Emergency Funds

It's very important that you make an Emergency Savings Account a priority, even before your short-term and long-term savings goals.

The number one reason most students drop out of college is finances. Whether it's living beyond your means or having to go into debt to cover an unforeseen event.

Ideally, you should have at least 3 to 6 months of your living expenses set aside in a savings account.This is a lot easier to do if you keep your expenses to aminimum. While you're in college there will be many times when you are short of cash. Embrace your student poverty! Learn how to live on the cheap. That way, when you graduate, you can use all the money you've saved instead of having to crawl out of debt.

Emergency Funds vs. Short-Term Disability Insurance

You could purchase short-term disability insurance like AFLAC that allows you to pay a premium every month, but what happens to all that money if you never get hurt? They use it to feed the Duck.

If, instead, you deposit that money into an emergency savings account and you're fortunate enough to never have to use it, what happens to the money? It's still yours! And it's been earning interest for you all that time.