S&P's Financial Focus

Emergency Fund

You can avoid money problems if you practice good financial planning, which includes planning for emergencies. Personal financial planning will help you reach your goals, whether you want to buy a new vehicle or to be able to retire. Personal financial planning includes spending within your budget and saving and investing your money.

Make a Personal Financial Plan Use these guidelines to make a personal financial plan:

Assess the amount of money you have coming in every month. Count only the net amount.

Assess the amount of money you spend every month.

Identify and prioritize your personal financial goals. Be sure to include an emergency fund.

Create and maintain a budget that supports your financial goals.

Review and revise your plan as your financial goals change.

Standard and Poor’s publishes the globally recognized S&P 500® financial index and provides credit ratings. It also gathers financial statistics, information, and news, and analyzes this data to help individuals, companies, and governments make financial decisions. Go to www.standardandpoors.com to learn more about this company.