"Save three to six months of expenses." Easy to say if you get the same salary on the same day every month. Much harder if you drive for a ride app, run a small shop, farm, freelance, or depend on remittance that doesn't always come on time.
Most people in Nepal fall into that second group, so this post is for them.
Start embarrassingly small
Forget six months for now. Aim for Rs 10,000. Then Rs 25,000. Then one month of basic household costs. Small targets you can actually reach do more for your motivation than a big one that feels impossible.
Budget on your worst month, not your best
Look back at the last 6–12 months and find a low-income month (not the very worst, but a bad one). Build your basic budget around that number. In a normal month you'll have money left over. In a good month you'll have a lot left over.
Then make a simple rule before the money arrives, for example: "In any month I earn more than Rs 40,000, half of the extra goes to the emergency fund." Decide while you're calm. If you wait until the money is in your hand, it's very easy to justify spending it.
Where to keep it
Somewhere boring and easy to reach: a savings account at a bank you trust, ideally separate from the account your debit card is linked to. Not shares, not a cooperative promising 14%, and not lent to a friend. The whole point of this money is that it's there the day you need it.
The cooperative crisis of the last few years taught many families this the hard way. Money they thought was safe got stuck for months or years.
Decide what counts as an emergency
Write it down if you need to. Hospital bills, job loss and urgent repairs count. A phone upgrade, a Pokhara trip or a "good IPO" don't.
And when you do use the fund, don't feel guilty. That's what it's for. Just start topping it up again next month.
General information, not personal financial advice. Rules, rates and fees change, so check with the official source before you act.
No comments:
Post a Comment