by Lendup

If you are a typical working American with a full-time job, then taxes are most likely your biggest expense.  In fact, in 2017, American taxpayers paid over a trillion dollars in state and local taxes and over $3 trillion in federal taxes!

Last week life threw me one of those proverbial curveballs that always seem to happen at the absolute worst time: my beloved corgi puppy was diagnosed with a congenital liver defect that required immediate surgery on both her liver and bladder. She’s like a child to me - how could I possibly say no? Although we do have pet insurance, it only pays for a portion of the procedure, and I had to pay a percentage up front. Fortunately, we have an emergency fund for contingencies like this. And thankfully we kept the fund in the right place.