Friday, June 3, 2011

FinancialEdge: The Best And Worst Ways To Raise Cash Quickly

Despite even the most careful planning, people can find themselves needing to raise cash on short notice. These situations are often emergencies and the pressures and worry that go with them often lead people to take the fastest or easiest routes to raising cash, but not necessarily the best. To the extent that someone can keep their wits about them and make informed decisions under difficult circumstances, it is possible to raise cash in ways that may not have bad long-term consequences.
 Emergency Savings - Build Them Now!
Before going over some of the ways that people can raise cash on short notice, it is worth mentioning that people should never put themselves in that situation to begin with if they can help it. Everyone should strive to have three months (or more) of emergency savings in the bank - ideally in a high-yield online savings account or a money market account. Next to eliminating credit card debt, building an emergency nest egg is one of the most fundamental steps in planning for a better financial future. (For more, see Build Yourself An Emergency Fund.)

Do You Really Need Cash?
Before assaulting the couch cushions in search of lost change, consider whether or not cash is really needed. Maybe the "emergency" is a forgotten birthday, a broken appliance, or a sudden need to travel to see family. In these cases, you may already have non-cash alternatives on hand. Many people receive gift cards and then forget to use them; an unexploited gift card can certainly do in a pinch if you need to give a gift; either through re-gifting the card or actually selecting something for them.

To read the full column, please click the link:
http://financialedge.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0611/The-Best-And-Worst-Ways-To-Raise-Cash-Quickly.aspx

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