It has been two weeks since our Philippine government declared enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila, as well as the nearby cities and provinces, yet the Covid19 cases are still rising exponentially. This is a pandemic case we are all not prepared for, starting from the government to the majority of the households, and even most parts of the world.
Due to the enhanced community quarantine, many businesses are shut down, public transport is not allowed to operate, and there is a dramatic economic impact which is brought about by this virus. Those who really suffer in this pandemic economically are those who live by daily wages, minimum wage earners and those who are in the marginalized society. People have brought their despair, frustration, and distrust with how this pandemic is being handled by our government in social media.
While most of us are battling to treat patients who are infected with the virus, frontliners braving the unknown every day, others extending help and showing generosity amidst the crisis, the majority of the Filipinos are slowly dying of hunger. I know this is not the proper time to point fingers at who is accountable, but please note that we are the ones accountable for how we live our lives. Again, the majority of us are not prepared for any of this, but did you know if most of us are just financially literate, we will not cry out loud and beg for any of the government and private sectors for help?
Have you ever heard of the Emergency/Contingency Fund? Not many of us know this, we still choose not to save and prepare for this because of the old wife's tale coined with this idea. That's when you save for emergency fund, one if not, most of your family members will get sick. So saving is really not a priority nor practice to most of the households especially in the marginalized sectors. While others would say, they could hardly get by the day, they definitely cannot save up for the rainy days. Just take into consideration how many households have insurances? Those that pay and save up for their retirement? For their funeral? For the college fund of their kids?
So what is this Emergency Fund and how much do we really need it?
Emergency Fund--from the word itself, emergency. Life has a lot of uncertainties and we never want untoward things to happen, but it is always best that we are prepared. It may be a job loss, medical expenses or just basically anything that is an unforeseen circumstance that involves money.
How much do we save for it? The first step is you need to determine your cash flow. Evaluate how much you can set aside to build your emergency fund. Then you need to determine your monthly expense. The amount of your emergency fund should be at least three to six months’worth of your monthly expenses. Of course, this will depend again on the lifestyle of each household. This should cover your monthly bills, rent, medical bills (anything that is not covered by insurance) and sudden indispensable expenses.
Where do we save it? Emergency Fund should be in the form of quick assets. This can be deposited in banks. You can also use a portion of the funds to invest in stocks. But then again, it will really depend on you.
Please note that Emergency Fund is not supposed to be spent on leisure trips, dispensable expenses like (new gadgets).
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