It appears as though The Simpsons have a money jar. Many people have a jar that they use to hold emergency funds, and money that they are saving for some family or other shared goal. One of the problems with the money jar, as you can see, is that it is easy to access, meaning that when cash is wanted, the first place family members go is the money jar.
In my family, we do have some cash around, just in case. When natural disasters strike, you might need cash, but you might be unable to get it from the bank …read more

If your household’s lifestyle pushes you to keep spending income several months into the future, to live beyond your means and to rely heavily on credit cards, you probably have a credit score below 600. This puts the interest on your credit cards higher than 18% or at least an addtional annual expense of more than $2000 for every thousand dollars of credit card balance. This does not include penalties for late payments which you probably incur for almost every bill. This adds another $1440 to your annual expense for every thousand dollars of late payment.
So, set …read more

If your household’s lifestyle pushes you to keep spending income several months into the future (i.e., live beyond your means and rely heavily on credit cards) and are unable to save at least 5% of your monthly income, you are in DANGER.
You are living on the edge of a financial disaster. If any kind of emergency hits, you will need cash in a hurry; i.e., sudden sickness in the household (not covered by insurance or company benefit), a disaster such as a fire (even a small one which will need some repairs), a fire at your neighbor’s house which …read more