(See also the Money Matters article: “The Emergency Fund”)

• Proverbs 30:24 “There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:
  25 The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;”
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I remember as a kid seeing the story of the lazy grasshopper and the diligent ant. All summer long, the grasshopper played and played while his friend the ant worked and worked storing up food for the inevitable winter. The grasshopper would mock the ant, but the ant just kept working away. Eventually winter came, and the grasshopper was seen cold and hungry while the ant was warm and fed. 

God tells us here in Proverbs 30:25 to learn from the wisdom of the ant. The ant knows that winter is coming. It is expected. So, the ant prepares its food during the fruitful summer days. 

There are certain items or bills that don’t come along as often, but when they do the price can be a doozy. These might be replacing your old vehicle, repairing your house, high heat bills in winter, repairing/replacing furniture, etc…. These items are not emergencies per se so you wouldn’t pay for them out of the emergency fund. However, they do need to get paid/bought. But if you wait until these items and bills need to be paid, you probably won’t have the money in your general account to pay them. What do you do? You put aside a little bit of money every month to pay for them in what our family calls the expectancy fund. 

For instance, my wife and I have a pretty big insurance bill that must be paid every 6 months. With our inconsistent income in evangelism, we probably would not have the money on hand to pay it when the time comes. However, we divide the bill into six months and set aside the needed money in our budget each month. At first, it may seem very difficult or even impossible to do. But try laying aside a little money each paycheck for at least one item. Then, continue adding one high-ticket item after another. After a couple of years, you will wonder how in the world you ever made it without an expectancy fund!