“Australians are notorious non-savers, with about half of us having no savings. How much should we put away for a rainy day?”

Died-way-too-young singer Karen Carpenter said it wasn’t only rainy days that bummed her out. She lumped Mondays in to the same category.

But Karen believed being with someone special fixed “rainy days and Mondays”. Mmmm. Perhaps emotionally. But a cuddle won’t pay the rent, put petrol in the car, or keep beer and vino in the fridge.

So, how much rain do you want to prepare for? A sprinkle? A wet week? Or a Pakistan-like downpour of biblical proportions?

Showers need an umbrella – a few weeks’ salary, sitting somewhere accessible, like the offset or redraw account (for homebuyers), or a high-interest bank account (for renters).

A wet week is more depressing. You’ve lost your job, in a depressed economy. Three to six months without income is something Gen X parents with mortgages should be prepared for. Three months’ of salary saved in cash will usually get you by with a bit of scrimping.

But we know that “it never rains, it pours”.

What if it buckets down for “40 days and 40 nights” (that’s a Before Christ writing code for “we got drunk and lost count”)? This is never being able to work again, because of accident or illness.

Savings won’t cut it. This is the domain of insurance, particularly disability, trauma and income protection insurance. Most Xers will be able to insure their incomes for less than $1200 a year. And it could save your house.

Bruce Brammall is the author of Debt Man Walking (www.debtman.com.au) and a licensed financial adviser.