Free Emergency Fund Calculator
Enter your monthly essential expenses and current savings to see how much of an emergency fund you have and how long it will take to reach a 3 or 6 month target.
Emergency Fund Calculator
Mr B says: Three months is a starting point. If you're self-employed, have dependants, or work in a volatile industry, aim for six. Security has a dollar value.$
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Emergency fund summary
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⚠️ This tool is for general guidance only and is not financial advice.
Common questions
Emergency fund questions
Most financial guidance recommends three to six months of essential expenses. Essential expenses include rent or mortgage, groceries, utilities, transport, insurance, and minimum debt repayments — not discretionary spending. If you are self-employed, have dependants, or work in a volatile industry, aim for six months.
A high-interest savings account that you don't use for everyday spending. It needs to be immediately accessible but not so convenient that you dip into it casually. A separate account with a different institution than your main bank adds a small friction barrier that helps.
Job loss, sudden medical expense, urgent home repair, or a major unexpected bill. A sale at the shops, a holiday, or a discretionary upgrade is not an emergency. If you find yourself using the fund regularly, you probably need to adjust your regular budget rather than top up the emergency fund.
Build a small starter emergency fund first — one month of expenses is a reasonable starting point — then aggressively pay off high-interest debt. Without any emergency buffer, a single unexpected expense sends you straight back to the credit card. Once high-interest debt is cleared, build the full 3–6 month fund.