Any kind of disaster that costs hundreds or thousands of dollars after one of you has lost your wallet and you have had to cancel your credit cards. What are you going to do when you lose your wallet on vacation and you have to pay for your hotel stay, car rental, and vacation plans including eating out without credit cards for 24-48 hours it takes after they freeze your cards and before you get your overnighted rushed replacement card (which some CC companies won't do anymore). Or if you are at home and you are the victim of identity fraud and are contacted by your credit card companies because someone has been making fraudulent purchases on your CC's and they are freezing them and sending you new ones, then you have a pipe burst, the water heater collapse, the furnace break in the middle of winter or the A/C in the middle of a heat wave?

When I think of "emergency" I think of sudden, unexpected, and large $ amount. Most likely would fall under the following categories:

-job loss
-death of immediate family member
-serious illness
-natural disaster

My emergency money is probably more tied up than most people's. But I figure in most cases I'd have time to pay for that emergency (job loss usually involves notice, for example). For illness, bills usually take awhile to arrive. Natural disaster would probably involve a smaller amount of money in the short term (hotels, gas, etc.), and more in the long-term (fixing a house, moving, etc.).

But if I absolutely needed money immediately, I have a high credit limit on my credit card. If I cannot use my credit card, I have a home equity line of credit I can write a large check against. That's the plan anyway.

major emergency: Something makes my home uninhabitable, need medical evacuation

minor emergency: need emergency car repair while traveling, or end up in an ER someplace which won't honor my health insurance

Anonymous wrote:You wake up covered in blood next to a murdered prostitute, with no recollection of the events of the previous 48 hours.

In a situation like this, you want to be able to wrap your towel around you, withdraw $50k, and get the hell outta Dodge.

Trust me.

black friday sale at nordstroms

I think you may be overstating this. I've seen people advise not to keep too much emergency money locked up in CDs, but I don't recall ever seeing online savings accounts described as no readily accessible.

My emergency funds are at Vanguard, in funds on which I can write a check immediately.

You wake up covered in blood next to a murdered prostitute, with no recollection of the events of the previous 48 hours.

In a situation like this, you want to be able to wrap your towel around you, withdraw $50k, and get the hell outta Dodge.

Trust me.

Any account you can write a check against is fine. Keeping a few days walking around cash is a good idea, too.

Emergency to me is 9/11 or a matural disaster when banks were closed for days, credit card machines were down and I needed cash. Now I keep some cash on hand at all times. Enough for a hotel room for a fee nights, food and gas.

Yeah we keep real emergency funds in CDs and vanguard. There is some cash for car repairs etc in a savings account. A real emergency: serious car repairs, house fire/flood, loss of job, some sort of medical diagnosis that requires specialists that dont take insurance and require upfront payment. I guess not everyone has high credit limits or there are things you can't put on a card like a mortgage?

Not many, which is why I don't mind keeping the majority of the funds someplace where it might take a couple of days to access. I do think it's a good idea to split emergency funds between at least two different banks, in case on suffers a technical glitch. I also think one should keep enough cash on hand to pay for gas and groceries for a week or two, in case something disrupts card usage. An emergency-only $20 in your purse and glove compartment are also good things to have.

Zombies. Who are persuaded to stay away by cash.

Anonymous wrote:When people post on here about emergency savings, some people say that it's not liquid if you can't immediately get to it. Immediately is then defined as the ability to drive to the bank and get your money. So places like Vanguard and Ally don't count.

What kind of emergency requires instantaneous cash? And a significant amount of it?

Personally I don't understand that either. I have some in bank accounts and a decent credit card limit, but most of my e-fund would take 3-5 days to access.

When people post on here about emergency savings, some people say that it's not liquid if you can't immediately get to it. Immediately is then defined as the ability to drive to the bank and get your money. So places like Vanguard and Ally don't count.

What kind of emergency requires instantaneous cash? And a significant amount of it?