Calculate your ideal emergency fund size and build a savings plan based on your expenses and income stability
You need 26 more months of saving at $500/month to reach your $18,600 goal.
To reach your goal in 12 months, save $1,092/month. You still need $13,600 more to be fully funded.
Your income stability is set to moderate, which recommends 6 months of expenses. Adjust this if your job situation changes.
An emergency fund is cash reserved for genuine surprises — job loss, medical bills, urgent repairs — so they don't land on a credit card or force selling investments at a bad time. This calculator sizes yours from your essential monthly expenses and household risk factors.
The standard guidance is 3–6 months of essential expenses: closer to 3 for dual stable incomes, closer to 6 (or more) for single incomes, variable pay, self-employment, or a single-earner household with dependents.
Three months of essentials is a floor for stable dual-income households; six is the common target; freelancers, commission earners, and single-income families with dependents often hold 9–12. The right number is the one that lets a job loss be a problem, not a crisis.
Somewhere boring: high-yield savings or a money market fund. It needs to be available within days without loss. Stocks can be down 30% exactly when you need the money — that's the scenario the fund exists to protect you from.
A common sequence: save a starter fund of $1,000–$2,000, attack high-interest debt, then build the full 3–6 months. High-rate debt costs more than savings earn, but zero cushion means any surprise recreates the debt you just paid off.
Unexpected and necessary: job loss, medical or dental surprises, urgent home or car repairs, emergency travel. Predictable irregular costs — insurance premiums, holidays, routine maintenance — belong in planned sinking funds, not the emergency fund.
The 3–6 month rule is just a starting point. Here's how to calculate the right emergency fund size for your specific situation.