JohnRunchey.com

 Everyone should build up an emergency fund that can be tapped in case of, well, emergency! Experts disagree on the exact amount to shoot for – some say 3 to 6 months of expenses, others (such as Suze Orman) say 8 months. Personally I’d sleep real easy if I had an entire years worth of expenses stashed away. Sadly I’m not in that situation.
 
If you are like most people, you’re lucky to have anything at all in savings, let alone multiple months worth of expenses. I heard on the radio the other morning a survey that indicated one third of American adults have nothing in savings. Zip. So if this is you, you aren’t alone.
 
The question is, will you still be in this group a year from now? Five years from now?
 
The only thing that will decide where you are financially next year, in 5 years, heck in 10 years, is what you do today, this week, this month. You have 2 choices:
Do nothing, and end up with.... More of the same! We’ve got no money! Hurray!
OR, 
Start saving, and end up with...Improvement, movement forward, climbing up, looking back in 5 years and seeing what a huge difference this has made.
 
So is the first step deciding if you need 3 months, 6 months, or a year as emergency savings? Heck no!. You’ve got nothing, remember? You’re broke! Why depress yourself with this daunting figure. It will only loom as a giant roadblock, an unachievable ideal.
 
Rather, take action to get things moving. Settle on a small amount that you won’t even miss – 5 bucks a month if that’s all you can swing. But make it something. Now go and open yourself an ING direct savings account online. Don’t research  which online bank is the best. You aren’t Bill Gates with billions, you’re you with a few bucks. Which bank doesn’t matter. Just go to ING and open an account. And no I don’t get any kind of referral fee for suggesting ING, I just have accounts there, I’m happy with them, and I want to get you started on the savings habit.
 
Setup an automatic transfer from your checking to your ING account each month. Pick the day of the month that corresponds to when you are paid.
 
Now, did you do that? You did, didn’t you? If not, and you aren’t saving already someplace else each month, then quit reading. You are destined to remain in your present (likely broke) financial situation. If you are sitting there thinking “What’s the point, It’s only 5 bucks (or whatever) and that won’t amount to anything”, then quit reading. You will not take the smallest step to begin the savings habit, and therefore you are destined to remain broke.
If you haven’t been a dedicated saver in the past, and you’ve actually done this, opened an account and set up a regular transfer, then congratulations! You have taken the first small yet vital step to getting ahead financially. It feels good to have actually taken action, yes? A little bit of hope for the future creeps into your thoughts? All over a little 5, or 10, or maybe 25 bucks.
 
What happens now? Now time marches on as it always does. Look back 5 years, doesn’t it seem like those years went by quickly? Where did the time go? Last I knew I was in high school, now I’m 45. Yikes. And as time marches on, those little injections of money will be going into your account. Will 5 bucks a month add up to much over 5 years? Let’s see… 5 times 12 is 60 bucks per year, times 5 is … 300 bucks. Ok so you still won’t be Bill Gates after 5 years. If you have nothing right now though, maybe having 300 bucks sounds mighty nice.
 
But you know what will more likely happen over those 5 years? You’ll find that 5 bucks per month is easy, and you’ll decide to bump it up a bit. You’ll have extra chunks of money come into your life here and there, and you’ll toss some of it into this savings account, now that you have the savings habit. You’ll make better spending decisions based on having hope for a better financial future, rather than despair that you have no control. You’ll be moving forward on the financial path, rather than standing still or falling behind.
 
All over a little savings account that took maybe 20 minutes to open.