# The Types of Savings Everyone Should Have Author: Pal Sinha, Barnali Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali Published: 2021-11-19 Category: INVESTING Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/investing Meta Title: Four Essential Savings Accounts to Have in Your Portfolio Meta Description: Learn the importance of having a rainy day fund, emergency fund, retirement fund, and college savings fund to secure your financial future. Start saving today! URL: https://financedigest.com/the-types-of-savings-everyone-should-havehtml ![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/growing-money-in-flower-pots-sbi-300976600-1736837147792-compressed.jpg) You should have more than one type of savings account sitting in your financial portfolio. In fact, you should aspire to have four of these types of savings: ## **A Rainy Day Fund** A rainy day fund is a collection of savings for managing unplanned, urgent expenses like plumbing trouble, roof leaks and broken appliances. You [can’t ignore](https://www.financedigest.com/accountants-cant-afford-to-ignore-making-tax-digital.html "Accountants can’t afford to ignore Making Tax Digital") these problems until your next paycheck arrives. You have to deal with them right away. So, when you encounter one of these problems, you can pull [savings from your rainy day](https://www.financedigest.com/investing-in-a-first-party-data-strategy-can-save-the-day-for-retailers.html "Investing in a first-party data strategy can save the day for retailers") fund to deal with the related expenses. Without a [rainy day](https://www.financedigest.com/personal-finance-fasten-your-seatbelt-tighten-your-belt-that-rainy-day-is-here.html "Personal Finance: Fasten your seatbelt, tighten your belt, that rainy day is here") fund, your options for handling these types of expenses can be limited. What can you do? If you don’t have [enough savings](https://www.financedigest.com/80-of-workers-not-saving-enough-for-retirement.html "80% of workers not saving enough for retirement"), you could use your credit card or apply for an online loan to help you manage an urgent expense. Check to see whether you meet the qualifications for loans through [CreditFresh](https://www.creditfresh.com/online-personal-loan/) to figure out whether you’re eligible to apply or not. If you are, you could send in your [application for a loan](https://www.financedigest.com/new-figures-show-31-increase-in-loan-applications-as-economists-look-for-growth-in-consumer-confidence.html "New figures show 31% increase in loan applications, as economists look for growth in consumer confidence") right away. You just might get approved and get the [funds that you need](https://www.financedigest.com/fintechs-and-funding-who-needs-who.html "FinTechs and Funding: Who Needs Who?"). ## **An Emergency Fund** An emergency [fund is similar to a rainy-day fund — it’s just for bigger emergencies](https://www.financedigest.com/where-can-you-start-building-your-emergency-funds.html "Where Can You Start Building Your Emergency Funds?"). An emergency fund is a collection of [savings that’s meant to help you endure major life upheavals like job](https://www.financedigest.com/wyelands-bank-launches-market-leading-savings-account-to-support-trade-industrial-growth-and-job-creation.html "Wyelands Bank launches market-leading savings account to support trade, industrial growth and job creation") loss or illness. Many Americans had to depend on their [emergency funds during the pandemic](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/venessawong/coronavirus-savings-recession) because their regular source of income shrank or completely disappeared. Your [emergency fund is meant for these times](https://www.financedigest.com/tough-times-and-risky-business-which-emerging-market-assets-are-a-bet-worth-taking.html "Tough times and risky business – which emerging market assets are a bet worth taking") of crisis. It can supplement your usual income and cover the costs of your everyday essentials (bills, groceries, etc.). So, how much should you [save in your emergency fund](https://www.financedigest.com/med-tech-innovators-pitch-for-the-chance-to-raise-funding-to-save-lives.html "Med tech innovators pitch for the chance to raise funding to save lives")? Ideally, you should save three to six months’ worth of your [household income](https://www.financedigest.com/four-fifths-of-uk-households-saw-disposable-income-fall-in-august-says-asda.html "Four fifths of UK households saw disposable income fall in August, says Asda"). If you want to save more, you can. You never [know when you’ll need](https://www.financedigest.com/g20-summit-what-you-need-to-know-now.html "G20 Summit: What you need to know now") to use it. ## **A Retirement Fund** Even if your retirement is decades away at this point, you should still have some retirement savings in the works to be able to afford the leisure, medical and [technology](https://windowscommunity.fr/tech-innovations-behind-modern-iot-solutions/) needs that you will require in retirement. The earlier that you get started on this goal, the more you’ll have stashed away for your golden years. If that’s not enough motivation, you should look at the reality of what happens when you have [no retirement savings](https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2018/02/pensions-safety-net-california/553970/) in your old age. You will have some government programs to help you make ends meet, but it’s not enough to guarantee that you’ll have a comfortable lifestyle or a [financially secure](https://www.financedigest.com/wrapping-financial-services-in-a-security-blanket.html "Wrapping Financial Services in a Security Blanket") future. So, if you don’t have this fund yet, [it’s time](https://www.financedigest.com/why-its-time-to-adapt-to-the-virtual-world-how-to-master-online-negotiations.html "Why it’s time to adapt to the virtual world: how to master online negotiations") to start putting it together. ## **A College Savings Fund** If you have young children, you should start [saving up for their post-secondary education](https://www.financedigest.com/five-reasons-to-start-saving-early-for-higher-education.html "Five Reasons to Start Saving Early for Higher Education"). The goal is similar to your [retirement savings](https://www.financedigest.com/student-loans-hurting-workers-ability-to-save-for-retirement.html "STUDENT LOANS HURTING WORKERS’ ABILITY TO SAVE FOR RETIREMENT") — the earlier that you work on these savings, the more that you’ll accrue over time and the less panic you’ll have when you finally reach the deadline. Start by opening up a basic savings account or a [529 plan](https://www.cnbc.com/select/best-529-plans/) (an investment account for education savings with tax benefits) and contributing every month. You’ll be glad that you did this by the time your kids are in high school and looking at colleges to apply to. You can see why these savings accounts are essential for everyone. They can help you recover from the worst moments of your life and help you thrive in the best ones. **This is a Sponsored Feature** --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. ---