How big is you emergency fund?

[Fireball]

$5,000 in a 1.05% savings account currently. It's all I can do to keep it in there as my job is stable, we have access to thousands in credit and save about $80k annually. I always feel like I'm wasting that money.  It does make the wife feel more secure so I will most likely leave it there.

[SeattleStache]

I keep $5,000 for unexpected expenses related to my condo rental and $5,000 for my own personal emergency fund. I also keep 1 month's mortgage payment in my checking account as the effective $0. I view my Roth as my true "shit hits the fan" fund and max that out every year.

[Million2000]

1 year of minimal expenses for my wife and I (no vacations, Obamacare health insurance, etc.) in cash, roughly $30,000. I have plans to divide this into 3 segments, one in cash savings/money market, the second in CDs, the third in I-Bonds. I figure the main changes to real value are because of interest rates and inflation. Savings/money market interest increases with higher interest rates and have highest liquidity, CDs lock in rates when interest rates decrease, and I-Bonds protect against inflation. These contain no risk except for some early withdrawal penalties, since I use Ally these are very small.

[sideburns]

Just 2 months basic expenses. About $1600-1800. I'm starting a "downpayment/cc for a house saving account" this summer, once my last debt is gone, so my cash on hand for emergencies will rise then for awhile. I'll probably get a HELOC once I own a home as an emergency buffer.

[andy85]

Currently 5k. Will build up to 10k before the end of 2017. Doubt i go much higher than 10k. All in cash.

I have like a 20k credit card limit should shit really go south. 10k will be about 4-6 months of  living expenses for me.

[dodojojo]

About 7-8 months in cash and then another 8-9 months in Roth IRA.

After that, I start eating cat food.  Or tap into the stock investments.

[daverobev]

Nothing, pretty much.

[Northwestie]

1 year of minimal expenses for my wife and I (no vacations, Obamacare health insurance, etc.) in cash, roughly $30,000. I have plans to divide this into 3 segments, one in cash savings/money market, the second in CDs, the third in I-Bonds. I figure the main changes to real value are because of interest rates and inflation. Savings/money market interest increases with higher interest rates and have highest liquidity, CDs lock in rates when interest rates decrease, and I-Bonds protect against inflation. These contain no risk except for some early withdrawal penalties, since I use Ally these are very small.

Sounds proactive and safe

[Prairie Gal]

$12,000 in a HISA (1.75%) and usually 5-10,000 in checking.

[FireLane]

$15K in cash in a Capital One 360 savings account, earning 0.75% interest (pitiful, I know). That would probably be between 3 and 6 months of living expenses if it was our only source of income.

But the way I see it, we have a hefty safety margin. I and my wife both work, and we could live solely off either salary if we needed to. We could also tap our taxable Vanguard account in an absolute emergency, or take a hardship withdrawal from the 401(K). So it's pretty hard to imagine a situation where that cash would be the only thing supporting us.

[Yaeger]

I always have this discussion with myself, but I keep about 1 month of savings in a checking account and my credit card for emergencies. If I need more than that, I'll cash out some of my taxable accounts have more money within a couple of days.

I always feel like I'm throwing away money watching it sit in a low-yield savings or checking account.

[clarkfan1979]

I don't like to go below 30K in cash because we have two rental houses. It's probably too much cash, but I sleep really well. I think 30K in cash is about 1-2 years of living expenses if we are allowed to live off of the excess rental income.

[fmzip]

$20K which is 3 months of expenses....

Realistically, monthly mandatory expenses:

$600 mortgage
$400 taxes

We have no other debt, credit card lines of $50k available and $800K in the market in a 65/35 split. I never understood the need for an "emergency" fund.

I have enough capital loss carryover to sell something without any big ripple effect if I ever need to..

Maybe someone can chime in and sell me on an emergency that I am overlooking??

[Goldielocks]

My Emergency fund is so portly, it wears suspenders and often goes by its other name "Future home Mortgage paydown fund".  One day, it will be used to pay off the remainder of the mortgage, when large enough.


We have a variable mortgage rate, so I wanted the large fund to help me reduce stress in case of interest increases.

[BBub]

There's often a big difference between the E-fund preferences of retirees vs accumulators.  Retirees may be justified in carrying more cash to ride out volatilile markets or reduce sequencing risk.  Accumulators generally prefer to carry less, so the stash is working at full tilt on the path to FI.

MMM advocates no cash E-fund and a HELOC backup.  Most personal finance authors suggest 3-6 months cash.   

Our situation:
$10k Cash savings (3 months)
$15k HELOC
$25k Credit Card Limits

We are in accumulation phase.  When FIRE'd we will keep more cash on hand.

[Northwestie]

Well we've been maxing out our 401k for decades and paid off the mortgage last year so the cash position is about $150k right now- that's a bit much.  So I'm looking to invest 70% of that in a safe position - likely Ginnie Maes, so that will leave $60k as the emergency fund.  May help the kid with some outstanding college loans to bring it down a bit more.

[onehair]

$439 enough to pay the small bills but not larger ones.  Since Digit is the biggest one at $336 and the amount they take fluctuates with my spending and checking balances I don't count them in my set savings amount per month which is $84.

[Ramblin' Ma'am]

About $1000 in my physical bank and then about $12,000 in an online savings account. The latter would take a few days to transfer over, so I like to keep $1000 in my physical bank in case it's truly needed immediately.

[merula]

My checking account has enough to pay the next month's expenses, plus a $500-$1,000 cushion. Savings account has 2-3 months expenses. Taxable account has an extra 3-4 months, not by choice but because I ran out of tax-advantaged space (mustachian people problems).

I also have credit cards with cumulative $50,000 limits, a 401k I can borrow from, a very stable job in a very stable industry and an unhealthy relationship with Costco, so I have at least a month's worth of food at home. (It'd be a lot of lentils, rice and oatmeal, but we'd survive.)

I don't keep any cash at home typically, and carry very very little around. Mostly because between my husband and me we somehow find a way to spend it without remembering, which makes budgeting difficult.

[ender]

I never thought until today that every Roth IRA contribution expands effective emergency fund space.

That adds... a lot to our emergency funds :)

[dude]

$60k in Vanguard GNMA Fund (which has given us about 3.5% returns the past few years), another $5k-$20k in cash (it fluctuates with bonus deposits, tax payments, etc.; once it hits @$20k, we usually move $12k-$15k into the market). That, aiong with unemployment benefits would tide us over for 2 years pretty easily, I think. Though in truth, as a Fed employee with seniority and veteran's preference, job loss is the least of my concerns.  My wife's job is stable, but it's in the private sector in commercial real estate, so you never know.

[golden1]

I never thought until today that every Roth IRA contribution expands effective emergency fund space.

Yep, this was a game changer for me and my husband. 

[LindseyC]

Mind is very small right now, only $1000. I am trying to pay off all my debt, so I am throwing all my money at that. Once the debt is gone (roughly a year) my goal is to have at least 6 months of expenses $12,000 but I would be happier with $24,000 as I am a single income and own a house. A year would feel safer to me.

[asauer]

6 months of expenses. 

[ptgearguy]

I have 0 in emergency fund at the moment as I am putting everything towards my debt. I may start an emergency fund in a year or two. I have a very close family and we all would support each other if something were to happen. I am very lucky to be in the situation I am in as it allows me to get my financial life together (although it is also the reason I got into the mess in the first place!).

[FrogStash]

We maintain a minimum of about 5k in the savings account.  It fluctuates some as we save and then draw money off to put into the brokerage account.  My job is pretty stable, so there is no reason to keep 10s of thousands of dollars in an account that isn't earning any money.  If something blows up and we really need a lot of money, it's easy enough to raid the brokerage account.

Same here.  Plus my particular line of work is counter cyclical and lags the market by at least 90 days, so the worse the market and or economy gets, the greater my job security.  My biggest indicator that the economy is in ok shape right now (or 90 days ago anyway) is that our work volume and head count are both shrinking.

[tlsv]

$30k in cash and an empty secured line of credit with a $200,000 limit.

[PAstash]

I never thought until today that every Roth IRA contribution expands effective emergency fund space.

That adds... a lot to our emergency funds :)

would you expand on this for me?

[palebluedot]

I never thought until today that every Roth IRA contribution expands effective emergency fund space.

That adds... a lot to our emergency funds :)

would you expand on this for me?

You can withdraw ROTH contributions tax AND penalty free. I think the account has to be at least 5 years old though.

[bkmnky72]

Currently we have $19K which is close to 4 months of expenses.  But it will mostly go to pay taxes.  Thank God for e-fund?

We also have close to $15K in other savings, and another $5K  in rental investment e-fund. 

We have close to $50K in credit card limit. 

We also have 2 Roths.

Both our jobs are stable-ish. 

I'm probably going to streamline this too and pay off debts faster instead.

[Dicey]

The good old emergency fund topic.

My emergency fund = $0 since I currently have debt.

Here is my take on the emergency fund: if you have no debt, are steadily employed with good work benefits, and have available credit, then it likely makes more sense to invest your money than to have a significant amount of money sitting in a savings account "just in case".

Hmmm, you say you have debt, but you're offering "your [somewhat condescending] take" on EFs?

Is it possible if you had an emergency fund in the past you wouldn't be in debt now?

[geekinprogress]

$12.5k (~6 mos expenses) in savings.  I don't particularly relish earning so little on it, but I feel much more secure having it be readily available. 

[MoneyCat]

$10,000. I keep it pretty steady at that amount.

[Metric Mouse]

$12.5k (~6 mos expenses) in savings.  I don't particularly relish earning so little on it, but I feel much more secure having it be readily available.

Have you run the actual projections on the difference had you invested it? It might make you feel better...

[JoeBlow]

I use my checking account as my emergency fund.  I always keep a minimum of 10k in it (6-7 months expenses).  Once it gets to 20k, I transfer 10k over to my brokerage and invest it.

[Villanelle]

Cash available immediately (checking account and any cash on hand) is probably about 2-3 months living expenses when it is at it lowest point in the monthly cycle.  That doesn't include the mortgage on the properties, which is offset by the rent.

We have about $80k available on a HELOC, which is not nearly all the equity so  there's very little worry that will disappear or be decreased.  We also have plenty of non-retirement savings we could tap if necessary, and DH's job is about as stable as they come.  (I am not currently working.) 

[FIRE_Buckeye]

Having upwards or 20-30k+ in an E-fund like some in here seems incredibly excessive.
I normally keep 2-3k cash accessible, and if something larger were to occur I'd pull from the principal of my Roth IRA or taxable account.

[protostache]

A few months ago we decided to stop calling it our emergency fund and started calling it our reserve fund. Losing a job isn't an emergency, it's an eventuality, and that's what this cash is for. Thus, we have about seven months of budgeted expenses in a reserve fund. We also have about the same amount in various sinking funds (taxes, medical out of pocket max, taxes, house maintenance, travel, etc), most of which would get eaten if necessary. In addition, we start each month with 110% of the month's budget as a YNAB-style buffer.

We're self-employed so we've decided a large (excessive?) cash position is the wisest move. We're going to apply for a HELOC very shortly which should allow us to alleviate some of the pressure and maybe start putting some of that cash to work.

[freeedom]

Right now 5k... I lost my job like 6 months ago and was unemployed for two months, and then landed a much better paying one. Unemployment gave me more then enough to live on.

Everything else is invested.

[Metric Mouse]

Having upwards or 20-30k+ in an E-fund like some in here seems incredibly excessive.
I normally keep 2-3k cash accessible, and if something larger were to occur I'd pull from the principal of my Roth IRA or taxable account.

It probably depends on how big your portfolio is. 20-30 k may only be 5% of one's money; I wouldn't say that would be terrible to keep in cash.

[plainjane]

Having upwards or 20-30k+ in an E-fund like some in here seems incredibly excessive.
I normally keep 2-3k cash accessible, and if something larger were to occur I'd pull from the principal of my Roth IRA or taxable account.

It probably depends on how big your portfolio is. 20-30 k may only be 5% of one's money; I wouldn't say that would be terrible to keep in cash.

In contrast, I have dropped the size of my e-fund as our portfolio has grown (from 25k to 10k).  This is because if we need to draw down after a market crash, it would be a smaller proportion of our assets which need to be sold low.  We also both worked at the same company, so double job loss was more likely. 

When we just had 70k saved, a 40% drop + an emergency would have had a much larger impact. (Yes, there is a loss of potential growth, but I saw it as insurance - be happy you end up on the losing end of the deal.)

[Gas Panic]

I only keep ca $400 emergency fund.

Itīs an easy way to keep spending low.
If I were to loose my job tomorrow, I would still be able to save 50-60% of monthly income.

If I, for some reason, need money quickly I have 30-40k on credit cards and lots of index founds I can sell within a week.

[Trudie]

About 10K in money market (cash) plus we try to keep 3-4K above expenses in regular checking.  We have enough in taxable accounts (only a couple of days away) that we could liquidate and pay off our house (or at least keep mortgage up to date) until we can sell.  We also have access to a HELOC (70K).  We have enough in Roths that we could tap contributions without penalty.  We are also a two-income family (no kids) and pretty much live off one income right now.

Beyond that, we keep a fridge and freezer stocked and could cut expenses even more bare bones than we do now in a true shitastrophe.  The way I look at it is that in such a situation we would have to make major changes for the long-term, so we're not trying to fund the rest of our lives.  We're just trying to create a bridge.

My husband and I discussed a couple of these "doomsday" scenarios last night.  We sleep easily knowing that we have flexibility and even in the worst case scenario we could really cut down.  We play these games like, "What would you give up?"  or "Where do you think most people waste money?"  Seriously geeky, but it makes us mindful.

[Paradoxically]

I keep a rolling month of expenses in my checking account, then $10k (4 mo. or a good car replacement) in 5% netspend card accounts (a couple of days to get out free through ACH, or immediate with a few dollars of debit card fees)
Medical emergencies are covered separately through an HSA I'm building up
Also 10k in available credit at 0% for another year or so.

Currently saving up for a house downpayment, so I'll eventually have ~40k cash in netspend cards earning 5%.

[JoJo]

I have 15 years of expenses in my emergency fund.  Is that too much?

[Metric Mouse]

I have 15 years of expenses in my emergency fund.  Is that too much?

Good work! You're over halfway to FI!

[RedmondStash]

I have 15 years of expenses in my emergency fund.  Is that too much?

I'm not sure if you're kidding or serious, but if you're serious, it all depends on what you feel comfortable with. When I think "emergency fund," I think cash, or maybe easily accessible "springy" debt like a HELOC. If having 15 years in cash is where you feel comfortable, more power to you. I personally feel more comfortable with a high percentage of stocks and low percentages of bonds and cash, but that's me.

Regardless, having 15 years' worth of expenses in any form is a significant accomplishment.

[onehair]

I just made it to $404 as of this weekend  I was excited I broke the $400 mark that most households do not have...

[plainjane]

I just made it to $404 as of this weekend  I was excited I broke the $400 mark that most households do not have...

Congratulations.

Now you need to put in more to make sure it doesn't go missing or you aren't able to access it - you don't want to be stuck at 404 :)
(context if required for the less geeky - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_404)

[MrsDinero]

Probably too much. 

I keep 1 month expenses in my checking account at all times, but I have about $30k in an Ally Bank savings account (1% interest).  I opened my first Vanguard account in February and am still getting used to the idea of investing.  I'm slowly transferring more money from Ally into Vanguard as my comfort level grows.