About 60% of Canadians couldn’t miss one week of pay without serious financial trouble. That’s why the Money Tools book has a section to walk you through the five steps to becoming debt free in less than half the time you ever thought possible.

Step number one is to save one week of your net pay. For the average person, that’s $500 to $700 that separates you from financial trouble. I saw a Facebook post the other day that a 2 litre pop bottle will hold $500 in dimes. Well, if you can save your nickels, dimes and quarters, that would be at least $1,000. Since this emergency fund isn’t for daily use, here’s a totally painless way to save it:

Every day, dump your small change into the bottle and you’ll be surprised by how quickly it will fill up! I’m starting it today. Can’t wait to “fill up” the bottle.