The most important reason to create a savings discipline is to build a fund that can help offset life's curve balls or help you weather a financial set back. According to the Homeownership Preservation Foundation, a non-profit that provides free telephone counseling to homeowners who are having difficulty paying their mortgages, too many Americans live on the financial edge. An event such as a job layoff, a death in the family, a health crisis or divorce, can tip a person or household over the edge. With no emergency savings, a person has fewer options.

Most financial planners recommend you have at least three to six months' worth of living expenses set aside - primarily to give you time to recover from a life-changing event. Having money readily available to meet unexpected expenses can help you keep making timely payments so that you credit history is not affected. In addition, a savings cushion means that you may not need to use credit cards to see you through a period of unemployment or extra expenses.