As the video shows, a rainy day fund is an amount of money set aside for life's unexpected events:

INSERT VIDEO HERE

When setting up your rainy day fund, there are three aspects to determine:

  1. How much money to save
  2. How to reach your savings goal
  3. Where to keep the fund

Ideally, a rainy day fund is to protect yourself in the present for smaller future mishaps, not full-blown financial emergencies. (That is a whole other blog topic!) Everyone's situation is different. The most important thing is to START! If you are starting with zero savings, setting aside just $20 a week can help you reach the $1,000 milestone in less than a year.

You can reach your savings goal in a variety of ways. Set up automatic transfers, hang on to spare surprise money (raise, bonus, tax refund, birthday cash from your grandma, etc...), or visit fast-food restaurants less often. There is also the uSave program where your First Citizens debit card purchases will automatically round up to the next whole dollar. The difference is automatically transferred from your checking account to your designated First Citizens savings account.

Because unexpected financial emergencies can happen in the blink of an eye, money for a rainy day fund needs to be readily accessible. That is why it's a good idea to have it in a First Citizens basic savings account where you can get to it in a pinch. Maintain a $100 average collected balance and we'll wave the $2.00 monthly service charge. The interest you will earn is paid on the daily collected balance and is compounded and paid quarterly. Your fund will also be FDIC insured.

Make saving for a rainy day happen. Start small. Commit to it so that monthly savings becomes a habit. This single act will help you toward a healthier financial future!