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Emergency Funds: Preparing for unplanned expenses

Posted at 9:17 AM, Jan 21, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-21 10:17:42-05

(NBC News) Among the stories about furloughed federal workers coping with the government shutdown, Chris Greer’s story stands out because of what he’s been doing for years.

“I do have little bit of an emergency reserve fund that we have saved as a family,” Greer says.

Sadly, he’s the exception, not the rule according to a new bankrupt survey about American workers with no emergency savings account.

“Only 40% of Americans could pay an unplanned expense of a thousand dollars out of their savings,” says Bankrate.com senior analyst Greg McBride.

McBride says the average financial emergency costs about $3,700.

“The critical action step is setting up that direct deposit from your paycheck into a dedicated savings account,” he advises.

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