How Is Your Emergency Fund Holding Up?

Rob Minton recently published the results of a survey he conducted in an article titled, “Survey Results: Average Agent is Headed for Poverty in Retirement.”  While Rob focused on many facets of financial planning, I took note of the results of question number 5 on his survey where he asked agents if the have an emergency fund.

How Is Your Emergency Fund Holding Up?

Licensed from ShutterStock

The results of that question were:

33%   I don’t have an emergency fund
10%   Emergency fund to cover 1 month of living expenses
20%   Emergency fund to cover 3 months of living expenses
37%   Emergency fund to cover 6 months of living expenses

Given the state of the economy, I actually thought the results of this question were better than I expected. Many of the agents I speak to are pulling money from their emergency fund in order to stay in business. It’s not just the new agents, but many of the top producers are feeling the strain of the economy.

I spend quite a bit of time with other small business owners and the general consensus is that many of them are “treading water” just trying to keep their businesses profitable.

I noted that the National Association of REALTORs® is projecting a steady rise in real estate sales over the next few years, but the recovery is going to be slow.

How’s your emergency fund holding up?

Tom Branch, Broker, CDPE, SFR

About Tom Branch

Tom Branch has written 597 posts in this blog.


Have you ever just met someone, but felt you like you'd known him for years? That's what most people experience with Tom. He has a knack for making folks feel right at home. After 21 years in the Air Force, loyalty and honesty are the foundation of everything Tom does. In addition to being a Texas Real Estate Broker, Tom is a Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) and a Short Sales & Foreclosure Resource (SFR).