You’ve never had a really truly emergency, have you? One that wipes out your entire emergency fund.
Yes, I have had emergencies and yes some have been very expensive. Let me offer a concrete example.
In baby step 1 of Dave’s Total Money Makeover plan, one is supposed to have a baby emergency fund of $1K. No more, no less. I won’t go into the “why” for that amount unless you are curious.
Well, I had a problem with my water heater mid month and could have used my EF to get it fixed. Instead, I found a way to cobble it up and light it every morning to warm the water for a shower. That got me through the month. I just made sure to have the water heater repair work put into my budget that following month.
The kicker is that with that mindset, I then had time to “shop” plumbers to find the best overall value for the dollars I was spending.
Now I have a fully funded EF that is the equivalent of 6 months worth of expenses for me. I have found that now I very rarely have true emergencies. Instead, I have inconveniences. You will also find that Murphy doesn’t visit as often when you have an emergency fund in place.