How long will it take to build my emergency fund?

Multiply your monthly Fixed and Needs by the months you want covered, subtract what you have, then divide by what you add each month. Example with hypothetical numbers: $2,500 a month of Fixed and Needs times 6 months is a $15,000 target. With $2,000 saved and $300 a month going in, the last $13,000 takes about 3 years and 8 months.

How much should my emergency fund be?

It depends on whether you're carrying high-interest debt, like a credit card balance. If you are, first build your emergency fund to $1,000 or one month of expenses, whichever is greater, then put enough into your plan at work to get any employer match, and send the rest of its share to the debt. If you're not, keep filling it until it holds 3 to 9 months of Fixed and Needs. Aim closer to 3 if you live at home, have a second income in the house, or your kind of job is easy to find again. Aim closer to 9 if yours is the only income, your pay moves month to month, or a job like yours takes a long time to land.

What counts toward the target?

Your Fixed and Needs. Fixed is the bills you can't skip, like rent, car payment, phone, insurance, minimum payments, and the subscriptions you actually use, plus a monthly share of the bills that don't come monthly. Needs is the everyday stuff that changes month to month, like groceries, gas, prescriptions, and the dog.

Emergency Fund Calculator: How Much Should I Save?

Emergency fund planner

Target fund

$15,000

0.8 months covered

Monthly Fixed and Needs

Months of coverage

Already saved

Monthly savings toward fund

Target emergency fund

$15,000

About 3y 8m to reach your goal at this pace.

Emergency fund

Saving $300 a month from $2,000, you reach $15,000 in 3y 8m.

Save your results

The details behind your number

Where you stand

Covered today: 0.8 months; $2,000 against $2,500 a month.
Your target: 6 months; $15,000
Still to save: $13,000

How big should it get?

In the FUNDS framework, your emergency fund is called Unexpected. It gets a steady share of every paycheck, and how big it grows depends on whether you're carrying high-interest debt, like a credit card balance.

With high-interest debt: $1,000; Then the rest of its share goes to the debt
No high-interest debt, 3 months: $7,500; The low end
No high-interest debt, 9 months: $22,500; The high end

Carrying high-interest debt? First fill Unexpected to $1,000 or one month of expenses, whichever is greater. Then put enough into your plan at work to get any employer match. After that, send the rest of its share to the debt as an extra payment on top of the minimum.

Not carrying that kind of debt? Keep filling Unexpected until it holds 3 to 9 months of Fixed and Needs. Aim closer to 3 if you live at home, if there's a second income in the house, or if your kind of job is easy to find again. Aim closer to 9 if yours is the only income, if your pay moves month to month, or if a job like yours takes a long time to land.

Once it's full, its share moves to Stash. Any time you use it, the share goes back to refilling it.

The Unexpected test: you didn't choose it, and it has a deadline. A flat tire, an urgent care visit, or a cracked phone screen counts. A weekend in Miami doesn't, because you knew about that in March.

Milestones on the way

Each step gives you more breathing room.

$1,000, the first stop if you carry high-interest debtAlready there
3 months of Fixed and Needs, $7,500In 1y 7m
6 months of Fixed and Needs, $15,000 (your target)In 3y 8m
9 months of Fixed and Needs, $22,500In 5y 9m

What if you saved more each month?

Time to reach your emergency fund target at different monthly amounts
Monthly savings	Time to target
$300 (yours)You	3y 8m
$400 (+$100)	2y 9m
$550 (+$250)	2 years
$800 (+$500)	1y 5m

Your next step

Same numbers, different first step

Two people can get this exact result and need totally different first steps. Your Money Type tells you which one is yours.

Find my Money TypeFree, about 2 minutes

Already know yours?

Plan with Fifecta? Ask your numbers in Claude

How It Works

01
Enter your monthly Fixed and Needs and how many months you want covered: 3 to 9 once you have no high-interest debt.
02
Add what you've already saved and what you can save each month.
03
See your target emergency fund and how long it takes to reach it.

The 4 Money Types

The Math Is the Same. Your First Step Isn't.

Spenders, Savers, Scramblers, and Strategists each need a different first fix. The free quiz tells you which type you are, so you know what to do with this number.

Find My Money Type

Common questions

: Multiply your monthly Fixed and Needs by the months you want covered, subtract what you have, then divide by what you add each month. Example with hypothetical numbers: $2,500 a month of Fixed and Needs times 6 months is a $15,000 target. With $2,000 saved and $300 a month going in, the last $13,000 takes about 3 years and 8 months.
: It depends on whether you're carrying high-interest debt, like a credit card balance. If you are, first build your emergency fund to $1,000 or one month of expenses, whichever is greater, then put enough into your plan at work to get any employer match, and send the rest of its share to the debt. If you're not, keep filling it until it holds 3 to 9 months of Fixed and Needs. Aim closer to 3 if you live at home, have a second income in the house, or your kind of job is easy to find again. Aim closer to 9 if yours is the only income, your pay moves month to month, or a job like yours takes a long time to land.
: Your Fixed and Needs. Fixed is the bills you can't skip, like rent, car payment, phone, insurance, minimum payments, and the subscriptions you actually use, plus a monthly share of the bills that don't come monthly. Needs is the everyday stuff that changes month to month, like groceries, gas, prescriptions, and the dog.
: Use the Unexpected test: you didn't choose it, and it has a deadline. A flat tire, an urgent care visit, or a cracked phone screen counts. A weekend in Miami doesn't, because you knew about that in March.

More Free Tools

See all 17 tools

Emergency Fund Calculator