Many don't have $2,000 for a rainy day
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Many don't have $2,000 for a rainy day
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Re: Many don't have $2,000 for a rainy day
#2[deleted]
Re: Many don't have $2,000 for a rainy day
#3I certainly don't have any put away for a rainy day. After a bit of time being jobless, I finally found some underpaying work to get back on my feet. Coupled with various bills and medical bills, etc., I'm sitting at a paycheck to paycheck point. I get paid again tomorrow and I have $5.00 in the bank. It's quite depressing. Couple that with my girlfriend also losing her job and we tore through any savings pretty quickly.
I have a side project going that I'd love to launch in the next month or so, but I'm also polishing up the resume to begin sending out June 1.
Time for me to start pulling myself out of this rut now that I've got things in my life stabilized again.
I actually feel a little embarrassed posting this here, but what the hell. This will act as motivation for me. I seem to have forgotten along the way that I'm a good developer and worth more than the small salary I have right now. (I took on some consulting work that sort of turned full time. The salary was not/is not great but I kind of ended up 'trapped' there. Stockholm syndrome for the employed?)
Re: Many don't have $2,000 for a rainy day
#4[deleted]
Re: Many don't have $2,000 for a rainy day
#52,000 bucks is a lot, I know the rule of thumbs is like 3 months net salary to keep for bad days but that's just hard for people like most on HN that are young, trying to either bootstrap a business or have a ton of student debt.
Not sure what I would do but I think I could sell enough non-essentials to make up the money if it was a really bad situation.
Re: Many don't have $2,000 for a rainy day
#6If you don't have enough money to handle an emergency, you have an emergency. Go ahead and panic. Trade your car for a cheaper one, move into a cheaper apartment, stop eating out, sell your TV, and get an emergency fund.
If you're already living on toasted rats in a cardboard box, that's different, but if you've got unnecessary expenditures, you should really cut those out and get an emergency fund. To do otherwise is reckless. And you're cheating yourself of sleep and peace of mind.
Re: Many don't have $2,000 for a rainy day
#7I'd be curious what the survey would have shown if it were given in 2007.
I bet at least some of the people who can't come up with $2000 today is because they've already eaten into their emergency funds due to lost jobs, economy, etc...
Re: Many don't have $2,000 for a rainy day
#8I wonder whether or not there is a difference between the 'ability' and the 'perceived ability' to raise cash quickly.
Many people are cash-poor, yes, but I am surprised that over half the population has no cash equivalents, hard assets, or access to credit (even from a relative or friend).
N.B. This is not meant to be financial advice, but just to point out that people usually have many more options than they think they do.
Re: Many don't have $2,000 for a rainy day
#9I wonder whether or not there is a difference between the 'ability' and the 'perceived ability' to raise cash quickly. Many people are cash-poor, yes, but I am surprised that over half the population has no cash equivalents, hard assets, or access to credit (even from a relative or friend). N.B. This is not meant to be financial advice, but just to point out that people usually have many more options than they think…
Based on my post below, I do not have, on hand, $2000 that I could use in case of emergency. I am fortunate enough, however, that if I absolutely needed it, I have ways of getting the money. (Via family mostly, but I really dont like tapping into that unless it truly is an emergency.)
I'm also extremely thankful for a couple folks that approached me to write some web apps (php/rails) for them. Without them those last few medical payments would have crushed us.
My crappy situation came from double job troubles (gf and I) + dying car + hospital visits.
We've stabilized finally and now it's time to get out of this hole and get my life back together.
Re: Many don't have $2,000 for a rainy day
#102,000 bucks is a lot, I know the rule of thumbs is like 3 months net salary to keep for bad days but that's just hard for people like most on HN that are young, trying to either bootstrap a business or have a ton of student debt. Not sure what I would do but I think I could sell enough non-essentials to make up the money if it was a really bad situation.
>I know the rule of thumbs is like 3 months net salary to keep for bad days
I was under the impression that the rule was around 6 months.. then again, I'm talking about monthly expenses,as opposed to salary(which hopefully a person isn't spending 3 month's worth of salary in 3 months under normal circumstances). It probably goes up somewhat proportionally with age, if you factor in a home / dependents. I'm in the process of looking for a home now, so my decision on "how much home" I buy will be influenced by the notion of wanting to keep around a year's worth of monthly expenses should I find myself unemployed suddenly.