$3,500 a month, 6 months, $5,000 saved, $500 a month
Goal $21,000, $16,000 to go, 32 months.
Emergency fund calculator
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The fund covers essential monthly costs: rent or mortgage, food, utilities, insurance, transport and minimum debt payments. Interest on the savings is ignored, so the time to reach the goal is a little cautious.
3.5 thousand
Months to cover
5 thousand
Emergency fund goal
$21,000
You need $16,000 more. At $500 a month that takes 32 months (2.7 years).
- Still to save
- $16,000
- Months covered now
- 1.4
- Months to goal
- 32
- Progress
- 23.8%
Year 0Year 16Year 32
How big a cushion you need
An emergency fund is money set aside for a job loss, a car repair or a medical bill, so that a bad month does not end up on a credit card. The usual advice is three to six months of essential spending, kept somewhere safe and easy to reach.
Start with expenses, not salary. If rent, food, utilities, insurance, transport and minimum debt payments come to $3,500 a month, a six-month fund is $21,000. With $5,000 already saved, there is $16,000 to go. At $500 a month that takes 32 months, or about two years and eight months.
That can feel slow, so break it up. Three months of costs, $10,500, is a useful first milestone, and you would reach it in 11 months from the same starting point. Raising the monthly amount to $800 brings the full six-month goal forward to 20 months.
Choose more months if your income is uneven or you are the only earner. Keep the fund in a savings account rather than investments; its job is to be there when you need it, not to grow fast.
Sources
What this calculator does not account for
- Interest on the fund is ignored.
- Use essential costs, not total spending.
How this is calculated
Formula: Emergency fund
goal =monthly expenses × months; months to goal =(goal − saved) ÷ monthly savingWhat the symbols mean
- monthly expensesEssential costs only: housing, food, utilities, insurance, transport and minimum debt payments.
- monthsUsually 3 to 6; more if your income is irregular or you support others.
Good to know
- Interest earned on the fund is ignored, so the real time is a little shorter.
- To plan a different savings target, use the savings goal calculator.
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Worked examples
Each example is worked out by the same code as the calculator above.
Same, but saving $800 a month
20 months to the goal.
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<iframe src="/embed/emergency-fund-calculator" title="Emergency fund" width="100%" height="720" style="border:0;max-width:42rem" loading="lazy"></iframe>Questions
How much should I have in an emergency fund?
A common target is 3 to 6 months of essential expenses. With $3,500 of monthly costs, that is $10,500 to $21,000.
Should I use income or expenses?
Expenses. The fund has to cover your bills if income stops, and essential costs are usually well below take-home pay.
When should I save 12 months?
If you are self-employed, work in a volatile industry, have one income for a family, or have health needs that make job loss harder.
Where should I keep an emergency fund?
In a high-yield savings or money market account you can reach in a day or two, not in shares that may be down when you need them.
Should I pay off debt or build the fund first?
Many planners suggest a small starter fund, such as one month of costs, then paying off high-interest debt, then building the full fund.