of other ways to make money quickly when you really need it. All you have to do is be creative, be willing to ask, and be willing to work.
My Experience Getting Money For Emergencies
Unfortunately my family has a lot of experience in this area. Various family members in the last few years have hit financial hardships and found themselves without the money they needed for everyday expenses… myself included.
Unfortunately we turned to things like payday loans, short term cash loans, credit cards and borrowing from family & friends. In a pinch things like these are not a bad thing but they can spiral out of control quickly.
Payday loans and credit cards can give someone the chance they need to get through a tough situation. While I have never used one, I don’t ever judge anyone negatively for utilizing these short term financing options. Even if some people don’t consider them the best because of the tricky terms attached, I understand why people turn to them.
My family has almost always fallen into the “probably would not” category and that is why various family members have resorted to the short term options I’ve mentioned earlier. Thankfully those options existed because otherwise, what would we have done?
My Plan To Get Money When Needed
Looking at my own life and finances now, I realize I want to have a plan in place before a situation like this arises.
How would I get money if I needed it for an emergency?
Here are the steps I would take in order to gather up $2,000 right this instant:
- Raid my emergency fund of $1,000
- Hustle, hustle, hustle!
In the past I would have turned to a credit card to cover the expense without a plan to pay it back. However, if the need for $2,000 arose now I would work as many side jobs as possible to pay for the expense. I know I can work enough hours to cover the expense quickly even if it’s not fun. I don’t want to go into debt again just to cover an emergency.
Whatever your plan is, it is important to have a plan in place to cover emergencies and get money you need!
