Building an Emergency Fund for the Day The World Has Gone Mad

If you ask any financial advisor, they're going to champion the value of an emergency fund. It is wise advice that the team here at MIRA Safety supports as preparedness comes in many forms. You might experience job loss or an unexpected expense like a car repair and that emergency cushion will come in very handy when you are living paycheck to paycheck. While it is indeed a great idea to start saving and set aside that money, any prepper worth their salt has to acknowledge the limitation of the American dollar. Currently it is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. Which leads us to consider, what happens when the SHTF and that government is no longer functioning to back it. At that point, you're better off using the greenback as toilet paper. So, let's talk about how to create an emergency fund for the day the world has gone mad.

What is an Emergency Fund and Why Do You Need to Start Saving?

First let's briefly discuss your traditional rainy day fund. This is cash that you can keep in your checking account or savings account in case you lose your job while simultaneously having to cover something like pricey home repairs. 

The money is typically going to hit your account via direct deposit from a company payroll and your job is to basically not spend it. That's why people typically move it over to savings and keep it liquid. The money could sit in a higher yield account, but typically where you're earning high-interest, the money is most often locked up for a period of time. 

Liquidity is a key feature of such a fund as you need to be ready to cover three to six months' worth of expenses at any given moment. The only problem is that if there is a run on the banks or a potential scenario like the 2008 financial meltdown, your money is not as safe as you would think. It is still a wise and prudent planning tool, but now we are going to get into its limitations. 

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How to Access Your Emergency Savings in an Actual Emergency

So you've got three to six months of living expenses saved up and an EMP hits the grid. Or, there's been a run on the banks and though civil order is breaking down there's the National Guard at the entry of the bank preventing withdrawals. 

We've become so accustomed to moving money with the touch of a finger on an iPhone that many young people don't even know how to fill out a withdrawal slip at the bank. When technology fails us, it doesn't matter how much you're saving in the bank if you can't access it. 

Finally, if the government of the United States should cease to function you have literally put all your eggs in one basket. As such, the serious prepper has to start thinking in terms of liquidity, ease of access, and actual value when the SHTF. 

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How to Keep Your Emergency Fund Liquid

First of all, keep in mind that this is a preparedness blog and not a financial advice blog. None of this should take the place of the advice of your professional advisors. If they tell you to put the money in a high-yield savings account or money market account, by all means, heed their advice. 

We are trying to get you to consider an approach that is highly valued in the financial world and that is diversification. Keep some money with your credit union, but what else should you be considering? First, let's take liquidity. 

There are few things more liquid than good hard cash. In a world of debit cards, few people have access to cash at any given moment. As such, there could be wisdom in keeping five months worth of funds with your institution of choice and one month of that fund in a home safe. 

A mason jar under your mattress would work just fine, but the key is that while others are running on the banks, you have money you can spend while it still has perceived value. If it is true and the SHTF moment is cataclysmic, you can even overpay for that first bus ticket out of dodge because you know the value of that currency is about to crash. 

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Create an Emergency Fund that is Diverse 

The value of the dollar being so precarious in catastrophic environments, it's now time to start thinking about diversification of the fund. Let's say you've already got a nice little nest egg in your fund and all of a sudden, you can an unexpected tax refund. 

Now, you could transfer that over electronically when it hits your account. However, with the surprise windfall, maybe it's time to start thinking about precious metals. Gold and silver have held their value throughout time and it is reasonable to conclude that they will hold their value when the dollar disappears. 

So now, maybe we're thinking 4 months in the bank, one month cash in a safe, and one month's worth of gold as well. Only because people don't know what to do with it anymore, gold can be seen as less liquid, but you can eventually sell it in an emergency. 

Build your emergency fund under the premise that not everything you save will have value in the future. It's not even a bad idea to keep small amounts in foreign currency in case the crisis is limited to the United States of America. However, diversification is an essential element to any survivalists saving plan. 

Build an Emergency Fund Beyond Monetary Limitations

Currently on the MIRA Safety website, we sell Potassium Iodide Tablets for around $20 bucks. These are emergency radiation pills that are necessary for survival in a post nuclear strike environment. Should they be necessary, you have to ask yourself what will be more valuable at the time? Money or life saving medicine?

You'll not only need them for your family, but the frightened public will be clamoring for them. Enter supply and demand. If you have an ample supply of what people will need in a post SHTF world, you have a prepper's emergency fund. 

Take into account items with little monetary value today into your savings goal. How can you acquire items like ammunition, water, and medicine in sustainable amounts where you can become the Warren Buffet of the bartering universe. Ask the millionaires and celebrities fleeing the wildfires in LA just how much money they'd be willing to part with for any form of gas mask or respirator right now? 

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How to Save When You're Living Paycheck to Paycheck

The entire premise put in this work is that an emergency fund can help those who really need the help. Saving isn't only for the rich and neither is prepping. That's why we do our best to keep our products affordable as every family deserves the right to be prepared. 

As such, it doesn't matter whether it is an unplanned medical bill or a California wildfire, there are actions you can take today to start an emergency fund that is diverse and ready for the task at hand. That's because a little today adds up to a lot tomorrow if you take action. 

If you don't have at least two months of expenses in an emergency savings account, now would be a good time to start. Take $20 bucks here, $10 bucks there and start putting it away. We can't tell you how much to save, but get started somewhere. 

The same is true for prepping materials. If you have a family of 5, but you can only afford one gas mask, then start with one. Sure, if the SHTF tomorrow, four of you would be out of luck. However, in a year, you're all covered. We don't really care how you prep, just get started prepping. 

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Don't Forget To Diversify As You Build Financial Security

It's a great feeling as you start to see your checking and savings with larger sums of money, but don't be enticed all the Benjamins. Remember, good ole Ben Franklin maybe nothing but toilet paper when you need it most. So, start diversifying as your accounts grow. 

If you just put $500 into savings last month, why not spend $500 on ammunition this month. If you got $1,000 back from your tax return, maybe that's $300 in the bank, $300 in silver, and one kick-ass CM-8M Full Face Respirator. 

Accumulating money is just one way to save for an unplanned expense. Determine how much money you need to save to survive a crisis and how much non-money you would need if that money had no value.

Survival will be a game played by those who knew how to diversify and prepared for the day where no on is coming to save them. Your checking and savings accounts give you comfort today, but don't forget about the day when they have no value or you cannot access them. A true safety net means way more than cash flow if you want to help protect those you love most. Prepare, diversify, and prepare some more.

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