You’ve probably heard the term before, but be assured that I’m not going to talk about that exactly. Last week I spent time with my 20 year old sister. She thinks I am totally a tightwad but that’s another story. We were talking about money and she said that since she’s been unemployed she’s had to tap into her savings account. While she was working, she was always contributing to the account. Now that she’s not, she obviously needs money for gas so it has to come from somewhere.

She said that before she became unemployed, she would never touch her savings account. It was almost a sin to withdraw money. Once she “broke the seal” though, she said it was much easier to keep hitting up her savings account like a rich uncle.

In her case, she really can’t help it because she doesn’t have a steady source of income. But to combat withdrawing too much, I recommended she have a separate account that she has a certain amount of money in so that may help curb the habit. For one, if she withdraws more than 4 times in a month, her bank will charge her, and for two, it’s good to have money left!

When you can’t help but tap into your savings account, consider withdrawing cash if you’re the type of person that works better on a cash based budget. I would approximate how much you’re going to need and maybe add $10 on that amount so that if you need extra you won’t get charged by your bank. The bottom line is: don’t beat yourself up about it too much. Emergencies happen. At least you hopefully have a little savings to help you deal with it.

How do you deal with “breaking the seal”?