The Emergency Fund Lie (And What Actually Protects You)
7 min read|Emergency FundDebtSavings
Everyone says save 3-6 months of expenses. But if you have debt, that number is wrong. Here's what actually protects you.
Joy Casfhir
Emergency Fund
The Leak Ladder: Do These In Order Or Waste Years
10 min read|Leak LadderFinancial LeaksBudgetingDebtEmergency Fund
There's a specific order to fixing your finances. Skip a rung and you undo the ones above it. Here's the full Leak Ladder, rung by rung.
Joy Casfhir
A Cracked Phone Screen Taught Me Two Things About Money
3 min read|Emergency FundBNPLFinancial LeaksUnexpected Expenses
Phone screen cracked, no emergency fund, ended up on BNPL. The non-money lesson was even bigger.
Joy Casfhir
I Paid Off Debt Before Building an Emergency Fund (And Ended Up Back in Debt)
3 min read|Emergency FundDebtLeak Ladder
Aggressively paying off debt with no savings buffer sounds smart until one emergency puts you right back where you started.
Joy Casfhir
$1,000 or 3 Months? How Much Emergency Fund You Actually Need
3 min read|Emergency FundSavingsDebt
The starter fund and the full fund are different steps. Which one you need depends on whether you have debt.
Joy Casfhir
I Was Investing While Quietly Losing Money
3 min read|InvestingDebtBNPLLeak LadderEmergency Fund
I was putting money into Vanguard ETFs while BNPL fees piled up. Then an emergency hit and wiped out the investments.
Joy Casfhir
Should You Save or Pay Off Debt First?
3 min read|Debt PayoffEmergency FundFinancial Leaks
The answer isn't one or the other. It's both, in a specific order. Here's the sequence that stops debt from coming back.
Joy Casfhir