Here's What Happens When You Don't Have an Emergency Fund at All

A recent SecureSave survey found that 67% of Americans are not equipped to cover a $400 emergency expense. But what if your savings account is in even worse shape than that? What if you don't have any money in the bank earmarked for emergency expenses?

Having no emergency fund could leave you extremely vulnerable to debt when an unplanned bill arises. It could also be catastrophic in the event of a lost job. So if you're sitting on no emergency fund at all, it's imperative that you do what you can to build some sort of cushion.

Don't leave yourself at risk of debt

You never know when your car might break down, your washing machine might stop working, or your kid might come home with a broken bone that leads to an expensive medical bill. That's why it's so important to have money in savings.

If you don't have any sort of emergency fund, you might end up having to rack up a large balance on a credit card to cover an unplanned expense. That could leave you owing lots of money in interest.

Now ideally, you should aim to have enough money in emergency savings to cover three months of essential expenses. That way, if your emergency is the loss of your job, you'll have a way to cover your bills in case you're not entitled to severance or unemployment payments, or in case those payments fall short in paying for all of your expenses.

But if you're sitting on no emergency fund at all right now, it might take years to save up enough cash to pay for three full months of bills. If that's the case, save something. It can be $300, $500, $1,000, or whatever it is you can reasonably manage. It's better to have a little bit of money in the bank than none at all.

How to build up an emergency fund

Building savings isn't easy, especially if you're not a particularly high earner and have lots of ongoing expenses. But one step you can take to potentially free up some cash for savings is getting on a budget.

That may seem unappealing, but all it really means is being careful with your spending and allocating a specific amount of money to each expense category of yours with the goal of freeing up some amount of money each month for savings. You may end up having to cut back on a few of the things you enjoy, but the peace of mind you'll get in return may be more than worth it.

You could also turn to the gig economy for help in building savings. If you're willing to drive for a ride-hailing service a few nights a week or spend some evenings waiting tables, you may find that you're able to use your extra earnings to build up a nice savings cushion.

Going without an emergency fund is a dangerous thing from a financial standpoint. If your savings account is currently empty, do what you can to sock away some amount of money -- even if it's a very small amount. You can always work your way up over time, but that way, it's at least a start.