Stuff happens. Maybe it’s a broken car, a stolen wallet, a hostage situation involving ransom, or an unexpected pregnancy. Pretty much no matter what the emergency, it will usually require some money.

We go to a good school, and hopefully have some pretty good futures ahead. Unfortunately, this good life (filled with housecleaners, super fun homework, and ARA food) can lead people into thinking that their proverbial midden will not hit the windmill, and thus when disaster strikes, it strikes all the harder from being unprepared.

So, what is an emergency fund? According to Trent at TheSimpleDollar.com, an emergency fund is “cash reserve that you keep in a safe place and use only for emergencies.” It should be easy to access, but it shouldn’t be highly visible and on your mind all the time, otherwise it is easier to spend it on a non-emergency. Then, when you need to buy a new tire or the Plan-B pill, the money is available and you don’t have to get high-interest credit card debt.

Emergency funds are a must. Some may argue that the best time to start one isn’t as a poor college student. And this may indeed be the case for most people. In the event of a real emergency, many of us have a parent that is willing to bail us out. But what happens when that safety net is removed or was never there in the first place? Or what if you have an emergency that you are too embarrassed to tell your parents about?

That’s exactly what happened to me this year. During move-in I did something super smart: I lost my purse. This purse had my credit cards. My driver’s license. Some insurance stuff. My login name (but not password) for my Schwab account. My hairbrush. Needless to say, if I hadn’t had emergency fund I would have been in big trouble; I wasn’t even able to access my bank money, because my card and ID and everything were missing! So, when it came time to buy dinner on Saturday night, or reimburse a friend for a couch of hers that my cat destroyed while I borrowed her apartment over the summer, I was able to. And then, when I found my purse in a drawer, I felt like a dolt. So it goes.

So, start saving for an emergency today. You can do it in so many ways. Open a high-yield online savings account and have money automatically deducted from your pay check. Save your spare change. Sell your roommate’s stuff. And then, when disaster strikes, you will have one less thing to worry about and won’t still be paying for the emergency months after it happened.

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