Retirement funds would the the last place to look for “emergency” cash due to the heavy taxes and penalties involved. Loans from friends and family would be the next-to-last, unless you can guarantee that you can pay them back very quickly. Don’t treat them like a line of credit or you’ll risk ruining the relationship.
If you have non-retirement investments, that would be the first place I’d look, with taxes only a minor consideration (you’re going to pay taxes eventually anyway, so you may just be accelerating the tax now and reducing it in the future). Wash sales just defer tax breaks, they don’t eliminate them, so wash sales are not a concern in an emergency situation, since the tax effect is the same as if you didn’t sell the shares in the first place.
Balance transfers typically cost 2-3%, which isn’t terrible, but it only moves the problem from one debt to another.
Another option would be to just pay the minimums on the cards instead of the full balance until you can pay them off completely. Yes the annual interest rate is much higher, but if you only carry the balance for a month or two it’s not as painful, and would be closer to the flat 3% you’ll pay on a balance transfer. Plus it’s good to have some pain as a deterrent not to overspend again.
If 2,000 IS the minimum payment, then you’re spending way too much on credit cards. I would suggest dialing that back and getting a better handle on your budget.
what is a good way to have emergency money like $2000 just for a couple of weeks in the US?
Save it before you need it.
Once the crisis is averted, you should look to set aside 3-6 months in cash or highly liquid securities like money market funds (not stocks) purely for emergencies. Then you won’t have to make a bad financial situation situation worse.
Secondly, credit cards payments are not an emergency, it’s a symptom of overspending, which might be due to an emergency, but is not the root problem.
Since you mentioned “margin requirement”, I’m assuming you’re trading in futures, shorts, CFDs, or other leveraged investments. I would STRONGLY suggest getting a better grasp on your personal finances before trading in risky investments.
