At some point, we all experience the unpleasant surprise of facing an unexpected expense. Maybe that old car you’ve been nursing along finally quits, or you just can’t wait any longer to repair the roof on your house. Major expenses like this can create financial stress, particularly if you are unprepared.

One effective strategy to handle such situations is to create a budget that includes an emergency fund. This ensures you’ll have the ability to cover life’s unexpected twists and turns.

If you’re not sure how to establish your household budget, Elevate offers free financial security courses for all North Shore Bank employees, providing an excellent starting point.

Elevate offers a course called Budgeting Made Simple that includes a section on fitting a major purchase into your budget. Through this course, you’ll receive ideas and simple exercises designed to guide you through the process of creating a realistic, sustainable budget that includes an emergency fund.

Log in to check out this course and many others on a wide variety of topics. Click here to learn more about Elevate, why it’s an employee benefit, and how to get started.