How much should be in an emergency fund?
3 to 6 months of essential expenses is the usual guidance from FINRA, Fidelity and Vanguard: $12,000 to $24,000 if your essentials cost $4,000 a month. A good first goal is $2,000 or half a month of expenses, whichever is more, Vanguard's first milestone for surprise bills. The CFPB notes that the right amount depends on your situation; Vanguard and Fidelity point to one income, dependents and uneven pay as reasons to save more.
| Essentials a month | 3 months | 4 months | 6 months | 8 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2,000 | $6,000 | $8,000 | $12,000 | $16,000 |
| $2,500 | $7,500 | $10,000 | $15,000 | $20,000 |
| $3,000 | $9,000 | $12,000 | $18,000 | $24,000 |
| $3,500 | $10,500 | $14,000 | $21,000 | $28,000 |
| $4,000 | $12,000 | $16,000 | $24,000 | $32,000 |
| $5,000 | $15,000 | $20,000 | $30,000 | $40,000 |
| $6,000 | $18,000 | $24,000 | $36,000 | $48,000 |
| $7,500 | $22,500 | $30,000 | $45,000 | $60,000 |
| $10,000 | $30,000 | $40,000 | $60,000 | $80,000 |
How many months of expenses should I save?
Start at 3 months and add a month for each risk: one income, a less secure job, dependents or owning a home. Self-employment or irregular income adds two. Two earners with steady jobs, no dependents and a rented home need about 3 months; a single parent who owns a home about 6; a self-employed single parent who owns a home 8. Vanguard lists a single income, dependents, income variability and job security among the factors that push the amount up.
| Situation | Months | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Two incomes, steady jobs, no dependents, renting | 3 | $12,000 |
| One income, steady job, renting | 4 | $16,000 |
| Two incomes, homeowners with children | 5 | $20,000 |
| One income, a less secure job, renting | 5 | $20,000 |
| Single parent who owns a home | 6 | $24,000 |
| Self-employed, one income, renting | 6 | $24,000 |
| Self-employed single parent who owns a home | 8 | $32,000 |
Where should I keep my emergency fund?
In a savings account of its own that is safe, quick to reach and apart from your everyday spending, which is how the CFPB puts it. Good homes for it:
- A high-yield savings account or a money market deposit account at an FDIC-insured bank. The FDIC insures deposits up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank, for each account ownership category.
- A savings account at a credit union, where the NCUA insures accounts at federally insured credit unions up to $250,000.
- A money market fund at a brokerage is a common alternative, but it is a mutual fund, not an insured deposit.
Keep it out of stocks, which can fall just when you need the money, and out of accounts that charge a penalty to withdraw.
How many Americans could cover an emergency expense?
63% of US adults said they would cover an unexpected $400 expense with cash or its equivalent in 2025, unchanged from 2024, according to the Federal Reserve's Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, fielded in October 2025 and published in May 2026. 12% said they could not pay it by any means. 55% had emergency savings that would cover three months of expenses, down from 59% in 2021.
How long does it take to build an emergency fund?
Setting aside $500 a month, 3 months of $4,000 essentials ($12,000) takes 2 years from zero, and 6 months takes 4 years. At $1,000 a month it takes 1 year and 2 years. A $2,000 starter fund comes first, in 4 months at $500 a month.
| Set aside a month | Starter ($2,000) | 3 months ($12,000) | 6 months ($24,000) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $250 | 8 months | 4 years | 8 years |
| $500 | 4 months | 2 years | 4 years |
| $750 | 3 months | 1 year, 4 months | 2 years, 8 months |
| $1,000 | 2 months | 1 year | 2 years |
| $1,500 | 2 months | 8 months | 1 year, 4 months |
What counts as an essential expense?
The bills you would still have to pay if your income stopped: rent or mortgage, utilities, groceries, insurance premiums, transportation, minimum debt payments, childcare and health care. Leave out restaurant meals, travel, entertainment and memberships, which you could cut in an emergency.
How the calculator works
- Essentials are the eight categories you enter, added up for a month.
- Your target starts at 3 months of essentials. It adds 1 for one income, 1 for a less secure job, 2 for self-employment or irregular income, 1 for dependents and 1 for owning a home, up to 8 months.
- Covered now is your emergency savings divided by a month of essentials, rounded down.
- Time to target is what's left to save divided by what you set aside each month, rounded up to whole months, with no interest.
- The starter fund is half a month of essentials or $2,000, whichever is more, following Vanguard.