Why You Need an Emergency Fund

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

I’ve talked about it briefly here before, but let me tell you all about why it’s super important to have an emergency savings account, and how our home emergency fund through Capital One 360 account has saved us from financial ruin.

But first a little backstory …

I have been a long-time customer of Capital One 360, maybe for a decade or longer (back then it was ING Direct, which was bought by Capital One). The reason I opened an account with ING in the first place was because my saving account interest rate with a different bank was dreadful. Embarrassing. At first I was nervous to have my money tied up to an account online with no in-person branches, but ultimately I thought the risk was worth the reward. I also loved that I could connect my Capital One 360 account with my bank’s checking account, so if I needed money, I could transfer between the two (albeit with a few days lag time). I bit the money bullet and transferred $1000 (not a paltry sum for me at the time, or currently) over to Capital One 360 and … somewhat forgot about it.

After a while I checked on my interest and realized how much money it was earning, just by having it sitting in this different savings account. It wasn’t long before I transferred the rest of my savings account over and closed my savings account with my other bank (but kept the checking account).

When I met Mr. BFT, I sang the praises of Capital One 360 and all my interest-compounding and how brilliant I am. Soon he opened his own account.

Fast forward several years. We get married … but I’m not quite ready to combine bank accounts. I’m super cautious when it comes to money, and even though “what’s mine is his and what’s his is mine” …. no. My money is MY money. I like to know I have complete control over it. But obviously a joint account would be really handy. So we looked into our options and discovered that we could create a shared account with our Capital One 360 accounts. The shared account has been fantastic, especially with home repair issues.

OH MAN.

You know how everyone refers to homes as “money pits?” Well, that is one thousand percent accurate. In our first year as homeowners, not a month went by where we didn’t have to throw extra money into our house. ON TOP OF getting accustomed to the much higher mortgage and setting aside money for insurance and property taxes. Yikes! Repairs so far have included, but not limited to, insulating our attic, replacing all our old energy-gobbling windows, a pipe breaking and flooding my office, replacing our entire floor, the AC unit breaking (twice!), the water heater leaking and needing to be replaced, and most recently, RATS in the attic (yuck!!!). Owning a home is still worth all the trouble but I’m so glad we waited to purchase until we had an additional 10% of the home’s value set aside as savings. Now if something goes wrong, yes, it’s a major PAIN IN THE REAR, but at least we have financial peace of mind. And having the shared Capital One 360 account means we can easily transfer money back and forth, depending on who is paying for the repairs. It has made the little nuances of homeownership so much easier. I really can’t stress the importance of an emergency fund enough.

Black Friday Capital One 360 OffersIt’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and lose sight of the goals we’ve set to help us achieve financial peace of mind. This holiday, to encourage consumers to stay on track with their finances, Capital One 360 is decking the halls with deals you can bank on, including new account bonuses, referral bonuses and closing cost credits. Visit Capital One 360 to give yourself the lasting gift of #financialpeace of mind by taking advantage of Capital One 360’s deals on banking, brokerage and mortgage products. While you may have gifts, greetings and get-togethers on the brain, it’s important not to lose sight of your financial goals. All of Capital One 360’s Black Friday Sale deals are designed to encourage consumers to keep their finances top of mind. In addition to taking advantage of deals on banking, brokerage and mortgage products yourself, you can give your friends and family the gift of financial peace of mind by encouraging them to take advantage of the deals and refer them to the sale. If they sign up, you may be eligible for a $40 referral bonus.

I think the best deal here is for the 360 Savings account. Open a new savings account with a minimum of $1000 and receive a bonus $100. Ummmmm, why would you NOT accept $100 FOR FREE???!? I sort of wish I was not already a Capital One 360 costumer so I could take advantage of this.

See all the Capital One 360 Black Friday offers here:

 

Product	Offer	Details
ShareBuilder	Up to $1,250 bonus (tiered offer)	Must be a new ShareBuilder customer
Home Loans	$1,250 off closing costs	Must sign up for the loan during the sale period
360 Checking	$100 bonus	Must make a $500 minimum initial deposit and make five transactions Must be new to 360 Checking
360 Savings	$100 bonus	Must make a $1,000 minimum initial deposit Must be new to 360 Savings
Refer a Friend	$40 bonus per successful referral	For someone to receive the referral bonus, they must be a current customer Their friend must meet the minimum initial deposit requirements Applies to all accounts

These deals are only being offered this weekend. So in between cyber sales and plates of stuffing, consider treating yourself #financialpeace of mind.

Photo Source: David Sawyer via Flickr used and modified under Creative Commons 2.0