VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) -   Most of us have enough away for a three-month rainy day fund IF we were to lose our jobs, go on disability or some other financial emergency.

One financial advisor has some tips to help get your contingency fund going.

 Doug Patton with BMO says a good rule of thumb is socking away 10-15 per cent of our paycheck in a savings or tax free savings account that can be easily accessed.

“Somewhere you can access it quickly if you needed to, but still far enough away that the temptation’s not there to go to Starbucks and buy a coffee with it,” he says.

 But he says six months salary is a lot of money for a lot of people, and the task seems daunting to save that kind of money.  

“Instead of paying themselves in smaller increments of 10 per cent a month, 15 per cent a month, a lot of people see that big number and think there’s no way they can have that much money put aside,” he explains. “Perhaps they’re just not trying.”

Patton believes we become creatures of habit and tend to spend to our ability.

“People think they need to save more than they do and if you’re only saving 10 per cent a month, it might take you a couple of years to get to that six month of a rainy day fund, however that’s better than nothing,” Patton stresses.

According to BMO numbers, 25 per cent of us would not be able to last longer than three months on their rainy day fund.

Additionally, the personal savings rate in Canada currently lies near historic lows at 2.9 per cent.

By comparison, it reached over 20 per cent in the early 1980s.