Emergency fund calculator

Three months is a reasonable starter target for most people, six months is the safer standard, and self employed income or a single earner household often calls for more. This calculator defaults to a three month target, with 6 and 12 month options right next to it, and shows your progress toward whichever you pick.

Essential monthly costs, housing, utilities, food, insurance, minimum debt payments, the things that do not stop if income does. Leave out discretionary spending like travel or entertainment, since those are the first things you would cut in a real emergency anyway.

Somewhere safe and immediately accessible, a high yield savings account or money market account, not invested in the stock market. The point of this money is that it is there instantly when you need it, not that it grows quickly.

That depends on your monthly contribution and the gap between your current savings and your target, which this calculator shows directly. Even a modest, consistent monthly amount reaches a full three month cushion faster than most people expect.

Yes, if anything it matters more, since without an emergency fund a surprise expense often becomes new debt. An emergency fund is what keeps a car repair or a medical bill from turning into a credit card balance in the first place.