Build Your Safety Net Before You Need It
Welcome to Money Monday with Suze, a weekly newsletter designed to inspire your financial life and give you actionable insights from the World’s Personal Finance Expert. Like what you’re reading? Subscribe and share with your friends. Let’s dive in…
You know I am passionate about how important it is to build an emergency savings fund. It is not just a vital financial move; it is a quality-of-life move as well. When you know you have money set aside to help you when a big financial “what if” materializes, it helps you sleep better and worry less.
In fact, Vanguard recently reported that having an emergency fund was the biggest single factor in a large survey that measured participants’ financial well-being. Participants with at least $2,000 saved in an emergency fund reported a level of financial well-being that was 21% higher than participants with no emergency fund. Participants who had $2,000 plus another three to six months of living costs in an emergency fund had financial well-being ratings that were another 13% higher.
I am not surprised, but it is always great to see evidence of how emergency savings can help us lead less-stressed, more secure lives.
So let’s review my key steps for building an emergency fund.
- Commit to save a portion of every paycheck every month.
- Automate a direct deposit into a separate bank or credit union account that is only for your emergency savings. Do not keep emergency savings in your everyday checking account. This money needs its own special account—that’s how you will remind yourself it is special and only to be used in true emergencies.
- Aim to build up your account so it can cover at least eight months of living costs. A year’s worth is even better. Now listen to me: I am not suggesting this will be quickly achievable. It may take you some time to build up your emergency fund. That’s fine! The goal is to keep working toward your 8-12 month goal.
- Earn interest on your emergency savings. Some savings accounts offer annual interest of 3% or more these days, which is a lot better than the 0.03% you might be earning on a regular checking account. Or you might consider a certificate of deposit (CD) if you have a large emergency savings fund. As long as you have a few months of emergency savings you can tap immediately, having the rest in a longer-term CD that earns a higher interest rate can be a smart strategy.
If you haven’t already taken my advice to open an account at Alliant Credit Union and open an Ultimate Opportunity Savings Account, you really should get on it.
70% of employees want emergency savings—does your employer offer it?
With an emergency savings benefit, you can set aside money directly from your paycheck—before you even notice it’s gone—making it effortless to build financial security over time.
Financial stress is real, but your employer can help. Ask about SecureSave and start building your emergency fund today!
Recommended by LinkedIn
Learn More: www.securesave.com
#EmergencySavings #FinancialFreedom #SmartSaving #WorkplaceWellness
There Is No Greater Teacher in Life Than Money
On Sunday's Women & Money podcast, we revisit a Suze School conversation that digs into how we hide our financial success, feel unworthy of abundance, and avoid “owning” our wealth. We unpack the internal roadblocks—shame, guilt, fear—and how to shift your money mindset.
This episode is essential if you’ve ever hesitated to claim what’s yours.
Let's get started! Listen and subscribe to Suze Orman's Women & Money (and everyone smart enough to listen) Podcast on your favorite streaming app.
#SuzeOrman #FinancialPlanning #WomenAndMoney
This is an important topic and I appreciate your work highlighting financial education, especially around emergency funds. In countries like Brazil, however, severe social inequality often makes saving and building an emergency reserve much harder for most people. While financial discipline and careful choices, as you suggest, can help change someone's path, sometimes even basic opportunities to save simply aren't available—there are families who struggle just to cover daily essentials. I believe your advice is very valuable, but it’s also important to recognize that not everyone starts from the same place. Thank you for sharing practical steps. The discussion you’re raising is necessary, and maybe someday those barriers will be easier to overcome.
“Build your safety net before you need it” applies far beyond finance. In critical aeromedical transport, we don’t wait for engine failure to check protocols or patient collapse to train the team. True safety is built in calm, not chaos. Your emergency fund? It’s your personal contingency plan. Thanks, Suze Orman, for the reminder: resilience starts when everything seems fine. #OperationalSafety #HumanFirstLeadership #AeromedicalTransport
Thanks Suze! Even starting with a $1 counts too as you said many times. If we become disciplined, later on, we can see the results. The most important is create a good habit on saving little by little for the near or later future. It's never too late!!
Suze Orman Such a great reminder, an emergency fund isn’t just financial security, it’s peace of mind that gives you freedom to breathe and focus on what truly matters.