Emergency Fund Calculator
Three to six months of expenses is a range, not an answer. How much you need depends on how replaceable your income is, and this works out which end of the range applies to you.
How this is calculated
How the target is worked out
An emergency fund is measured in months of expenses, not in a round dollar figure, because what it has to cover is time without income.
target = essential monthly expenses × months of cover
The usual advice is "three to six months", which is a range rather than an answer. Which end applies depends on how replaceable your income is: two salaried incomes are far more robust than one, and self-employment has no notice period, no severance, and usually no unemployment insurance.
Each dependent adds a month, capped at three. The cap is deliberate: an uncapped rule produces targets nobody can reach, and an unreachable target tends to be abandoned rather than approached.
Worked example. $3,000 of essential expenses on a single salary is a six-month target of $18,000. Saving $300 a month from a $2,000 start closes the $16,000 gap in 54 months.
Educational content only, not financial advice. Consult a qualified professional before making financial decisions.