Why My Emergency Fund Is A Little Smaller Than Before

I spent part of this evening working on the blog here, tweaking the stylesheet to be a little more to my liking, updating the sidebar, and so on. You might see that I’ve updated both my total debt load as well as my emergency fund.

Holy robbery Batman, your emergency fund’s looking a little low! Wasn’t it almost at 50% a while ago?

Why yes my observant readers, my emergency fund was almost at 50% of my intended total as of last week. Unfortunately I had to dip into it because I am now unemployed. Several weeks ago I blogged about my intention to go freelance, as I felt that was a better situation for me personally. My initial intention was to do it on the side until I had created enough of an income to do it full time. But my full time job was causing me a lot of stress, so much so that I actually have lost about 20 pounds because of it. Definitely not a good thing for me. I was dreading going into the office, mostly because the political situation at the office was just horrendous. I have worked for a large number of companies over my career, and I can say that this place was, without a doubt, the worst place for office politics! It was completely unbearable. So I did what we all dream of doing.

I told them (to) “take this job and shove it!” (Metaphorically speaking of course.)

Whoa Jb, how can you possibly have done that in this economy? Are you mad?

Well dear readers, I can tell you I did not take this decision lightly, nor did I do it capriciously. I had already been looking for a new job for the last several months, but things just came to a head. My doctor advised me to leave this job immediately, because after all the tests she ran, it was most definitely the stress that was causing me physical aggravation. I took stock of my financial reserves, talked it over with friends and family, and decided to take the plunge. It’s been almost two weeks now, and I can tell you that I am feeling much, much better, both physically and mentally.

So this is why my emergency fund is looking a little smaller than before. I had to take some money out of it to pay my rent and car payment. It’s a good thing I have this emergency fund, because it will allow me the opportunity to really take a good run at getting my freelancing career started. So far I’ve been able to update my freelancing website and blog, read up on things I’ve been meaning to read up on, and also continue to make some great contacts. I made my first $5 on the weekend by writing up a guest post on a freelance writing blog, which I’m excited about. I’m actually excited about the whole prospect of working as a freelancing technical writer. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for several years now, in fact quite a few of my friends are getting sick of hearing me talk about it. So now I’m doing it.

Sure, it’s a little scary to be doing it in this economic climate, but like I blogged previously, technical writers are always in demand, so I anticipate being able to survive. It might take me a while, it might take a little more legwork than I’m used to, but I’m up for it. Most of all, I’m prepared for it. I’ve got my emergency fund and my income tax refund that will sustain me for about 3 months or so. I could possibly stretch it out if I go and get a part-time job, but that’s only in the plan near the end of Month 2. I’m going to give it a good shot at starting out as a freelancer and then decide what to do. I have faith and determination to give it a shot. Wish me luck!