海角大神

For many families,聽having an emergency fund聽sounds like wishful thinking.

One in three families 鈥� some with incomes of $100,000 or higher 鈥斅爏ay聽they don鈥檛 have聽one, according to a 2015 report from the Pew Charitable Trusts.聽

But if you don鈥檛 have聽at least a small聽, you鈥檒l be vulnerable to debt when you have an unexpected expense. And that makes these expenses even more costly. For example:

• Charging a聽$400 car repair adds聽$37 to the cost, assuming it takes nine months to pay off and your credit card鈥檚 annual percentage rate is聽21.99%.
• Resorting to聽a聽聽to cover the same car repair could add $60 or even more if you can鈥檛 pay it off within the first 14-day cycle.

There are options when you think your income isn鈥檛 enough to open an emergency fund. Bonuses and rewards, rethinking your bills or maximizing your tax refund聽can all help you get started.

Set goals and聽a budget

According to the聽, the median聽cost of surveyed聽households鈥� highest聽unexpected expense聽within the past year varied from聽$1,000 for those with lower incomes to聽$3,000 for those with higher incomes.

The ideal emergency fund covers three to six months of living expenses in case of job loss. But聽聽can keep you out of聽debt by covering car or household repairs, medical bills or rent. Here鈥檚 how to build that cushion:

MAKE A SAVINGS PLAN

This applies to all households regardless of income, but if you receive public benefits, ask your case manager about the amount you can save without聽affecting your assistance.

Find out where your money is going.聽Review your current spending patterns by sorting through your statements or downloading a free budgeting app.

Set specific short-term and long-term goals.聽For example, you might try to save聽$84 per month so you鈥檒l have聽$1,000 after聽one year.

MAKE ADJUSTMENTS

Rethink your bills and your budget. The right adjustments can free up $50 or more per month to go toward savings:

• Car insurance:聽Shop around for better deals. A 2015聽聽revealed that drivers can save an average of $859 per year by comparing rates聽at renewal time.
• Utilities:聽If you qualify, sign up for low-income assistance programs for gas, electricity or water bills.
• Home:聽Ask your landlord about renewing your rental agreement for six months or a year聽to lock in your current rent. If you鈥檙e a homeowner, consider refinancing your mortgage.
• Phone:聽Get a聽聽plan聽or find out聽if killing your landline will save you money.
• Transportation:聽Public transportation is usually cheaper than driving. If you need a car, though, mobile apps can help you avoid聽traffic 鈥� saving on gas and wear and tear 鈥� and locate cheap gas prices.
• Cable: Ditch your cable bill and opt for a cheaper聽subscription service, such as Netflix or Hulu.
• Gym or club membership: If you don鈥檛 use it, lose it.

Seize opportunities

Get creative about finding extra聽money, and then deposit it in聽your emergency fund.

Make your bank work for you.聽Switch to a聽low-fee checking account or ask聽if your bank or credit union waives monthly fees when you set up automatic聽transfers to savings. You might get a bonus of between聽聽for switching banks, but read the fine print to make sure the new account鈥檚 ongoing fees won鈥檛 offset your bonus.聽Understand that bonuses are considered taxable income, as are聽debit cash-back rewards. You can also use credit card cash-back rewards to start a fund, but avoid cards with rewards聽unless you can skip the annual fee.聽

Know your tax credits.聽Tax preparation software, a tax professional or a tax-prep volunteer can help you check out聽available tax credits. Your refund can be an easy way to start saving for emergencies. Look into the earned income聽tax聽credit,聽a tax credit for low- and moderate-income earners, and find out whether you鈥檙e owed聽unclaimed money from recent tax years. The聽child tax credit聽can be worth as much as $1,000 per聽child depending on your income level.

Take advantage of聽rewards聽and coupons.聽To free up money to add to your emergency fund, sign up for loyalty programs at the stores you visit most.聽Browse the app store on your mobile device聽forapps聽that alert you to low prices or coupons. Use聽聽only聽for things you need, or you might be tempted to spend more.

Start small

Start wherever you can, even if all you have is聽loose change. If you can save even $1 a day, you鈥檒l be on your way to聽$365 in a year.

As聽your emergency fund grows, keep it聽off limits. It鈥檚 tempting to pull out $100 when you鈥檙e low on cash, but it鈥檒l cost you in the long run if you must borrow聽to cover emergencies.

When your emergency fund comes through for you,聽it will get聽easier to prioritize and rebuild it.聽After the first $1,000, you鈥檒l be in the habit of saving and may even find a聽$2,000 goal doable.

Melissa Lambarena is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email:聽mlambarena@nerdwallet.com. Twitter:聽.

This story originally appeared on .