Emergency fund calculator
How much cash covers a stretch with no income, and how long it takes to save it.
Bills you would still pay if your income stopped.
Months to cover
Three is a minimum. Six is the usual household target.
Cash you could use without selling anything.
Cash to set aside
$16,800.00
2 years at $500.00 a month. No interest is included.
- Coverage
- 6 months of essentials
- Already saved
- $5,000.00
- Still to save
- $11,800.00
- Time to fill the gap
- 2 years
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The target is essential monthly spending times the number of months you want covered. Essentials are the bills that continue if your income stops: housing, utilities, groceries, insurance, childcare, transit, and minimum debt payments. Meals out, subscriptions, and travel stay out of the number.
The gap is the target minus cash you already have set aside. Divide that gap by what you can add each month. Interest is left out. An emergency fund is cash you can reach within a day or two, and the point is that it is there.
Common questions
How many months should an emergency fund cover?
Three months is a common minimum when your job is steady and you could replace the income quickly. Six months is the usual target for a household. Nine or twelve months fits variable income, a single income, or work that would take a long time to replace.
What counts as an essential expense?
The bills you would still pay if your paycheck stopped. Rent or a mortgage, utilities, groceries, insurance, minimum debt payments, childcare, and transit. Dining out, subscriptions, and travel stay out of this number.
Should an emergency fund be invested?
Keep it in cash you can use within a day or two, such as a savings account. This calculator does not add interest, because the job of the fund is to be available, not to grow.
Other calculators
This is an estimate for planning, not financial, tax, or lending advice. Nothing you type is saved. Ampluent forecasts the cash in a household day by day from paychecks, bills, and cards. See Ampluent