I remember a skit done at church when I was around ten years old. It was about “Mr. Rainy Day.” In the drama piece, a young girl repeatedly saw her mother stashing away money. Like any curious child, she asked what it was for. The mother told her the money was for Mr. Rainy Day. Apparently, a crook overheard the conversation and decided to take advantage of the situation. When the mother was away one day, said thief came to the house claiming to be Mr. Rainy Day and requested the money. The daughter innocently gave away all her mother’s savings. I really believed he was a real person… until I got older.

Keeping money for Mr. Rainy Day is basically saving money for emergency expenses or as a safety net for job loss. You never know when your car will break down, if the engine on the refrigerator will stop humming, or how soon your adventure-seeking-son will break another bone. These expenses aren’t covered in the weekly budget and they’re never anticipated. But as unwanted as they are, they show up.

Then what? Where will you get the money to pay the bills?

Thus, the need for an emergency savings fund. Regardless of how much you earn, every income earner should practice saving money for Mr. Rainy Day. In a perfect world, your emergency savings fund should be enough to cover major expenses for 6 months to a year. If you can do that, great. But I know it’s hard—near impossible—to save money on a minimum wage or when living from paycheck to paycheck.

Still, start small and work your way up. If you transfer $10 to your emergency savings account each week, you’ll have $500 in a year. Sell unwanted items on eBay, Craigslist, or at a yard sale, and save the money. Drop money in a piggy-bank, and save some of your tax refund. You’ll be happy you saved, when an emergency surfaces… the real “Mr. Rainy Day.”

“On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.” (1 Corinthians 16:2)

Share with us a time when “Mr. Rainy Day” visited you. Were you prepared to deal with the expenses? What lessons did you learn from the experience?