Another Emergency Fund Savings Alternative

I know people like quick fixes to their money problems. I personally think many money issues could be avoided in the first place with a well established emergency fund. But where do you begin if you don't even have one?

You have probably read about having a garage sale, or saving your change. Not bad ideas if the weather was warm and you have lots of things to sell. And as I have mentioned  there is the 52 Week Savings Challenge that many are participating in. And on my Savings Advice Blog, I have been tracking snowflakes as a way to build up cash. Those sources of income come from many places, which you can read about over there.

I ran across a new idea for you today. This might be one single way to increase your savings. I found the explanation on this blog, The Simple Dollar. It is called $4 Per Gallon Savings. You basically charge yourself $4 for every gallon of gas you purchase at the pump. The amount you save is the difference between the total if you paid $4 and the actual amount you paid. The author of the blog mentioned above explains it in more detail. I think if one could make this idea alone a habit, it could quickly get an emergency fund started. Now if you ride a train or subway, this probably won't work for you the same way. Maybe you could round up your fare by a dollar, each time you ride and save those.

I find it interesting to read about alternative ways of saving. Have you come across any new savings ideas?