41% of credit card debt starts with a surprise expense — 3 ways to stay ahead

It starts with an emergency: surprise medical bills, new car tires, a home repair that couldn't wait. Before long, what felt like a temporary fix turns into ballooning debt. According to a recent Bankrate survey , 41% of credit card debtors say their debt came primarily from emergency/unexpected expenses, and 61% of them have been carrying that balance for at least a year. To avoid this debt altogether, it's crucial to have a cushion for when the next unplanned expense hits. Here are three ways to stay ahead. How to avoid debt from an unexpected expense Separate your savings from your checking Creating some friction between your checking and savings accounts can actually be a good thing, especially when you're trying to build up a cash cushion for a rainy day. Since high-yield savings accounts are typically offered by online banks that aren't tied to your checking account, transferring money between them and your main bank account isn't always instant, which can work in your favor in this instance. HYSAs also earn much better returns than your standard checking account, so it pays off to not hoard all your money in a single checking account. Once you open a HYSA of your liking, set up an automatic transfer on payday so you're growing your balance without thinking about it. Both the Western Alliance Bank High-Yield Savings and the EverBank Performance Savings offer some of the strongest APYs on the market currently and low (or no) minimum deposit or balance requirements. …