Many people know that having emergency savings can make a significant difference when facing a crisis. However, often they haven’t saved enough to really get through a financial emergency or the emergency is well beyond what was anticipated. In either case, the emergency savings aren’t enough. If this were to happen to you, consider this:

How much time do you have? Time is crucial in an emergency and often very difficult to predict. If you lost your job and had saved six months worth of expenses, you may think that you have some time and perhaps a little break would be good. Besides you earned it! However, later, when your hopes are not looking good, and tensions start to rise as you’re getting close to running out of money, you will want to have that time back. When you are cash flow negative and spending more than you take in, think of it as bleeding. If you're bleeding, you’re not going to take a few weeks off and relax. Have a sense of urgency and don’t waste time. Get the emergency behind you as fast as possible.

How much money will you need? Of course this should have been thought of before the emergency, but once something has happened, it’s time to put pencil to paper and find out what the damage might be. Delay here only makes things worse. Be very conservative as assuming the best won’t allow for the worst. If you already have determined how much time you have, then develop this answer with that in mind. Calculate the amount of money you need to get though the emergency with some cushion. Without this, you can’t make decisions on how to proceed.

How can you modify your cash flow? Once you know how much you need and when you need it, determine how you can modify your cash flow to make it happen. Obviously, cutting expenses will help, and the deeper the cut, the better. Get rid of every bill you can. No newspapers, magazines, cable tv, movie downloads, going out to dinner, etc. If you are in an actual emergency, it should feel like one. If it doesn’t, there’s more to cut.

Also, think about increasing income as well. Just because you used to buy fancy coffee drinks, doesn’t mean you can’t sell them. There are some part time jobs that pay solid benefits and that can be a big help in an emergency. Other jobs that don’t quite fit your executive profile, like tending bar or serving at a restaurant, can and do feed families. Put your ego aside and get your cash flow as close to break-even as possible.

How can you modify your balance sheet? If you have cut all you can and you still can’t make ends meet, then it’s time to look to your assets and liabilities for additional capital to weather the storm. Start with the asset side and look for things you can sell. The first thing is securities that aren’t in tax deferred accounts and that don’t have large capital gains that would generate tax implications. Better to sell a stock at a loss and make rent than wait for it to come back while living in a box. But before you start digging into your IRA or 401K, think about physical things you can turn into cash. Garage sales may help a bit, but collectibles, such as coin collections or antiques, may have significant value. Remember, the tax hit on a retirement account is substantial and your coin collection can be replaced. In fact, before you raid that retirement account, although this is a last resort, it might be time to consider debt.

Debt may be the first thing you think of in an emergency, but it’s the last thing you should consider. Debt is leverage and using it to pay bills and offset income shortfalls magnifies the cost. Home equity lines of credit have been popular sources of borrowing -- too popular, actually. But if the choice is borrowing on your home or losing your home, there may not be much choice.

Another choice that can be helpful here is borrowing from relatives. While this isn’t the best option, especially around the holidays, it can be better than the alternatives. For example, credit card debt is a tempting but horrible alternative. Before you go down that path, one that often leads to financial ruin, go back to modifying your income, get that part time job while you look to advance your career, and avoid digging a deeper hole.