A lot of finance experts said this again and again, it is important to have an emergency fund. Unfortunately, if you look at the reality especially among Filipinos, how can they save up for an emergency fund when they are already struggling to make ends meet on a daily basis. How can they save for future emergencies when their daily wages is not even enough for basic necessities like rice, coffee, electricity, and meals.
I am sure that you already know about having an emergency fund, I’ve written about this here in my blog before. So let’s talk about the other side of the coin in which you really don’t have an emergency fund and there’s an emergency that you need fast cash.
Where to get money during an emergency?
Borrow money from friends or relatives.
When you are in need, the first thing or person that you’ll run to are you family and friends. They may be able to let you borrow money without interest rates. Just make sure to repay what you owe them as soon as you are able. You are lucky enough to borrow it without interest.
Pawn your jewelry.
Some people are shy or embarrassed to borrow money that’s why they just go to pawnshops and have their gold jewelries pawned. I am not one to judge and this is a really nice option to have money instantly. Make sure to pay the interest rate on time or else, your jewelry might go into their subasta or pre-loved jewelries.
Sell some of your stuff.
Maybe you have an old phone or other gadgets that you can sell to have that extra money.
Request for cash or payroll advance from your employer.
This also a nice way of getting cash, and because it’s from your employer, it has no interest rate (at least that’s the case with my employer)
Take out loans from SSS or Pag-IBIG.
I believe Pag-IBIG has multi-purpose loans that you can utilize for emergencies. If you’re an employee, then chances are you’re a Pag-IBIG member and you are entitled for a loan of up to 80% of your Pag-IBIG regular savings.
Borrow from lenders.
This is the last option and I’m strongly against this but when you have no other way, there are plenty of lenders online and offline. Should you wish to borrow money online, make sure to learn about different borrowing options online.
The good thing about borrowing online is that they can provide instant cash.
Get a cash advance from your credit card.
This is a helpful feature on some credit cards. If you have a good credit standing, you might be able to take out a cash advance with a lower interest rate.
Situations are hard to some and not all people have emergency funds. It’s not bad to borrow money or take out loans, just make sure that you’ll pay them all and on time for your peace of mind.
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