Saving for “Sunny Day” Funds in the New Year

• • Savings: You Don’t Really Need a Huge Emergency Fund.
  • Building up and maintaining a 6-month rainy day fund can seem unrealistic and perhaps even unnecessary.
  • Instead of “rainy day” funds, what I teach is building up “sunny day” funds. Accounts for designated known and unknown expenses to which you contribute on a regular basis with automatic transfers.

• • The benefit to you is that you think of it as a bill so you make sure the money is available for the systematic transfer.
  • When you lump all of your savings into one account it can be easy to overspend in one category and be short in another when the time comes. You can see your balance and what is available, by category, with sunny day funds which keeps you from the mistake of overspending.  
  • Categories for sunny day funds can vary from woman to woman and can include vehicle, home, self-improvement, personal care, vacation, gifts and clothing.
  • Many women without an HSA will also save for out of pocket health care expenses.
  • By having these designated accounts pre-funded, it reduces the need for a huge emergency fund.

Forget Rainy Day Funds. Build Your Sunny Day Funds!

And always seek professional advice when needed. When you know what you want and are unsure about how to make it happen, hire a CFP® for the how-to you need to get to wherever your financial wealth destination is. 

Interview: Melissa Myers.

Melissa Myers, CFP® is a heart-centered financial planner and typically works with women who are solely responsible for their own financial future. She helps them align their money with their values so they can live their ideal lives and be a blessing to others.  Myers is a business owner, co-founder of Kar-Mel Financial Planners, creator of Sunkissed and Blessed lifestyle brand, and has been a featured guest on podcasts: Diary of a Small Town Girl and Casa DeConfidence.

Melissa is passionate about empowering women with money and is also the bestselling author of Going Rogue! Unconventional Financial Strategies for Women.