Do you have enough set aside in your emergency fund?

The Wall Street Journal reported that unemployed office workers are having a harder time finding new jobs.  This caught my attention:

“On average, it now takes people about 6 months to find a job.”

I previously wrote about how if you’re a woman and / person of color, you should probably have more than the “standard” three months saved up in an emergency fund.  As a reminder, an emergency fund is typically meant to encompass your essentials should you find yourself out of work.  Things like housing are usually top of mind, but don’t forget any other regular payments that are priorities for you.  This can mean student loans, car payments, healthcare expenses, childcare, and etc.  When I wrote this article in 2023, I recommended 9 - 12 months.  This guidance in this context of this latest WSJ data seems prescient.  

 The new year is a popular time for a variety of resolutions.  Our emergency funds might be a great first place to start.  It’s an area that I have been prone to setting and forgetting.  I try to practice good savings hygiene by re-evaluating when: (1) my salary changes or (2) my rent or mortgage changes.  If, after doing a revision, you find that your emergency fund is short of goals, don’t panic.  Commit to setting aside an incremental additional portion of your paycheck towards your savings goals.  If this is not possible, consider re-allocating.  Hint: is there an unused streaming subscription that you can divert payments from?

 Here’s a few other things I’m keeping an eye on:

• Netflix announced that it has exclusive rights to stream the Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031. I wrote about the women’s advertising and media rights opportunity earlier this year.  Articles like this one about shoe partnerships with female basketball stars continue to shine a light on the untapped opportunity in women’s sports.

• The rising cost of home ownership seems like it only affects the small bubble we live in.  but this article in the WSJ highlighted how housing affordability, and inflation more broadly, is truly a global phenomenon.  Would you have guessed that Latvia is the European country with the greatest reduction in affordability?

• It costs almost $800 to online stream a full NFL season.  That’s it, that’s the line.

Coming up:

• New Money Memories featuring a talented, female Latin American fintech founder of Prometeo will be airing Wednesday January 15th. It will be available wherever you listen to podcasts as well as my website.

• I’ll also share my take on the implications of the California fires on home property insurance.

Enjoying the newsletter? Help me grow! If you’ve found value here, share it with your friends, colleagues, or anyone who’d benefit from fresh insights on money and technology. They can subscribe here. Let’s build this community together!