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Start Bolstering Your Emergency Cushion

Trust me, you'll thank yourself later for passing on that new pair of shoes and sticking the money in savings instead. Now's the time to start eliminating the extras you can do without.

But the fact of the matter is, most of us have already cut the fat in our budgets, so where do you find the money to build up a cushion of cash if you don't already have one? If you're sure you've exhausted other resources, it's okay to pull back on your retirement contributions for a bit and direct that money into a liquid savings account instead, says Nathan Dungan, founder of Share Save Spend.

What you don't want to do is tap into your retirement account after you've made the contributions, because with that kind of withdrawal comes taxes and fees.