Most financial experts recommend having two types of emergency funds. The first is cash that is easily accessible and ready in case you need an emergency car repair or you need to pay to get your air conditioning fixed in the next twenty-four hours. The second emergency fund is a big one that houses up to three or six months of income in case you lose your job or can’t work for some reason.

It takes time to build up these sorts of accounts, and you will absolutely need to start with the smaller emergency savings before you take on the task of building up months of income. The emergency fund you keep close to hand should have enough cash to cover the types of spending that are bound to happen at some point, usually unexpectedly, when you need money immediately. Most experts suggest keeping $1,000-$2,000 in this type of fund.

While $1,000 in cash stored safely away may seem like a tremendous amount, especially if you have almost no cash on hand right now, you can get started building that fund more quickly than you’d think.

Sell Things You Don’t Need

The fastest way to get cash is to simply sell the things you don’t need. Depending on the sorts of things you have in your home or possession, you may be able to make your first $1,000 in a matter of days. Really look through your closets, your garage, your technology cabinets and your jewelry box.

Selling expensive items will make you the most in return, of course, but even if you don’t have any furniture, tools, or jewelry you’re ready to part with, you can still sell smaller items and make quite a bit. Stage a garage or yard sale and sell off the home goods you don’t need, the clothing you barely wore, and the shoes that looked nice but didn’t fit well. All of it adds up faster than you might think.

Take on a Side Gig

If you are already working and living paycheck to paycheck, taking on a side gig may be the easiest way to break out of that cycle. A side gig might be occasional work like helping a buddy with his painting or construction business. It might involve baking or sewing and selling your products. Or it might involve taking on a second (or third) job for a bit of time just to build up some cash reserves and prepare for emergencies.

You may not get rich delivering pizzas, picking up people’s groceries, or grabbing and dropping off meals from restaurants, but you can make a few hundred extra dollars every week or every month. Deliver enough pizzas in your evenings and you can build up a healthy emergency fund.

Automate Your Savings

The easiest way to save money is to not see yourself saving money. If you have the choice with your paycheck, set up a direct deposit in two places. Most of your money would go into the bank account you’re already using. Then you can divert a bit into a second account for your emergency fund.

Some companies allow you to deposit funds in two or more places. But if you don’t have that option, you can still automate your savings. Set up an automatic transfer within your own account. Your paycheck arrives every Friday and you have an automatic transfer that sends $10 or $100 to your savings account.

You can even do this with cash. Cash your paycheck and ask for your funds in two envelopes. The first has the bulk of your funds and the second envelope can go straight into your safe every week until you have enough that you don’t have to worry about how you’ll fix your car if it breaks down before work tomorrow.