How Do I Start an Emergency Fund When I Live Paycheck to Paycheck?

Everyone tells you to save three months of expenses, but what if you can't even save three bucks? Now, that's not an excuse. That's a real question from someone doing everything right and still coming up empty at the end of every month.There's a way to start this that nobody talks about and it doesn't require you to magically find money you don't have. So stay with me today. We're going to make this real on today's show. Hello and welcome to Financially Confident Christian.I'm Ralph Estep Jr. And I just want to thank you for spending a little time with me today.We're going to cover one of those things on today's show that so many people struggle with, and that's how to build an emergency fund when there's nothing left over to save. We got a listener question. Person tells me they're living paycheck to paycheck.They know they need this emergency cushion, but they can't seem to see where the money's going to come from. And they living in this quiet stress and knowing one flat tire or one sick kid could knock the whole month over. It's going to be a good one today.Now maybe you've got a question you'd like me to answer on the show. I would love to hear it. You can send me your questions by going to financiallyconfidentchristian.com/questionWe'll put a link in the show notes, but again, that's financiallyconfidentchristian.com/question Well, let's get right into today's listener question. Listener writes this hi, Ralph. I know I'm supposed to have an emergency fund.Everybody says it, three months, six months, whatever. But I honestly don't know how to even possible for me to start one. I work full time. My husband works full time.We're not buying fancy coffees or new gadgets. But Ralph, by the time the rent and groceries, the car payment, the daycare come out, there's nothing left.Some months were actually a little short and I'm moving money around just to make it work. Every time something breaks the car, a tooth, the kidneys, new shoes, it's going on the credit card and I'm paying that off for months.I feel like I'm running on a treadmill that keeps speeding up. I'm not asking you to tell me, just save more. I've heard that if I had more, I'd save it.What I need to know is where the money actually came from when there isn't any other money. How does someone like me even start? Thank you, Ralph. Well, thank you.There's a lot of honesty in your question today, and I'm going to say something very bold. An emergency fund doesn't start with extra money. It starts with a different system. That's the thing that you don't hear people talking about.You don't hear people talking about building a system. I'm going to show you today how to build a system. Because when things are tight, I hear it in your question.The willpower, the desire to do it isn't going to get you there, but a structure will. And we're going to find the money in places you're not even looking for, and we're going to protect it before life grabs it on today's show.So let's start about the big hairy thing in the room first. You start off by saying, everybody says three to six months. That scares people. So what do you got to do? You got to shrink the goal.Here's what my goal is. I want you to target $500. That's it. Just 500 bucks. You might be saying, Ralph, but $500 is nothing. That's not true.A $500 emergency fund will cover most small emergencies that send people to the credit card, car repair, that urgent co pay, you know, the kid lost a tooth, a tire of the brakes. But the other reason I like this is $500 broken down is small. Just think about it like this.If you can find $10 a week, you can get to $500 in a year. If you can find $20 a week, you can get there in six months. The goal isn't to be rich. It's to break that cycle of every emergency becoming new debt.That's what you're telling me. You're saying, every time we have an emergency, I'm going to those credit cards. What's going on?Anytime you make an improvement on the credit cards, going right back up. But you don't need a big number to start. You need a small one that you can actually hit.But now you're saying, that sounds good, Ralph, you said not three to six months, $500. But Ralph, dude, I can't find three bucks. Let's talk about how you can find $20. And don't start by trying to earn more.You're probably working enough. Let's start by finding what's actually already leaking out. Well, how do you do that? Here's what I'm going to encourage you to do.Go get your last 30 days of your bank statement and Your credit card transactions. And I want you to read every single line. I want you to look for those quiet leaks.If you were on a lake and you had a boat, and you start to notice the boat is filling up with water, what are you going to do? I'm going to go find the leaks. You got to do the same thing. Here's some quiet ones to look at. Subscriptions.So many people had these, they forget they have them. That's a major leak. Streaming services. Do you really need five of them? If you're not watching them, get rid of them. Look at app fees.Free trials that started charging you. Here's another thing a lot of people don't think about. It's those convenience store shops that happen more than you think.Now, I'm not telling you to gut your whole life. You just suck up for $20 a week. And the truth is, when I share this, most people find it in 15 minutes when they actually look.So before you find more money to make, find the money you're already losing. And here's the secret to the whole thing. You gotta automate it so you never see it.The money that you have to remember to save is the money that disappears. You've already told me that most people feel this way.So I'm gonna encourage you to open up a separate savings account, maybe at a different bank, something separate than your checking account. Now, you might be saying, ralph, that seems like a lot of work. Why do I need to separate that?My grandfather used to say, out of sight means out of reach when those impulses hit. Because those things that aren't emergencies become emergencies when it's really simple. But the other side of this is set.An automatic transfer for the day after payday. This way you take the willpower out of it. Even $10, $20, before the money has a chance to get spent. That automation does the discipline for you.There are days you're not going to feel motivated. You just have to set it up once. Because money you never see is money you never spent.But now, here's another thing a lot of people don't think about, and that's route those windfalls straight to the fund. Your regular paycheck isn't the only money that comes in. Let's be honest. Other things happen throughout the year. Yes, there are emergencies.But how about things that come in as windfalls? Like your tax refund, a rebate or a refund check, maybe birthday or holiday cash, or maybe you got some overtime or a bonus.Here's the rule you need to Set for yourself before that money touches your regular checking account. Send a chunk of it to savings. You think about this.If you get a thousand dollar tax refund, even if you put half of it, you've already got their $500 goal. The trick is deciding where it goes before it arrives. Set that rule, because once it arrives, you're going to figure out other stuff to do with it.There's always funny to spend money somewhere, right? The money you didn't expect is the money that builds the fund the fastest. If you catch it first. But then you got to protect this stuff.You got to protect that fund with one simple rule. Here's the rule I'm going to encourage you to do. A fund that you raid for non emergencies isn't an emergency fund, friend. That's a slush fund.So the other side of today's lesson is write down in advance what counts as an emergency. Now, you might be saying, raf, you want me to write this down? Yes, I want you to write it down so you can look at it.What does an emergency look like? It's something urgent, it's something necessary, and it's something unexpected. Think about it like this.If your car breaks down, you need to get to work. That's an emergency, it's urgent, it's necessary, it's unexpected. A medical need, that's urgent, it's necessary, it's unexpected.Keeping the lights on, that's urgent, that's necessary, and it's unexpected. Here's what doesn't count. Sorry to burst your bubble. A sale doesn't count. Oh, they're having a sale of Kohl's. I got to rush out and get that.That's not an emergency or a vacation. But you're like, Ralph, I haven't had a vacation in years. Again, that's not an emergency. Those are things you can wait for.But when you've defined it ahead of time, you're not in that state of negotiating with yourself in a weak moment. And when you do have to use it, it's okay to use your emergency fund. That's a win, it's not a failure. That's the fund doing its job.An emergency fund you protect is an emergency fund that never becomes debt. But now I want to get a little deeper into the faith side of this because you said something in your message.You said you feel like you're on a treadmill that keeps speeding up. And I want you to hear me. Feeling that way. Doesn't mean you're failing, friend.I felt that many people who are listening right now or watching this feels that it just means you're tired. And tired people are often the ones working the hardest. And here's what our faith doesn't promise us.I'm sorry, but it doesn't promise us the car won't break down. It doesn't promise us the paycheck will suddenly stretch further like some magic trick. It doesn't promise us next month will be easier than this one.It may be harder. But here's what faith does promise us. You're seen.The God who counts the sparrows knows about that daycare bill, and he knows about that credit balance. And he knows about that math you do at the kitchen table late at Matthew 6 says, look at the birds.They don't plant or harvest or store in barns, for your Heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't they far more valuable to him than they are? Aren't you more valuable to him than they are?This isn't a promise that you stop planning because what does the very next verse says? It's practical. It says it's a promise that your worth isn't measured by your bank balance, friend.You're not behind in God's eyes because you begin a savings goal. You're not failing. You're fighting. And I'm encouraging you. And today you're building something. And yes, even at $10 at a time, that counts.So here's your win for today. Remember this, you're not bad with money. You just stretched in. And the two of those things are not the same thing.And stretched in can be fixed with a system. And that's exactly what you're building. So here's your win. I want you to open one separate savings account today.It'd maybe take you 10 minutes online, different bank. If you want to, that's fine. Something that is a buffer is a friction for you, even if you don't fund it. Just get it opened up.I'm not encouraging you to save a fortune. Just build a container the money will go in. Because here's a truism you can't fill a jar you haven't bought yet today. Go buy that jar.Well, let's get into our Bible verse today. It comes from the Book of Zachariah, chapter 4, verse 10. It says, do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.And I love this one for today. You're not despising a small beginning. What did I say? $10 A week. And you're tempted to think that's Small and It doesn't matter.$10 A week feels like nothing against your worry. But it's a beginning. And it's a beginning is where God's works in your life.And every automatic transfer, every windfall you catch, every line you cut, that's the work beginning small and started beats big and someday, every single time. How about we pray together?Heavenly Father, I bring before you someone who works hard, not wasteful, but they still lie awake at night doing the math, Lord, and they're not asking for luxury. They're just asking for a little breathing room.So right now, Lord, I ask that you would give them eyes to find the first small dollars hiding in their month, steady their hand to set up the system and to trust it, Lord, and guard them from shame on the months that stay tight and the months that are struggles and remind all of us that our worth was never measured in the numbers in the bank account.Let them feel you providing, sometimes through a plan, sometimes through a surprise, but always through your presence in our lives, Lord, and we ask this in Jesus name. Amen, friend. You came here tired but not defeated. And that's the whole ball game. The cycle of every emergency becoming new.Debt ends the moment you have a small cushion. And now you know how to build one. So here's today's takeaway.Shrink that goal to $500, audit your spending for 30 days, find $20, automate the transfer, route those windfalls, and by all means define what counts as an emergency in advance. Those are the tools. That's the system that will help you get to where you want to go.And if you've got a question for this show, I'd love to hear your voice.You can send me a voicemail by going to financially confidentchristian.com/voicemail we'll put a link in the show notes, but again, that's financiallyconfidentchristian.com/voicemail thank you so much for joining me today. I want to encourage you, as always, stay financially savvy. May God bless you and you have a truly great day. Sam.