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How much emergency fund do I actually need?

Work out how big your emergency fund should be from your real monthly essentials — and exactly how much is left to save.

Rent or mortgage, utilities, groceries, insurance, minimum debt payments, transport — the bills that don't stop if your income does.

Three months is a solid floor; six is sturdier if your income is variable or one income covers a household.

Cash you could reach in a day or two — not retirement accounts.

A 3-month emergency fund at $3,200/month in essentials is $9,600. You have $1,000 — $8,600 to go.

Your target fund
$9,600
Saved so far
$1,000
Still to save
$8,600
Months covered nowHow long your current savings would cover essentials with no income.
0.3 months

OneTruth Money holds your emergency fund as a Goal with its own Keep in Account, so the balance you spend from never includes the money you're protecting.

Track it as a goal

How to use the emergency fund calculator

  1. 1Add up your monthly essentials. Total the bills that don't stop if your income does — housing, utilities, groceries, insurance, minimum debt payments, transport.
  2. 2Pick your months of cover. Three months is a solid floor; choose six if your income is variable or a single income covers the household.
  3. 3Subtract what you've saved. What's left is your target. Aim a small automatic transfer at it every payday until it's full.

Go deeper

How much emergency fund do I actually need?

How much emergency fund do I need? Size it from your essential monthly bills times three to six months, not your salary. Here's how to set the number.

Read the guide

Want this to just happen?

OneTruth Money holds your emergency fund as a Goal with its own Keep in Account, so the balance you spend from never includes the money you're protecting.

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