Originally Posted by
rickair7777
Those of us who have seen this movie a few times have learned to plan for the dips. My rainy-day fund was intended more for FAA medical hiccups than a zombie apocalypse, but it's nice to have none-the-less.
Ideally plan so that you can keep the primary house for a few years with spouse income, unemployment, odd jobs, uber, etc. Minimize debt (mortgage only) and be prepared to liquidate toys or vacation homes if needed before dipping into retirement savings, if you do that you're moving backwards. Try to hold the line, not retreat.
Only a few months ago I was asked what my 2-year legacy FO pay dream purchase would be. People were disappointed when I responded "Savings".
Zero debt. No house payment. No car payment. We acquired a few "toys" over the years, but they were not purchased at the expense of emergency savings. My daughter used to make fun of me for driving a car with 250,000 miles on it. "You can afford a new car." Now she sees the wisdom.