Emergency Cash Tips

What to do when you are desperate for money?

At least once in every person’s life comes a time when the need is great and the resources are few. It can be hard enough to make ends meet on a decent wage, but, when the times get tough and the money just is not there to meet the need, a person can easily despair.

If you are hit with a serious money crisis and you find yourself scrambling around for emergency money, here’s how to assess your situation and get back on your feet.

• Take on a hobby that you can translate into dollars. Can you walk a neighborhood dog? Teach basket weaving? Host a dining room? Baby-sit for your sister’s kids? Do Computer graphics? Consider which of your talents might be worth a few extra bucks and then go out there and do it.

• Take on a part-time job. The holidays are soon coming up, and many people supplement their salaries with part-time retail jobs. Just don’t spend it all on holiday gifts and be sure to bank it into your savings.

• Spend more wisely. We all have our own ways of wasting money. Now see how you can eliminate the ones that you wouldn’t miss. Just saving the dollar you would normally spend on that cup of coffee each day adds up.

• Borrow from a trusted friend or relative. The interest rate is low to nil, the cash is quick—but guilt is even higher. Be sure you have a plan for how you’re going to pay back the loan even before you approach them.

Nowhere to go but up

You can spend your precious time crying in your milk wondering why you have been singled out in this way or you can get busy and look at how this could have happened to you in the first place. You will need to face some touch answers if you want to avoid future financial crises.

Suffering a serious financial crisis is an excellent time to self-assess. Ask yourself where you went wrong, where you’re not paying attention—and how you might be setting yourself up for future financial setbacks. Understanding the answers to these important questions will help you out next time around should the same befall you.

Be prepared before the crisis starts. You won’t be able to anticipate every time a financial burden lands in your lap, but, if you want to be cushioned against it, you have to anticipate the unanticipated.

Be very careful. An emergency fund is set up for . . . emergencies. It’s not supposed to be depleted on a whim and every month. Take a closer look at your expenses these last few months, and if you have had to lean heavily on your emergency account to pad your budget, it’s time to rethink your money management issues and in a hurry.

Pay special attention. Take a page out of this lady’s book…she noticed that her towels were slightly singed when she took them out of the dryer one day. Instead of calling the repair guy, she shrugged it off—until the next load caused her entire house to go up in flames. We all have these same moments where we glimpse a potential crisis hovering on the horizon and do nothing until it is all too late. Pay attention to the smaller details and avoid the larger calamities.

Plan further ahead. Your clutch is likely going to give out every 80,000 miles or so. The roof can give out every 15 to 20 years. A vacuum cleaner might give up the dust in as much as five. Avoid the obvious and pay excessively later. It is your call.

Your five-year-old desktop is getting creaky. You could wait until it dies. However, according to Murphy’s Law of Money, it will expire at the worst possible moment. Either way, paying for a new computer might not be part of the budget so planning ahead gives you some control over when you take the hit. Start to plan today for what you know will be coming—come hell or high water. Plan smartly for the inevitable.