Emergency Fund Calculator
How big your emergency fund should be, and how long it takes to get there.
Good to know. The best emergency fund is boring: easy to reach, hard to spend, and never invested in anything exciting.
Not financial advice. Uses only the numbers and rates you enter — no live data.
How it works
In plain words
Multiply your essential monthly costs by the number of months you want to cover. Subtract what you have, and divide the rest by what you can save each month.
The formula
target = essential costs per month × months months to go = (target − saved) ÷ monthly saving, rounded up
Worked example
Essentials of 2,500 a month for 6 months is a target of 15,000.00. With 4,000 saved, 11,000 is still to go: at 500 a month, that is 22 months.
Sources
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, An essential guide to building an emergency fund What to count, and how to build the fund step by step.
Sources checked September 30, 2026. 4 automated tests check its answers on every change.
About the emergency fund calculator
An emergency fund is money set aside for the things that go wrong: a lost job, a car repair, a medical bill, a broken boiler. With it, a bad month is an inconvenience instead of a new credit card balance.
The usual advice is three to six months of essential costs. Count only what you would still have to pay if your income stopped: housing, food, utilities, insurance, transport and minimum debt payments, not holidays or eating out. Three months can be enough with a secure job or two incomes in the household. Six is safer for most people, and nine to twelve makes sense if you are self-employed, work on commission or support a family on one income.
Keep it where you can reach it within a day or two without losing value: a high-yield savings account or money market account, not shares. It won’t grow much, and that is the point.
If the target looks far off, start smaller. Even 500 or 1,000 covers most surprise bills, and the habit matters more than the amount. Pay off high-interest debt alongside it, then build up to the full fund.
Questions people ask
How much should I have in an emergency fund?
Three to six months of essential costs. With 2,500 of essentials a month, that is 7,500 to 15,000.
Where should I keep my emergency fund?
In a savings account you can reach quickly, ideally one with a good interest rate, separate from your everyday account.
Should I save or pay off debt first?
Save a small buffer first, then pay off high-interest debt, then build the full fund. Without a buffer, the next surprise goes on a card.