Most of my money is in an after tax account, so it can be liquidated quickly if I was ever in a pinch. Bare bones monthly expenses are around $2k. After bills are paid there's usually $2,500 in checking and my savings account is heavily ignored. There's probably ~$2,600 in there at the moment, so I'm comfortable with $5k cash and the rest is invested. At the moment about 5% of my NW is in cash while the rest is split between 401k, IRA, HSA, and after-tax accounts. I've done this for 3 years so far and not had to dip into my savings account or investment accounts. Next year this will change, as I'll finally start saving for a down payment on a home.