Emergency Fund Calculator
How big an emergency fund to aim for in months of essential expenses, how much cover you have now, and how long it takes to build.
Result
Enter months of cover you want to see the result.
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Results are arithmetic estimates based on the values you enter. Rates, fees and terms are set by your lender or provider, and your actual agreement controls what you pay or receive. Confirm important figures with them or with a qualified adviser. Read the full disclaimer
How to use the Emergency Fund Calculator
- Enter your essential monthly expenses, what has to be paid whatever happens, not your total spending.
- Choose how many months of those expenses you want the fund to cover.
- Enter what you have saved and what you can add each month, and read the target, the cover you have now and how long the rest will take.
How it is worked out
target = essential monthly expenses × months of coverstill to save = target − savings (never below zero)months to build: add each month's saving, plus interest if any, until the target is met, rounded upcover now = savings ÷ essential monthly expensesThe months to build are rounded up, because the fund is not complete until the last month’s saving goes in. With 5,000 saved and 600 a month towards a 19,200 target, that is 24 months.
Inflation
A target set in today’s money will buy less by the time it is reached. If you enter an inflation rate, the page shows what the target amounts to on the date you would reach it, so you can raise the goal as you go.
After it is built
An emergency fund is for one-off shocks: a lost job, a repair, a medical bill. Once you use it, rebuilding it becomes the next goal. The savings goal calculator works for that, and for anything else you save towards.
With your numbers
- Target = $3,200.00 × 6 months = $19,200.00
- Still to save = $14,200.00, 24 months at $600.00 a month, rounded up
Quick reference
Essential expenses only. Using total spending roughly doubles the target.
| Example | Target fund |
|---|---|
| USD 3,200 a month, 6 months, USD 5,000 saved | $19,200.00 |
| USD 3,200 a month, 3 months | $9,600.00 |
| Already covered | $19,200.00 |
| Nothing saved monthly | $19,200.00 |
| USD 4,000 a month, 9 months, 4% interest | $36,000.00 |
| EUR 2,500 a month, 6 months, 3% inflation | €15,000.00 |
Common questions about the Emergency Fund Calculator
- How many months should an emergency fund cover?
- There is no agreed number. Three to six months is widely repeated, but no one can trace it to a study, so this page does not fill it in. What should move your choice: how steady your income is, whether others depend on it, how long finding new work might take in your field, the size of your insurance excesses, and whether you have other savings or credit to fall back on.
- Why essential expenses rather than total spending?
- Because in an emergency you would stop the spending you can stop. The fund needs to cover housing, food, utilities, insurance, transport to work and minimum debt payments, not holidays or eating out. Using total spending can roughly double the target and make it seem out of reach.
- Where should an emergency fund be kept?
- Somewhere you can reach quickly without losing value, which usually means an instant-access savings account rather than investments that can fall just when you need them. The interest field lets you see what a savings rate does to the time it takes to build.
- What if I cannot save anything each month right now?
- Then the page says the target is not reached at that rate, rather than giving an endless number of months. Even a small regular amount gives a date, and the budget calculator can help find one.