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49 Expenses that are not emergencies

Emergency Room

My wife operates a swim coaching business. From time to time, she teaches clients at a local gym. Her membership was set to expire last week. The salesman offered a great deal for both her and I to sign a three year agreement.

First, I could stand to spend some time at the gym. However, in order to pay for my membership (all due upfront), we would have had to use our emergency fund. I’ll be honest, I was very tempted to make the deal. However, it suddenly dawned on me,  “This is not an emergency!” Although I would enjoy working out with my wife, a gym membership is not what my emergency fund exists for.

This simple event started me thinking about what other things we as consumers are tempted to spend our emergency fund money on that aren’t actually emergencies. So I have created a list of expenses that should not be paid for with money from your emergency fund. I attempted to group them for easier reading.

Disclaimer: I’m not saying you should not buy any of things listed below. Rather, I’m saying that you should save for them and not use an emergency fund.

49 Non-emergency expenses

Activities

  1. Date night
  2. Vacation
  3. Bungee jumping
  4. Sky diving
  5. Tuition
  6. Community classes (karate, art, etc)
  7. Crafts
  8. Clubbing

Entertainment / Electronics

  1. Books
  2. Magazines
  3. Music
  4. Movies
  5. Video games
  6. Laptop
  7. New iPhone 4 (unless you dropped yours in a bucket of soapy water)
  8. iPod
  9. iPad

Financial (unless you lose your job)

  1. Mortgage / rent
  2. Insurance premiums
  3. Debt (go ahead and argue with me)

Home

  1. Indoor plants
  2. Home decor
  3. Furniture
  4. Home improvement (not home repairs)
  5. Artwork
  6. KitchenAid mixer

Outdoors

  1. Tools
  2. Lawn care
  3. Outdoor plants
  4. Vegetable garden
  5. Grill
  6. Charcoal (is there any other way to grill?)
  7. Camping gear
  8. Tent

Personal

  1. Gym membership (-sigh-)
  2. Clothes
  3. Accessories (shoes, purses, etc)
  4. Make-up
  5. Exercise gear
  6. Gifts
  7. Art supplies

Random

  1. Firearms (unless there is a zombie epidemic)
  2. Ammo
  3. Musical instruments
  4. Purchase a car
  5. Car seat

Things you shouldn’t waste any money on, ever

  1. Gambling
  2. Alcohol
  3. Cigarettes

Hopefully this list gives you an idea of ways you shouldn’t use your emergency fund. When using your emergency fund, stop and ask yourself, “Do I really need to have this item/service? Am I willing to trade my financial security for this item/service? Is there another way that I can pay for this? Can it wait until I save up the money?” You may just find yourself putting the item back on the shelf.

Is there anything that you would add to the list?


Tags: | Filed under Saving Money, Cash Management, Featured


5 Responses to “49 Expenses that are not emergencies”

  1. Moneymonk says:

    LOL, funny —–> Indoor plants

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  1. fwisp.com says:

    49 Expenses that are not emergencies…

    A list of 49 expenses that should not be paid for with money from your emergency fund….

  2. […] – Not everyone thinks that every word that drips from Dave’s mouth is manna from heaven.49 Expenses that are not emergencies – People like lists.6 More ways to stop overspending and save money – With tough […]

  3. […] One area that my wife and I personally struggle with is eating out. We don’t spend a lot of money on clothes or electronics. We don’t even own a TV. However, we really enjoy eating out. Sometimes it’s because we don’t have time to prepare a meal, but mostly, it’s because we enjoy getting out and eating good food. The problem is that we tend to blow through our Dining Out budget pretty fast. In fact, we rarely stay within that budget. We have to pay for our over-eating out from another budget area or from savings. If we use savings, then we are putting ourselves at risk by dipping into the emergency fund. […]


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