How to Rebuild Your Emergency Fund

Home Blog How to Rebuild Your Emergency Fund

Posted On: October 14, 2019 by Peoples Bank of Kankakee County in: Budget Saving

It finally happened - you had to spend your emergency fund. The good news is you had a fund, but the bad news is you spent it. Where do you go from here and how do you rebuild what you had? We wanted to offer some insight on ways you can begin to rebuild your emergency fund for the next rainy day.

Say ‘Bye’ To The Unnecessary

That gym membership and extra show subscription will have to be canceled for now. You can get by without, as saving for the next emergency is more important than having Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and HBO all at once. Find the right balance though, as it’s still okay to treat yourself every once in a while with a small expense.

Put Other Goals On Hold

If you were hoping to renovate your home or go on a big vacation, you still can, but maybe just wait a little. All that savings you were adding to that fund could partially be transferred into your new emergency account. It’s important to stay prepared, as you never know when the next disaster might strike.

Get A Side Gig

Acquiring another job can be very beneficial for making money quick. Use your marketing skills to do some work for clients on your own or wait tables for a few months. This will help you get back on track before you know it. Tutor, give music lessons, babysit, pet sit, dog walk or design wedding invitations - whatever your skills or availability, you can find a side gig that works for you.

Start Saying ‘No’

You don’t have to turn down every opportunity, but try to say ‘no’ here and there while rebuilding your funds. Should you be spending money on eating out if you already did it once this week? No. Should you spend money on a new outfit or tickets if you already treated yourself this month? No. Be a little more stingy while saving again, as it’ll come in handy the faster you replenish your fund if something happens suddenly.

Sell Something

You have plenty of clothes and decor that are no longer of use to you. There are probably old electronics lying around as well that you don’t use anymore. See what you can sell online or bring to a thrift store for a couple of bucks. You’re decluttering and adding money to your account - we couldn’t be more proud of you!

Don’t let this minor setback discourage your financial independence. You were well-prepared by having your first emergency fund in place, so now it’s time to make the next one bigger and better than ever. If you’re looking for a great place to store that rainy day fund, our savings accounts are always available for you!

An overdraft occurs when you do not have enough money in your account to cover a transaction, but we pay it anyway. We can cover your overdrafts in two different ways:

We have standard overdraft practices that are available after your account has been open for 30 days and as long as you maintain your account in good standing.
We also offer an overdraft protection plan, Overdraft Protection Sweep, a link to a savings account. It may be less expensive than our standard overdraft practices. To learn more, ask us about this plan.

This notice explains our standard overdraft practices.

What are the standard overdraft practices that come with my account?

After your account has been open for 30 days and as long as you maintain your account in good standing, we do authorize and pay overdrafts for the following types of transactions:

Checks and other transactions made using your checking account number
Automatic bill payments

We do not authorize and pay overdrafts for the following types of transactions unless you ask us to (see below):

ATM transactions
Everyday debit card transactions

We pay overdrafts at our discretion, which means we do not guarantee that we will always authorize and pay any type of transaction.

If we do not authorize and pay an overdraft, your transaction will be declined.

What fees will I be charged if Peoples Bank of Kankakee County pays my overdraft?

Under our standard overdraft practices:

We will charge you a fee of up to $30 each time we pay an overdraft.
The maximum daily overdraft fee per presentment or item paid using the Overdraft Reserve Program is $150.00 per day.
No per item handling fee will be charged on de minimis overdrafts. De minimis overdraft for this policy means transactions that overdraw your account by $30 or less.
There is an overdraft fee of $5 per day that will be charged beginning the 4th consecutive business day your account is overdrawn.

Nonsufficient funds (NSF) fees - if an item drafted by you (such as a check) or a transaction you set up (such as a preauthorized transfer) is presented for payment in an amount that is more than the amount of money in your account and we decide not to pay the item or transaction, you agree that we can charge you an NSF fee for returning the payment. Be aware that such an item or payment may be presented multiple times by the merchant or other payee until it is paid, and that we do not monitor or control the number of times a transaction is presented for payment. You agree that we may charge you an NSF fee each time a payment is presented if the amount of money in your account is not sufficient to cover the payment, regardless of the number of times the payment is presented.

PAYMENT ORDER OF ITEMS - The law permits us to pay items drawn on your account in any order (for purposes of this section "items" means checks, orders and electronic transactions). To assist you in handling your account with us, we are providing you with the following information regarding how we process those items. When processing checks and orders drawn on your account our policy is to pay lower numbered checks and orders in numerical sequence, but electronic transactions are paid first in the order received. The order in which items are paid is important if there is not enough money in your account to pay all of the items that are presented. There is no policy that is favorable in every instance. If the smallest items are paid first, you may have fewer NSF or overdraft fees, but the largest, and perhaps more important items (such as rent or mortgage payments) might not be paid. However, if the largest items are paid first, your most important items might be paid but it may increase the overdraft or NSF fees if funds are not available to pay all of the items. We think our policy attains a reasonable balance between minimizing additional costs to you and paying your more important items. We encourage you to make careful records and practice good account management. This will help you to avoid creating items without sufficient funds and incurring the resulting fees.

What if I want Peoples Bank of Kankakee County to authorize and pay overdrafts on my ATM and everyday debit card transactions?

If you also want us to authorize and pay overdrafts on ATM and everyday debit card transactions after your account has been open for 30 days, you may opt in.

You have an ongoing right to change this consent at any time. If your overdraft privilege has been revoked for any reason, the opt-in or opt-out selection may not apply. Please contact your nearest office for more information.

Alternate ways to Opt In/Out or make changes:

By Phone. Our Customer Care Representatives can be reached at 815-936-7600.
By Mail. Peoples Bank of Kankakee County, 333 E. Court Street, Kankakee, IL 60901
In Person. Please visit your local office and ask a representative to help you decide which plan is best for you.