How much should an emergency fund be?
An emergency fund is money set aside for the shocks that can hit any household: a lost job, a medical bill, a car repair, a broken furnace. There is no single correct amount. A common rule of thumb, repeated in guides from the securities industry regulator FINRA, is about three to six months of essential living expenses, and that people with irregular income may need a bigger cushion. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is more careful: it says there is no fixed target and suggests basing your goal on the unexpected costs you have faced before. This calculator lets you pick your own number of months and shows what it means in dollars and in time.
How the calculator works
Enter your essential monthly expenses, meaning only what you would still have to pay if your income stopped: housing, utilities, groceries, insurance, transportation and minimum debt payments. Choose how many months to cover, then enter what you have saved and what you can add each month. The goal is expenses times months.
The time to reach the goal is found month by month. Each month your balance earns interest at the rate you enter (leave it at 0 to ignore interest) and then your deposit is added. The page also shows milestones, the monthly amount needed to finish by a deadline you choose, and how the timeline changes if you save more or less.
A worked example
A household spends $3,200 a month on essentials and picks six months, so the goal is $19,200. It has $2,000 saved, which covers about 0.6 months. The gap is $17,200. Saving $300 a month with no interest takes 58 months, about 4 years and 10 months. At a 3% yearly rate the same plan takes 53 months. Saving $500 a month cuts it to 35 months. To finish in 24 months with no interest, it would need to save about $717 a month.
The milestones show the earlier wins: one month of expenses ($3,200) in 4 months and three months ($9,600) in 26 months, long before the full goal.
What can move your number
The page lists situations that often push people toward the top of the three to six month range or beyond:
- Irregular income or self-employment, which makes a bad stretch harder to ride out.
- One income in the household, with nothing to replace it.
- Dependents, whose costs do not pause.
- Health, such as a chronic condition or a high deductible.
- An unstable job or industry, where a job search may take longer.
- A home or a car, where repairs and deductibles arrive without warning.
Ticking these boxes does not change your goal. It is a reminder to think through your own risks.
Where to keep an emergency fund
Money you might need on short notice belongs somewhere safe and easy to reach. FINRA describes a liquid, interest-bearing account, such as a savings account at a bank or credit union, as the usual choice. Deposits at an FDIC-insured bank are insured up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank, for each account ownership category, and credit unions have the same standard amount through NCUA share insurance. FDIC insurance does not cover stocks, bonds, mutual funds or crypto. You can check a bank with the FDIC bank lookup.
I bonds, the U.S. Treasury savings bonds, have a hard rule: you cannot cash one in during the first 12 months, and cashing one in before 5 years costs the last 3 months of interest. That means money in an I bond cannot be reached during the first year. See the I bond calculator for the details. CDs often charge a penalty for early withdrawal, and cash at home can be lost or stolen.
What this calculator leaves out
It does not model inflation, changes in your expenses or months you skip. Interest is generally taxable and rates change, so treat the interest field as an illustration. For a wider plan, try the 50/30/20 budget calculator or the savings goal calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Is 3 to 6 months of expenses the right amount for me?
It is a common rule of thumb, not a requirement. A single person with steady pay and few obligations may feel safe with less, while a self-employed worker or a family living on one income may want more. The CFPB advises building your goal from your own history of unexpected costs. Use the months box to test different numbers and see how long each would take.
Should I pay off debt or build an emergency fund first?
That depends on your debt, interest rates and risks, and this page cannot decide it for you. Many people keep a small starter cushion so one surprise bill does not go on a credit card. The debt payoff calculator shows what extra payments save in interest.
What counts as an emergency?
You set the rules. The CFPB suggests deciding in advance what counts, such as a job loss, urgent medical or car costs or a necessary home repair, and rebuilding the fund after you use it.
Official sources
Checked on October 14, 2026: FINRA, Financial Foundations (the three to six month rule of thumb and where to keep savings), CFPB, An essential guide to building an emergency fund, FDIC deposit insurance, NCUA share insurance coverage and TreasuryDirect, I bonds (12-month wait and 3-month interest penalty).
This page gives general information and arithmetic, not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. How much to save and where to keep it depends on your own situation.