How long could you last?

Only what keeps the household standing if your income stops: housing, utilities, groceries, minimum debt payments, transportation to get to work, insurance, and medicine. Leave out eating out, streaming, new clothes, and anything you'd cut in a real emergency. This calculator uses your bare-bones month — not your normal spending month — because that's the month your savings actually has to cover.

Because that's roughly how long it takes to replace a job, recover from an injury, or get through a major repair without going into debt. One month is a starter cushion that keeps a surprise bill off a credit card. Three months covers most layoffs and setbacks. Six months is the full buffer — smart if your income swings with overtime, shifts, or seasonal work, or if you're the only earner in the house.

In a separate savings account — ideally a high-yield savings account at a different bank than your everyday checking. Separate so you're not tempted to spend it, easy to reach within a day or two when something breaks, and never invested in stocks or crypto: the fund's job is to be there at full value on your worst week, not to grow.

Then your first goal isn't 3 months — it's the next $500, then one full month. Set the target to 1 month above, enter whatever you can add each paycheck (even $25 counts), and work the plan. A small fund that exists beats a perfect fund that's still on a wish list.