How to Get $1,000 Into Your Emergency Fund Painlessly

Your emergency fund is your financial lifesaver—especially while you are in debt and living paycheck to paycheck. Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock

The most important thing you can do to make your personal economy strong is to have an umbrella—an emergency fund with enough money in it to pay all your bills for six months. And it needs to be safe and secure in a bank account.

You read that right—half a year’s income! Wait. You can’t imagine being able to save even 50 bucks? No worries. The secret to getting there is to start small. Like $50. Now it’s time to figure out where and how to do this—how to come up with this seed money to start growing your emergency fund.

10 Percent Off the Top

As you get paid, save 10 percent of your paycheck, right off the top before you do one other thing with that paycheck. Can’t do it? I’m sure you can, but OK. Start with 5 percent or even 1 percent and build up from there. Make feeding your emergency fund the very first bill you pay, before anything else. It is a mandatory obligation to yourself.