Money make make the world go around, but it’s the pain the behind of anyone who is struggling. You can’t do anything without money; rent an apartment, pay for groceries and keep up with your health insurance are all only possible with the right amount of cash every month. If you find that you are struggling every month, you may need to rethink the way that you handle your money.

The one thing that you should be factoring in every month is an emergency fund. If you lose your job and you’re waiting for the advice of an unemployment lawyer about your case, you still need to manage your bills in the meantime. This is where your emergency bank account would come into the equation. It can protect you from all manner of unexpected expenses. Still need convincing? Here are six solid reasons you need to have that emergency fund put together now.

1. Getting out of debt matters if you want to buy a house, manage your money with a bigger surplus of spare cash and stop owing others. Having an emergency fund can help you to stop adding to the mountain of debt that you may already have, as it can be your fallback instead of a credit card.
2. You’re starting to budget and you need to build up a savings account. Unplanned expenses come up all the time, and you need to think about how you are going to manage those when they do. An emergency fund is there to help you manage your budget from the beginning.
3. There’s only one income in your home and you need to have a substantial emergency fund to back you up. If you lose your job, you need to cover yourself and you can’t do that without a savings account. Keep at least three months of expenses in there at all times – just in case.
4. If you are a contractor, you are working in a role that doesn’t allow you to claim unemployment, which means you’d be in trouble without a job. You can’t always line up the next contract, so keep some cash squirreled away so that doesn’t happen.
5. You’re a homeowner and you are the person in charge of all the expenses. The boiler could break at the most inconvenient time, which is going to be a big problem if you don’t have credit cards and you don’t have a savings account.
6. You’re living away from your family and an unexpected death happens. Usually, a death comes after illness and there is time to prepare when there is an illness involved. An emergency fund can really help you when you need to travel at the last minute.

An emergency fund has an amazing use for your protection. No matter what happens, you’ll always be covered and you can ensure that you are secure – regardless of your circumstance. Start saving now, and you won’t have to panic when life throws you a curveball.