A lot more fun than the rainy day fund.
Many of you have probably received the advice to save for a rainy day. And while I agree it is important to have a certain percentage of your income set aside for emergencies, I believe it is just as important (and a lot more enjoyable) to save for a sunny day as well.
The sunny day fund is money you set aside with no particular plan to spend it in mind. You are simply saving it to use when a great, unexpected opportunity presents itself.
For instance, let’s say you are a big football fan. A friend of yours calls you a week before the Super Bowl and says he has an extra ticket to the game and invites you to join him. While this is a great opportunity, it is going to cost a lot — last minute flight, hotel, and ticket to the game. Most people don’t have extra money left over in their monthly budget to cover a large expense like this. Yet, if you had a sunny day fund, this would be the perfect opportunity to dip into it and go see the big game.
A little over a year ago I had an incredible opportunity, and, thanks to my sunny day fund, I was able to experience what I now consider one of the happiest days of my life.
One Monday afternoon I received a call from my little sister who had some big news. She was going to be performing on Friday for one night in the musical Wicked on Broadway! Ever since she was a little kid I had been watching her in high school and college shows, so I really wanted to see this one. In addition, Wicked is my 15 year old daughter’s favorite — she has seen it nine times! Although it was last minute, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity so I dipped into my sunny day fund to pay for the trip.
My daughter and I flew out that Friday morning. We ran around New York all day seeing everything we possibly could, from Times Square to the 9/11 Memorial. That evening we got the thrill of a lifetime, as my sister performed on a Broadway stage! We even got to end the night with a backstage tour.
All in all my daughter and I spent 22 hours in New York City and only slept two of them!
If I hadn’t had my sunny day fund I never could have experienced such a wonderful and memorable trip that my daughter, sister and I will talk about for the rest of our lives.
So open that sunny day savings account today. Perhaps you can put some of your tax refund into the account? Or direct a portion of your paycheck automatically to this account every payday? This simple strategy will ensure you can take advantage of all the exciting opportunities that are just waiting in your future!
Originally published at medium.com