{"id":14569,"date":"2025-11-21T07:52:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T13:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/?p=14569"},"modified":"2026-02-02T13:42:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T19:42:02","slug":"save-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/save-today\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a rainy day fund, and how does it work?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s more important than ever to get started on building a rainy day fund. Why? You never know what\u2019s around the bend. If you ever lose your primary source of income, need to pay a large medical bill, or encounter unexpected home repair costs, you\u2019ll need a rainy day fund to keep your life on track and avoid going into debt. Having a savings account <\/a>designated for emergency expenses can also be helpful to cover smaller disasters like a basement flooding or a fridge on the fritz.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But how can you get going on building an emergency fund<\/a>? Here are helpful tips to saving money for a rainy day fund.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Beginning to save is a key characteristic of any successful financial plan.<\/p>\n <\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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1. Set a Goal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Decide what you want to save for. Maybe it\u2019s a house, car, or vacation. Maybe it\u2019s a new phone or computer. It doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s big or small\u2014it\u2019s still important to set a goal. It may even be helpful to write down the goal and put it somewhere you\u2019ll see it often so you can remember why you\u2019re saving. Learning how to set financial goals<\/a> is an essential first step in identifying your savings objective and creating a plan of action so you can start to save today. Whether you\u2019re saving for a down payment or a dream trip, give your balance the boost it deserves with one of the nation\u2019s best savings rates<\/a>.1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2. Create a Budget<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Budgeting doesn\u2019t have to be difficult or complicated, and budgeting can be a good way to figure out how much to put toward a rainy day fund. If you create a simple budget<\/a>, you\u2019ll better understand how to control your spending, so you don\u2019t spend more money than you have. With a budget, it\u2019s much easier to see where your money is going and identify areas where you can improve. You may be surprised to see where your hard-earned money is going!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Free Up Extra Cash<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Want some more tips to saving money? This one won\u2019t seem as fun, but try to look around and see if there are areas to cut costs. You\u2019ll probably find some areas where you can save a few bucks. Eating out less, canceling a gym membership you don\u2019t use, or even switching to an online bank<\/a> to avoid fees can easily free up $100 or more per month toward your goal. Capital One accounts are fee-free: Add in no minimum balance requirements and you have more money in your wallet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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4. Start Saving<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At first, it may be difficult to find ways to save, and it may feel like you\u2019ll never meet your goal. But don\u2019t be discouraged. Financial experts recommend having a rainy day fund equal to three to six months of your annual household income. If your family relies on just one income, you might want to try and set aside an additional 20% more. Start small and then work your way up to your goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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5. Make Saving a Priority<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Saving in general and saving for an emergency should always be a priority. Savings take time to build up, especially if the money is for a house or a car. If you want saving to become a habit, you can\u2019t wait until the end of the month to see what money is left over. The key is to proactively put money away on a weekly or even daily basis.\u00a0With Capital One Recurring Transfers or Autopilot<\/a>, you can grow your savings automatically by scheduling recurring transfers that fit your specific budget and timeline.2<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you get your paycheck, don\u2019t pay someone else before you pay yourself. Make your savings your number-one priority and you\u2019ll start to see progress toward your goals. Beginning to save is a key characteristic of any successful financial plan, so don\u2019t wait\u2014start saving today. Busy lifestyles and various expenses can make saving money difficult, but a rainy day fund can go a long way to reducing financial stress for yourself in the years ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can\u2019t plan when the car will break down or the basement will flood, but you can be financially prepared when they do. Learn more about how a savings account can help you plan for unexpected expenses<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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1<\/sup>The claims made regarding the competitiveness of our 360 Performance Savings account rate are based on Curinos Inc. national percentile data for savings accounts on balances of $1.<\/p>\n

2<\/sup>A Capital One savings account is required to set up Recurring Transfers. Limits on external deposits vary based on a variety of factors set for fraud and security purposes.<\/p>\n

A Capital One checking and savings account is required to set up Autopilot. To set up the Autopilot feature, you must sign in with the Capital One Mobile app.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n \n\n\n

Articles may contain information from third-parties. The inclusion of such information does not imply an affiliation with the bank or bank sponsorship, endorsement, or verification regarding the third-party or information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The information provided herein is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be construed as professional advice. Nothing contained in this article shall give rise to, or be construed to give rise to, any obligation or liability whatsoever on the part of Discover, a division of Capital One, N.A., or its affiliates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Give your financial health a boost with a rainy day fund. These 5 tips to saving money for one can help you get started.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":3640,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,90],"tags":[34,108,37,32,100],"class_list":["post-14569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-saving","category-unexpected","tag-budgeting","tag-budgeting-basics","tag-emergency-fund","tag-online-savings-account","tag-quick-tips"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14569"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14569\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23153,"href":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14569\/revisions\/23153"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}