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SHOW DESCRIPTION
Are you constantly in EMERGENCY mode? Does every day feel like, “What could possibly happen next?” Are you constantly scrambling for money and having to make decisions that feel like a set back in your financial plan?
Today I am talking about the emergency fund. I believe that the emergency fund is a personally funded and stored insurance policy. It’s what keeps the bad things away or turns the bad things into irritations over financial disasters!
In today’s episode I will use my sarcasm and humor in an attempt to convince or motivate you to start today! Save that emergency fund!
Disclaimer: First let me remind you that I am NOT a financial expert, a financial advisor, nor do I hold any certifications or titles in finance to include a degree. I am merely a man with life experience and an opinion about how to handle your money and ideas for building and growing your wealth. I suppose it’s my obligation to tell you that for expert and professional guidance always consult what the laws state as “proper professionals” in any area that you are making financial decisions.
Secondly, I will remind you that I use humor and sarcasm to bring my message of encouragement and inspiration to get your butt in gear and start winning with money. If it offends you, just move on, find another voice that resonates with you. If you enjoy this, great! Stick around for many more to come!
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- First, reminders of the daily decisions many of us make that cause us to lose and why winning includes an emergency fund
- Ideas to win with the emergency fund
- An urgency to get the emergency fund going, ASAP!
GET THE FULL SHOW NOTES
If you are interested in the entire show notes or script for today’s episode of @successby1000wins, you can access this by going to – https://successby1000wins.com/episode5
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4 – Can’t Stop Over Spending? This One’s For You
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SHOW NOTES
(Unedited Show Notes/Script – NOT intended nor is permission given to replicate or use for own financial gain without consent or permission of owner)
EPISODE #5 – Another Emergency
Hello and welcome to the Success by 1,000 Wins Podcast. The show that encourages you to succeed with your money one win at a time. (property of @successby1000wins) I’m your host, Michael Kopans. And I invite you to join me each week as I give you actionable wins for your finances that help you to reach a millionaire dollar net worth. I have studied and learned from the greats. Money principles which I have implemented into my own life.
The millionaires have spoken and I have listened. The clues are out there. They have left the trail of breadcrumbs. The principles for financial success have been carved in stone. And they are achieved by one win at a time.
My belief is that winning, or wins, helps us succeed with our money. Sometimes it takes 10 wins, sometimes it takes 100 wins, sometimes 1,000. Succeeding takes consistency and an obsession to succeed, an obsession to carry on even when things get hard. (property of @successby1000wins) Even when things seem to be going backwards or they seem like you haven’t moved forward in awhile.
As I’ve said before, I don’t want you to stop, I don’t want you to give up because YOU don’t want to give up. Sometimes we fall down, so do I. I promise you I have seen some LOW times in my life. And we need to get back up again. What was that famous line in Batman? Why do we fall down Bruce? So we can learn to get back up again. When you fall, I want to be there to help and encourage you back up.
Ah, life’s emergencies.
One after another. The tires need replaced. A light comes on in the car. Some dental work needs done. A medical thing for the dog. Something breaks in the house. A sick relative you need to visit. It’s time to pay that yearly car insurance. Some taxes are due. Christmas is quickly approaching.
I don’t know about you but, these emergencies…are…awesome!
Oh, yea! I LOVE surprises.
I’m that guy. I LOVE a good surprise. Surprise parties. Surprise visits from a friend. A surprise gift from the spouse. A surprise hug from the kids.
If it’s a surprise…sign me up!
Something about that feeling inside your mind where your brain just starts screaming as if someone just took a hand held frother and started swirling your brain around.
That feeling in your stomach where it feels like a 20lb weight was at the top of your stomach and a lever just snapped so it drops to the bottom of your stop.
It’s…great!
It’s like you fell on the sidewalk and instead of helping you up, a few passer byers kick you while you’re down.
The world feels like it’s going to collapse, because CLEARLY the world revolves around us, and…why shouldn’t the world collapse when something happens to…us.
Well, there ARE alternatives to emergencies but, I’m not quite sure I want to share them with you.
Personally, I’m proud of you going through emergencies that make you want to go into a room and ball your head off. Or to wish you had a bathroom you could lock yourself into so you can just SCREAM!
Those are the TRUE exciting moments in life, aren’t they?
Isn’t that what the journeys are about?
I mean…you’re kind of like a firefighter – constantly putting out fires in your own life.
Why WOULD I want to share alternatives to this type of lifestyle?
I’m jealous of the excitement that lingers in the back of your mind everyday, wondering, what could possibly happen today?
First off, why would I suggest that you begin by paying off your debt first? I mean, debt…is…awesome! Am I right?
You’re committing your wealth to someone else before the next month even begins? Heck, most of us are committing our wealth to someone for the next seven YEARS! How awesome is that?
I mean, I understand that if you could free up $1000 in your monthly budget, you’d probably sleep a little better at night but, those bags (property of: @successby1000wins) under your eyes…I like them.
They’re like your trophy you won for all of the pain and stress in your life. Why would you want to ditch those guys?
Sending a $1000 a month to the car payment, school loan and credit card? Why would I suggest you cut them out of your life?
They’re like family. They love you SO much they not only harass you if you miss a payment, they also tack on a TON of interest and late fees.
I don’t know about you… sounds like true love to me.
Sinking fund
I have to admit, my wife and I have been debt free since 2020, it ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Look, we sleep better at night but, frankly I miss the anxiety attacks that made me sweat and my heart beat 200 miles per hour that would arise out of the blue at 2 in the morning.
Those felt like roller coaster rides.
Then there’s the emergency fund. Having a $1,000 in the bank to cover those random car situations like the “check engine” light or issues with a tire that cause you to FREAK out and get 4 new ones the second the auto repair shop tells you.
I mean, it’s pretty seeing 3 zeros at the end of a one but…I miss those days that as a grown man I just wanted to cry. There’s something SO empowering about having moments that make you want to turn into a 7 year old weeping girl.
I understand that 1k in the bank would help with SO many of my problems but, I kind of like keeping my problems around.
I mean… what the hey would I talk about on my dates? What would me and the spouse actually have to talk about if we didn’t have problems?
Our hopes and dreams? That’s about the stupidest thing.
And then after I pay off my debt, to crank that emergency fund up to six months worth of expenses? I don’t know, sounds pretty reckless and irresponsible to me.
Why would anyone want to be (property of: @successby1000wins) in a position where they have so much in the bank that emergencies are no longer emergencies? Who lives like that?
Frankly, emergencies make me feel like Indiana Jones or… Laura Croft. Any chance to feel like Angelina Jolie dressed in a skin tight outfit kicking bad guy butt…sign me up!
Emergency funds… those are for wussies. Not me. I like seeing my face age 10 years past my true age.
And lastly, a sinking fund? C’mon! ACTUALLY suggesting to an individual to begin projecting and preparing for common future emergencies?
You mean like, save a little each month toward replacing tires in the future? That’s about the dumbest thing I’ve heard since they created Alexa.
Begin planning in January for Christmas in 11 months? Who does that? Why would you suggest I save a little each month for Christmas when throwing it impulsively on the cc and getting slapped with 26% interest feels WAY better.
I don’t know. Something about the depression and anxiety that comes with the new year and the 2k I just threw on the credit cards. It’s just not something I ready to part with.
I mean, I’ve been doing this for 15 YEARS! It’s sorta like a family tradition now.
Anticipating emergencies or large bills I can expect in the next 6 to 12 months and storing away enough money to cover them? Man. Just seems like something a 5 year old would do.
I’m not 5. I’m forty wu… I mean, thirty…nine? Why would I live such a responsible life?
I mean, I working on leaving a legacy for my kids bro. A life of debt, stress, worry, anxiety. That’s the legacy I’m building.
Live a life that makes my kids proud of me? Nah. Just don’t sound like my thing.
Model to my kids how you manage your wealth wisely and actually retire with dignity? Nah. I’d rather leave it to my kids to figure out how I survive in my retirement years.
Or perhaps the government. Because I KNOW they’ll take care of me.
Look, I appreciate your suggestions, I really do but, I didn’t ask for them.
I’m not trying to make my life easier? It’s already pretty easy. Frankly I was hoping life would punch me in the gut just a few more times.
That black eye I walk around with – life gave me that and I am SUPER proud of it.
Look, the new year is beginning. I KNOW that I’m going to have an issue with the car. I KNOW that something is going to happen to one of the dogs or that Christmas will be in 11 months but…
Those are just called… emergencies. That’s never going to change. It’s never going to change because then… I…would have to change and – no. No. That’s just not something I’m going to do.
Getting control of my finances? That just sounds like something out of a hallmark movie.
Woman and budget meet and they fall in love and live happily ever after.
Guy becomes responsible with his finances and they move to Italy.
Husband and wife start doing a budget together and their marriage heals.
Yuck! That just isn’t for me.
I live on the edge, my friend. I wake up daily SEEKING stress and anxiety. I mean, if I didn’t have it, what would happen to my anxiety meds? You mean… I’d have to throw them away?
Oh my friend, you’ve got “emergency king” written all over your forehead and it looks GREAT on you. Keep on losing my friends.
I know some of us are out there succeeding, one win at a time. We are seeing success by 1,000 wins but… not you. You are crushing it and you should wear that loser status proudly. Pin it up on a wall.
Don’t bother taking control of your money.
Look, when the jokes are all done and you’ve had your fill of it, in the end, I believe in you. Someone in your life believes in you.
If I can do it, you can do it. (property of: Success by 1,000 Wins You’re not the first one to feel like a loser and you won’t be the last. If you know how to lose, guess what that means, you also know how to win.
So, go out there and be successful one win at a time. Even if it takes 1,000 steps. Go have success by 1,000 wins!
FEATURED IMAGE: Photo by Marcel Eberle on Unsplash
@successby1000wins money budget debt free budgeting win success diy emergency fund financial goals tips hacks
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Kopans is here to share ideas for helping 1 million people reach a million dollar net worth by using money principles he’s learned over the years. Let’s talk money, budgets, becoming debt free, financial wisdom, financial principles that work.
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