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Can you handle a $2,000 USD emergency?

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Taking this thread one step further, with our power grid somewhat suspect, and with the possibility of natural and unnatural disasters likely taking out electricity for days it wouldn't be a bad thing to have real greenbacks tucked away so as to get you and your family away from the disaster and relocate for a while. I would think a family of 4 should have $2000 of cash tucked away for such instances.
 
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yea we can handle a 2k emergency, though our emergency fund isnt really particularly called as such. it's more of the general pool of free cash sitting in a money market that on most months money moves into from checking with annual exits for property taxes/insurance/roth ira. we're a bit more conservative being a single income family now so we hold about 6 months in liquid and another 6 or so in things like cds/ibonds. worst case, we'll sell our taxable equities and rebalanced the retirement accounts to maintain the asset allocation. should never hold bonds in taxable accounts unless you are out of tax deferred space.
 
sdifox said:
2K is not a whole lot of money these days.
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You're right, it isn't, and that's what makes this story so incredible. Honestly, I am a bit surprised because I don't think I even know anyone who couldn't come up with $2,000 in an emergency. Given the large percentage with these circumstances, it all points to people living beyond their means and therefore, paycheck to paycheck. Color me shocked.

I said it before, but I'll say it again -- if you're a homeowner and/or car owner, $2K should almost be considered pocket change.
 
IndyColtsFan said:
You're right, it isn't, and that's what makes this story so incredible. Honestly, I am a bit surprised because I don't think I even know anyone who couldn't come up with $2,000 in an emergency. Given the large percentage with these circumstances, it all points to people living beyond their means and therefore, paycheck to paycheck. Color me shocked.

I said it before, but I'll say it again -- if you're a homeowner and/or car owner, $2K should almost be considered pocket change.
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You need to quantify owner 😛

If you have a loan on the car or mortgage on your house, you don't own it ()🙂
 
sdifox said:
You need to quantify owner 😛

If you have a loan on the car or mortgage on your house, you don't own it ()🙂
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That distinction doesn't really matter in this case because if you are paying a mortgage and your furnace goes out, the bank isn't going to run over to your house and pay for it since they technically own it. 😉
 
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sdifox said:
2K is not a whole lot of money these days. I was able to take 5k out but the branch was not happy with me.
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Agree but they order what they think they'll need for payroll checks, etc. and not much more. You're putting a crimp plans. Tough crap for them, I say.

Several years ago, Dad asked our bank for a credit card. He has absolutely no credit and hasn't for years. Denied! So he asks for his balance ($30K, iirc) in cash, immediately. They freaked😀. He got his credit card.
 
IndyColtsFan said:
That distinction doesn't really matter in this case because if you are paying a mortgage and your furnace goes out, the bank isn't going to run over to your house and pay for it since they technically own it. 😉
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That is because you live in it and not them. I wonder if anyone tried to sue the bank based on that premise though 😀
 
sdifox said:
That is because you live in it and not them. I wonder if anyone tried to sue the bank based on that premise though 😀
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I'm pretty sure that banks protect themselves from that in their mortgage paperwork. Good try though. Maybe I'll call them up and see if they'll replace my patio. 😀
 
highland145 said:
Agree but they order what they think they'll need for payroll checks, etc. and not much more. You're putting a crimp plans. Tough crap for them, I say.

Several years ago, Dad asked our bank for a credit card. He has absolutely no credit and hasn't for years. Denied! So he asks for his balance ($30K, iirc) in cash, immediately. They freaked😀. He got his credit card.
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lulz, I have been denied on CC before. For some reason they think I am not credit worthy. Turns out they think I was still a student living at my parents' place based on some credit agency profile.

This despite my addr being different and my substantial paycheque was direct deposited into my account bi-weekly 😡
 
I think we might be getting overly caught up in the numbers in this article. I think it said they looked at 1900 people? (haven't read it since yesterday)...that's a pretty shitty sample when you consider the actual size of the population they are drawing a conclusion on.

Not that I doubt the stupidity of the general public or their inability to save any money mind you. But we should take the conclusions based on these numbers with a grain of salt.

Also the comments on this article are great. Bunch of people wining that they are broke yet they seem to have internet access and plenty of free time to post comments on news articles in the middle of the day.
 
sdifox said:
You need to quantify owner 😛

If you have a loan on the car or mortgage on your house, you don't own it ()🙂
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Wrong. If you check the title on a car with an outstanding loan under owner it will have your name. The loan holder just has a lien against it which is an entirely different thing from ownership. The more accurate thing to say would be that you do not own it free and clear of any liens that can be invoked should you cease paying for it.
 
Linflas said:
Wrong. If you check the title on a car with an outstanding loan under owner it will have your name. The loan holder just has a lien against it which is an entirely different thing from ownership. The more accurate thing to say would be that you do not own it free and clear of any liens that can be invoked should you cease paying for it.
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I am sorry, you borrowed money to buy the car. Until that is paid off, you don't own it. I don't really care about the particular instrument used to secure the loan.
 
I keep about 2 months in checking and 6 months in savings. Was thinking about moving some over to stocks but feel like I missed a good year.
 
SunnyD said:
I sure can. It's called "Ignoring Collection Agencies."
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Thought exercise... I already own a house and a car, and I have enough income that I will probably not need to borrow a large amount of money again.

What happens if I run up about $6k in credit card debt, and then just refuse to repay it? Will the cc company take me to court and try to get a judgment against me? Can they garnish my wages? Or are they more likely to just eat the loss and report it to the bureaus (transunion etc.)?
 
Blackjack200 said:
.....
What happens if I run up about $6k in credit card debt, and then just refuse to repay it? Will the cc company take me to court and try to get a judgment against me? Can they garnish my wages? Or are they more likely to just eat the loss and report it to the bureaus (transunion etc.)?
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CC debt = unsecured debt, unlike home or car debt.

If you don't pay your CC debt, the CC company would write it off and pass it on to collection agency and they would try to collect it from you. If the amount is large enough and worth their while, collection agency would sue you.

Of course, your credit score would be trash.
 
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I usually keep 2000+ balance in my checking account, but I have another account with about 2000 in case of evergencies...

Scotteq said:
RULE #1 OF HOME OWNERSHIP: "If It Breaks, Fixing It Will Cost $2,000.00"
Know this, if you ever intend on buying your own place.
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Ehh, #1 rule of home ownership, when it breaks, fix it yourself, in most cases, it won't cost $2000+.
 
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