On average, I transferred $3,000 each month into my savings until I had a balance of $30,000. As a freelancer with an unstable income, and as someone living abroad and far from any relatives, having a generous emergency fund is even more important.
Then, there's cost-cutting. My preferred method is to decrease my fixed and necessary costs, such as rent, transportation, and food, rather than flexible costs like shopping and going for drinks. While it's important to keep both under control, I find that cutting out lattes just doesn't give me the big financial boost I'm going for.
I purchased our flights using credit card points and saved up $7,000 to cover both of our expenses during the trip. We planned to stay in budget accommodations and travel via low-cost buses and airlines, so I assumed this would be more than enough.As it turns out, being in Europe together for the first time, and all of the romance that accompanies that experience, made both of us feel more than a little lax about staying on budget.
Within a week of returning to our house, the transmission went out in our old car. The repairs would cost about $1,500, so I logged on to my savings account and made the transfer. My balance was now down $4,500. But wait, there's more! What's worse, my biggest client had put a project on hold indefinitely. Plus, the holidays were fast approaching, which is a time of year when it's notoriously difficult to find work due to waning budgets and editors being out of the office.
Such a smart idea! We believe saving and having emergency funds are extremely important
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