Dear Mary: I just received my income tax refund. At first, I thought of paying off a credit card bill that I have. My daughter feels I should put it into my savings account; she said it is easier to pay bills than to save. What do you think? —Iris
Dear Iris: Well, that all depends. If you have little or nothing in savings now, I agree with your daughter. You need to build up a contingency fund that has enough money to cover your living expenses for three to six months in the event you hit a rough patch on the financial highway. That just makes good sense. You don’t know what the future holds, and you need to be as prepared as possible.
