The girls grabbed a few small balls and started tossing them back and forth in the living room. “Come on, try to keep them in the air longer!” Jessica encouraged.
“I’ll show you how it’s done!” Meghan exclaimed, throwing the balls high into the air. However, in her excitement, she accidentally knocked over a lamp on the coffee table. The lamp fell to the floor with a loud crash, shattering the bulb.
“Oh no!” Meghan gasped, looking at the mess. “I’m so sorry, Jessica!”
Later that evening, Meghan’s dad walked into the living room, eyeing the broken lamp. “What happened here?” he asked, crossing his arms.
Meghan’s heart sank. “I accidentally broke the lamp while we were juggling.”
Her dad sighed. “This lamp was $80, and now we need to find a way to replace it. How are we going to come up with that kind of money?”
Meghan looked down, her stomach churning. She knew what he wanted her to say, but she hesitated.
“Meghan?” Dad prompted gently.
“I guess I’ll have to pay for it… from my savings,” she finally admitted.
Dad sat down next to her. “I know you’ve been saving for that photo printer dock for a long time. It’s frustrating to have to use your hard-earned money for an accident.”
“Yeah,” Meghan said quietly, kicking at the rug.
“Maybe we can work something out,” Dad suggested. “How about an advance on your allowance, or I could cover part of the lamp’s cost?”
Meghan brightened. “Really, Dad?”
“Maybe,” he replied. “We’ll see.”
Then Dad leaned in closer, his expression serious. “I want to talk to you about something that can help in situations like this.”
Curious, Meghan asked, “What is it?”
“Your mom and I budget for all of our expenses,” Dad explained. “We plan for things like groceries and bills, but we also keep a special savings account for bigger items. However, sometimes unexpected things happen, like broken lamps or other repairs.”
“So what do you do?” Meghan asked. “Do you take money out of your savings?”
“Nope,” Dad said, shaking his head. “We have something called an emergency fund. It’s a separate stash of money we set aside for unforeseen expenses. This way, when an emergency occurs, we don’t have to dip into our regular savings.”
Meghan listened intently. “What kinds of emergencies do you have?”
“Well, remember when our fridge broke down last summer?” Dad asked. “That’s how we covered the repair costs.”
“I wish I had an emergency fund, too,” Meghan said.
“It’s never too late to start,” Dad said with a smile. “Let’s sit down and figure out a way for you to build one now, so you’re prepared for the next time something unexpected happens.”
And that’s exactly what they did.
