People need personal finance to prepare for contingencies such as a death within the family which are usually unforeseen. Death is a certainty. What is not certain is when. That is why life insurance is being sold which is also quite a misnomer. Other emergencies are those events or happenings we normally do not anticipate to occur.
It could just be anything minor like a flat tire that led to a car crash that caused major bodily injuries. Common wisdom is to have an emergency fund equivalent to anywhere from six to twelve months’ worth of your gross montly salary. This should be readily accessible in cash form. A benefit of having this cash-on-hand attitude is to prevent you from dipping into your other fund sources such as fixed investments that will suffer rate penalties if withdrawn before their due date or maturity date. A common sense approach should do.