Anonymous wrote:Hm. A bonus is money promised to me but not guaranteed that I don't have yet so it is not money I would ever count on. I would not get into debt assuming you can cover it with a bonus you might get months from now.

Seriously

Your bonus might end up as the DC equivalent of The Jelly of the Month Club

Hm. A bonus is money promised to me but not guaranteed that I don't have yet so it is not money I would ever count on. I would not get into debt assuming you can cover it with a bonus you might get months from now.

My take:

1. Take out a no-fee HELOC now (assuming you can find one), while you have cash in the bank and will safely qualify.

2. Pay with cash, keeping a minimum amount of ~2k cash on hand in the event you need some small cash float. If a balance left, put on HELOC.

3. In the event of a need for emergency fund between now and bonus, *then* use the HELOC to fund that.

This gives you the flexibility you want by having more borrowing capacity. But keeps the cost of capital lower, as the HELOC costs will exceed the interest you'd get, especially when factoring in taxes.

Anonymous wrote:Isn't the point of an emergency fund to pay for things instead of having to do a heloc?

THis!!

Then build a bigger emergency fund for the future, and cut costs elsewhere for 6 months to rebuild the emergency fund ASAP

My only advice is never count on your annual bonus

Did you not watch Christmas Vacation?!?

I have credit cards that give me $70k cash in days for 4-5% a year. They have been that generous for decades. I'm a low wage worker with long excellent credit history.
You have a home and a job that pays bonus, but credit card companies won't give you cash?
Get a Discover card. It takes two cards to get $20k. Then you pay one off and/or transfer for fee and continue the 0% til it's paid off.

No job is guaranteed.