Becoming financially independent is exciting, but learning how to do so can be challenging. Building good credit is a must: It will help you qualify for loans, auto insurance, mortgage, rental applications, cell phone plans, credit cards and can even impact job prospects. Building a solid credit history early is going to give you a jump start down the road. According to FICO, 15% of your credit score is based on the length of your credit history. So the earlier you begin building your credit, the better off you’ll be.

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According to this 2019 study from the American Institute of Stress, 62% of Americans feel stressed about money on a regular basis. Financial wellness should be an important part of our everyday lives.

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There are many reasons to start on the path to credit repair. The biggest reason is that credit affects you every day. With poor credit, you may not be able to get approved for new credit products like credit cards. It also affects the interest rates you pay on credit cards and loans, including mortgages, and can result in higher security deposits for rentals. Compared to a borrower with good credit, someone with poor credit can pay an average of $50,000 more in interest on a mortgage. Over an entire lifetime, you could end up paying over $200,000 more in unnecessary interest just because of bad credit.

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We’ve all experienced unexpected financial emergencies-a fender bender, an unexpected medical bill, a broken appliance, a loss of income, or even a damaged cell phone. Large or small, these unplanned expenses often feel like they hit at the worst times. 40% of American adults wouldn’t be able to cover a $400 emergency with cash, savings, or a credit card charge that they could quickly pay off, a Federal Reserve survey finds.

Setting up a dedicated savings or emergency fund is one essential way to protect yourself, and it’s one of the first steps you can take to start saving. By putting money aside-even a small amount-for these essential expenses, you’re able to recover quicker and get back on track towards reaching your larger savings goals.

The emergency fund is your safety net, in the event of a financial emergency. It gives you a buffer to keep you going till the time you figure out a more sustainable solution for the situation. A rainy day fund will empower you and grant you the freedom to make good decisions in the time of a crisis.

If you’re living paycheck to paycheck or don’t get paid the same amount each week or month, putting any money aside can feel difficult. But, even a small amount can provide some financial security. Here are some questions to ask yourself before you start building your emergency fund.

What is an emergency fund?

An emergency fund is an account set aside to gather money for emergency use. The emergency itself may be anything, but it’s wise to plan for the worst. Emergency funds are something that you can’t create overnight. It can sometimes take over a year to build a fund sufficient to meet your minimum emergency needs and years to build up a more robust amount of savings.

How Much Money Should I Have In My Emergency Fund?

As much as a necessity an emergency fund is for everyone, how much money it should have is up to each person’s needs and requirements. Most experts say to save for 3 to 6 months worth of your monthly expenses including rent, mortgage, major bills, food, etc. Do not get discouraged by this number.

If you’re in a two-income household or you’ve had a steady job for several years, then a three-month emergency fund is probably good to start out with. But if you’re a one-income family, you’re self-employed, or if your earnings come from commission, then a six-month emergency fund is probably a better idea for you since a job loss could make you unable to pay the bills. If you do lose your job, you could use the money to pay for necessities while you find a new one, or the funds could supplement your unemployment benefits.

Here are some scenarios where having more in your savings could benefit you:

• During a recession (when unemployment rates are higher and the length of unemployment is often longer)
• If you’re in a high-risk industry where layoffs are common.
• If your income isn’t steady.
• If you’re retired (and most of your money is in more-volatile stock and bond investments).

The most important thing is to start saving. The amount you need to have in an emergency savings fund depends on your situation. Think about the most common kind of unexpected expenses you’ve had in the past and how much they cost. This may help you set a goal for how much you want to have set aside. This emergency calculator from NerdWallet will help you calculate how much money you’ll need.

What if I can’t save 3 to 6 months of living expenses?

Saving three to six months of living expenses is recommended, but if expenses are tight, it may be really hard to do that, and it could take years. If you find yourself in this situation, don’t get discouraged and give up on the idea of an emergency fund. Instead, make a commitment to start small. Try setting weekly goals for yourself using this chart.

A $1,000 emergency fund will be enough to cover any unexpected financial surprises that come up. You can save $1,000 over the course of a year by putting aside just $38.50 per pay period if you’re paid biweekly.

Some experts recommend a two-step approach to your emergency fund savings. Such as having a “starter” emergency fund of $1,000 if you have debt. Then, once you’ve paid the debt off, redirect those payments to fully fund an emergency fund with three to six months’ worth of expenses.

Over time, continue making contributions to your emergency fund — as much as you can afford — and eventually you’ll reach that goal of having three to six months of living expenses saved up.

Where Do I Keep This Emergency Fund?

Where you put your emergency fund depends on your situation. You want to make sure this fund is safe, accessible, and in a place where you’re not tempted to spend it on non-emergencies. Here are a few options for where to put your emergency savings, and you can choose which one will work best for you.

You need safe, liquid options so that your money is accessible in times of need. High yield savings accounts offer excellent liquidity. You could also consider a Roth IRA. Some people also opt for checking accounts but separate your savings into a new bank account. This will allow you to look at it as a different source and not be tempted to use it for other things. Then, set up an automatic transfer of the amount that you decided upon. As long as things happen on their own, your savings will grow without much effort. Try this compounding calculator to see how much your savings could grow.

But considering that your emergency fund will be sitting idle for a long period of time, it is best to opt for an account that lets your money earn some interest and allows easy access as well. These choices make it harder for you to dip into it, and you’ll also earn a bit of return on the money. Just ensure that this interest-gaining account also allows you to withdraw from it for little to no penalty.

Now let’s look at the next steps on how to start building your Emergency Fund.

1. Set an Emergency Fund Goal

Before you do anything at all, decide how much money you want in your emergency fund, say, six months from now. Once you decide that, as mentioned above, break it down to achievable pieces. Decide on a specific number per week or month, whichever is easier for you to keep track of. Knowing your emergency fund goal will also help you decide how much spending or what expenses you need to cut down on to meet your goal.

Write your goals down. Goals that you write down are 52% more likely to be successfully achieved. Try this savings planning tool or this Emergency Fund Calculator to calculate how long it’ll take you to reach your goal, based on how much and how often you’re able to put money away.

For instance, you can set the goal to set aside $25 a week in an emergency fund. At the end of 2 years, you could have $2,600 saved. Increase that amount to $50 a week and your savings could grow to $5,200. Make it $75 a week and you’ll save $7,800.

2. Track your money

You should know your spending and earning habits well enough to decide how large of an emergency fund you’re going to need. After you know how much you should set aside every month, you need to know where to take it from. For this, you need to know what your money is doing every day. The best way to know this is by tracking your transactions, if you don’t already. It will give you a clear picture of what is standing between you and your saving goal.

3. Manage your cash flow

Your cash flow is essentially the timing of when your money is coming in (your income) and going out (your expenses and spending). If the timing is off, you can find yourself running short at the end of the week or month, but if you’re actively tracking it, you’ll start to see opportunities to adjust your spending and savings.

For example, you may be able to work with your creditors (like your landlord, utility companies, or credit card companies) to adjust the due dates for your bills, or you can use the weeks when you have more money available to move a little extra into savings. This is one important first step in managing your money, regardless of whether you’re living paycheck to paycheck or have a tendency to spend more than your monthly budget allows.

4. Find Unique Ways to Add to your Savings

It can be hard to find ways to set aside extra money, but look for ways that money could possibly be slipping through the cracks. Are there any services or expenses you could do without or cut back on?

Here are some ways to get started.

• Treat your emergency fund as a bill. Add your emergency fund to your regular bills; this will give it a sense of priority. If you need to start small, such as $10 per month, that’s still a good starting point.
• Take stock of all the goods and services that you use that are not strictly necessary, such as services you could perform yourself or spur of the moment spending choices, and put that extra money into your emergency cash.
• Put all loose change into a special jar just for your fully funded emergency fund.
• If you get a cash gift for your birthday, a holiday, or another special occasion, you can add it to your emergency fund.
• Due to their size, tax refunds are a great stack of money to add to your emergency fund.
• If you have stocks, bonds, or mutual fund s that pay regular income, you can divert that into your emergency stash for a while.
• Sell things you don’t need. If you want to get a good perspective on it then I suggest you check out Gary Vaynerchuk and his series Trash Talk. Most of us have old phones, toys, exercise equipment, electronics, etc. that you can sell and turn into cash.
• Find one time income opportunities. There are lots of chances to do some quick work and earn money inside and outside your home. You can answer online surveys, care for pets while their owners are on vacation, participate in focus groups, and more.

5. Tackling Debt While Saving for an Emergency Fund

Instead of trying to put extra money toward debt, build up your emergency fund first — and see if there are ways to reduce your interest rate while you’re doing so.

Make minimum payments on your debt whether it be your mortgage payment, student loans, or credit card debt. While you focus on building at least a starter emergency fund of several thousand dollars.

Once you have a few thousand dollars in the bank for emergencies, you can divide your extra cash between debt payments and building up the rest of your emergency fund. Or, you can shift your focus to debt repayment until you get that taken care of and then aggressively build your emergency fund up to the three to six months’ living expenses goal once the high-interest debt is gone.

You’ll have to decide which approach is best, given the interest rate on your debt and how much risk you face of experiencing a really big emergency.

An emergency fund is intended to help you stay out of debt, but what if you’re already in debt?

Deciding whether to save up an emergency fund or focus aggressively on paying down debt is difficult. Your lender likely charges a much higher interest rate than you’ll earn on your emergency fund, so it may seem silly to have money sitting in the bank while you pay interest.

However, in almost every case, it makes sense to save for an emergency fund before beginning an aggressive plan to pay down credit card debt. This never means skipping minimum payments — you always need to pay the minimums. But, unless you have very high-interest consumer debt, like payday loans or a credit card with a penalty interest rate, it makes sense to save for an emergency first.

While the math may point you in the other direction, the problem comes when that inevitable emergency strikes. If you’ve been sending all your extra cash to your credit card and your transmission breaks or you lose your job, you may find yourself charging another $2,000 on a credit card that you just paid off.

This can make you so discouraged that you stop taking steps to improve your personal finance s. You could also become trapped in the never-ending cycle of debt payoff and then ratcheting it back up when an unexpected expense arises.

6. Consider a Side Hustle 

There are only two ways in which you can increase your savings. Either by spending less or by earning more. Around 44 million Americans have a side hustle, according to a Bankrate survey, and more than a third of them make more than $500 monthly from their side gig. You could build your emergency fund quickly by working a side job for a limited period of time.

Negotiate a raise or take up side gigs, at least for a short period of time, to save up a good enough fund. If you have the time and the drive to make some side money, then this will speed up the process greatly. It can also turn into a long term hustle and a good way to make some extra money on the side long-term. There are many ways you can go about this and I would recommend getting supplemental income revolving around something you are passionate about. There is an abundance of freelance work out there for any passion. Look into websites like Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelancer if you are considering freelancing.

If you are not considering freelancing and just trying to find easy work that you can just sign up for – there is an abundance of apps out there where you can make some cash. Try apps like Doordash, Uber, and Instacart.

You also have the option of just getting another part-time job, but, that is a bigger commitment than signing up for an app or doing freelance work.

View your emergency fund like an insurance policy. Once you have it, guard it carefully. Set some guidelines for yourself on what constitutes an emergency or unplanned expense. It’s not a piggy bank. You should not use it for incidental expenses or pull from it when you want to buy something new.

Use the fund only in the event of an emergency and spend it carefully when you do need to draw on it. Remember, once that money is spent, it always takes much longer than anticipated to replace it.

Start now and save whatever you can, even if it isn’t much. However, don’t be afraid to use it if you need it. If you spend down what’s in your emergency savings, just work to build it up again. Practicing your savings skills over time will make this easier.

Looking for more financial wellness tips? Check out the Meratas blog!

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There’s no denying the power a strong professional network can have over your career success. Networking will help you develop and improve your skill set and stay on top of the latest trends in your industry and job market.  

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The beginning of a new calendar year normally marks the beginning of the job search rush. January and February are two of the best months to look for long-term, full-time jobs since these are the months most companies receive updated budgets and sales forecasts.

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There are many benefits to being extremely valuable at work. Being irreplaceable at your job means that your supervisors count on you so much that without you, the productivity of your department might suffer. It means you’re a leader in your department and you have the confidence to make big decisions. It could also mean that you’re first in line for promotions and pay raises. Do you usually wait for your boss to check in on projects? Or do you take initiative and finish things on your own? 

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Your career is so much more than just a job. It’s simple enough to find a job that pays the bills. Building your career, unlike finding a job, is a lifetime pursuit. Building a career requires dedication, both to yourself and to the work that you do. Creating a career involves persistence as it will not always be easy to find fulfilling work while moving your way up the career ladder—and these days, many career paths do not resemble a ladder at all, but rather a long and winding road.

Lastly, building a career requires thinking smart about the sort of life you want to lead, about your skills and passions, and about the kind of work that can help you achieve maximum happiness and fulfillment.

If you feel like your career is firmly planted in a rut, some of the best advice out there comes in book form. We put together this handy list of the best books for career advice to read today to get you started on the right foot or back on track if you happened to stray a bit.

1. Designing Your Life – Bill Burnett & Dave Evans

Design thinking can help you build your way forward from wherever you are, regardless of the life design problem you’re facing. In the design field, every single choice is intentional—especially the ones that you don’t even notice.  The same design thinking responsible for amazing technology, products, and spaces can be used to design and build your career and your life.

In Designing Your Life, you will learn how to apply this same thinking to the choices you make in your own life and intentionally build a system that works for you. Find out how to use Mind Maps and become immune to failure.

The strategies provided here will teach you to take action, and if that does not work, reset and try again. If you’re stuck in some area of your career, pick this one up.

2. Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It- Chris Ross & Tahl Raz

So much of what is intimidating about asking your manager for a raise or a promotion is the actual negotiation process — framing your ask in a way that won’t seem outrageous without lowballing yourself. This book, written by the FBI’s former lead hostage negotiator, is designed to give you strategies to navigate that process as successfully as possible.

When you view negotiating as a constant practice, rather than just for selective circumstances, you’ll begin to see the benefits of engaging fully in your potential and taking actionable steps to get there.

3. So Good They Can’t Ignore You – by Cal Newport

Most people will tell you that to find a fulfilling career, you need to follow your heart and passions, but  according to the author of “So Good They Can’t Ignore You,” most people are wrong. Matching your job to a preexisting passion does not matter, he reveals. Passion comes after you put in the hard work to become excellent at something valuable, not before.

Cal Newport makes the case that developing skills rather than focusing on the desires you already have is the key to successful career experiences.

With a title taken from the comedian Steve Martin, who once said his advice for aspiring entertainers was to “be so good they can’t ignore you,” Cal Newport’s clearly written manifesto is mandatory reading for anyone fretting about what to do with their life, or frustrated by their current job situation and eager to find a fresh new way to take control of their livelihood. He provides an evidence-based blueprint for creating work you love.

So Good They Can’t Ignore You will change the way you think about your career, happiness, and the crafting of a remarkable life.

4. The Pathfinder – Nicholas Lore

The Pathfinder is great for people at all career stages, from recent grads to longtime workers looking for a new career path. In the book, career coach Nicholas Lore lays out how to figure out what you want to do and how to set your course to get to that point. Lore uses diagnostic tools and tests from the career and networking hub, the Rockport Institute, to guide readers through the first (or next steps) on their career paths. Originally published in 1998, this book still receives rave reviews from readers who have used it as a means to discover a more engaging, fulfilling work path. With more than 100 self-assessments and diagnostic tools, The Pathfinder can help you see your career in a whole new light. This is a great book whether you’re starting off or looking for a career change.

5. Moving the Needle: Get Clear, Get Free, and Get Going in Your Career, Business, and Life! – Joe Sweeney & Mike Yorkey

If you feel like you’re stuck in a rut, either in your job or in your industry, Moving the Needle is designed to help you shake up the status quo, and move forward in your career with a refreshed sense of purpose. If you have no idea what said refreshed purpose could be, this book gives you the tools you need to figure that out.

When your job search isn’t going well, it’s easy to feel like you’ll be stuck where you are forever. Sweeney’s book outlines a plan to help you figure out what you want and chart your path to professional and personal progress. Don’t let yourself get stuck in a boring status quo—embrace ideas like risk and innovation that can help you move your career in a more fulfilling direction.

6. Invaluable: Master the 10 Skills You Need to Skyrocket Your Career – Maya Grossman

In this engaging and practical career development book, marketing expert and career coach Maya Grossman uncovers the 10 soft skills that every professional needs to master to evolve from a “typical” to an “invaluable” employee―the top talent every company wants to attract and retain.

If you want to accomplish more than you ever thought possible and accelerate your career development, this is the book you’ve been waiting for. It will help you position yourself at the top, deliver staggering results, future-proof your career, and get the job, promotion, or raise you want and deserve.

This isn’t your typical career advice but rather a practical step-by-step career guide to help you grow your career. Plus, Maya has an amazing toolkit that accompanies the book. The Career Development Toolkit will help you clearly identify your next career moves. This is a must-read book for anyone who needs help planning, executing, and tracking their career success.

7. The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success – Megan McArdle

This book is great if you’re recovering from a perceived career failure. We all face failure in life, whether it’s in our careers or personal lives. What matters is how we handle it. But how can you become one of those people who turn failures into learning experiences? No one likes to fail, but it’s an inevitable part of everyone’s career at some point. The key is managing those failures, embracing the challenges that come with taking chances, and taking the necessary lessons forward into the rest of one’s career. This book takes real-world stories of failure to illustrate how to embrace and move on from setbacks.

8. Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges – Amy Cuddy

Cuddy’s book offers in-depth research on how your physical presence can change your mental energy and your confidence level. No matter what your line of work, making a great first impression is essential—and it is just as important to make sure that this first interaction is genuine and thoughtful.

Whether you are meeting a new potential boss for a job interview or giving a public speech, people can always tell if you are genuine, so learning how to build a “presence” and showing your genuine self is vital. To accomplish this, Harvard professor Amy Cuddy teaches you how to tweak everything from your body language to the way you think about big challenges in her book, Presence. This book is filled with brilliant research, but it’s also written for the average person and you’ll be able to start using her advice from day one.

9. Switchers: How Smart Professionals Change Careers and Seize Success – Dr. Dawn Graham

Dr. Graham’s insightful book Switchers tells the story of completely switching up your career, and how to do it the right way. There’s even a section on how to craft the perfect resume that will catch their attention within six seconds.

Switchers provides proven strategies that will get you where you want to go. The first step is to recognize that the usual rules and job search tools won’t work for you. Resumes and job boards were designed with traditional applicants in mind. As a career switcher, you have to go beyond the basics, using tactics tailor-made to ensure your candidacy stands out. Packed with psychological insights, practical exercises, and inspiring success stories, Switchers helps you leap over obstacles and into a whole new field.

10. Do What You Are – Paul Tieger

If you’re struggling with your career path, unsure of which industry to pursue, or simply unhappy in your current role, this is the book for you. Do What You Are is basically a handbook for folks who are looking to determine which type of work would fit best with their own personality traits.  You use your personality type to help you through the process of finding the right career.

There’s no magic answer here, but you’re able to use your Myers-Briggs results to lead you to an entire chapter based on career paths that could be excellent fits for you in your career.

This book includes advice and workbook exercises that use personality types as the foundation for exploring what’s best for us when it comes to our working selves.

None of these book suggestions alone will be the key to your career success. It still takes self-reflection, education, experimenting, and plenty of other things to get there. But these books are a good start. If none of these books spark your interest check out the website What Should I Read Next? It gives you book recommendations tailored to what you’re specifically looking to read. If you are looking for more career advice check out the Meratas blog!

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This post was written by a guest contributor to the Meratas blog.

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Sales copy matters more than you might think.

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