Emergency Fund
How much to save, where to keep it, and how to work a fully-funded emergency fund into your monthly budget.
An emergency fund is cash set aside specifically for unplanned expenses — job loss, medical bills, urgent repairs — kept separate from everyday spending and investment accounts so it's available without having to sell investments at a bad time. Common guidance suggests three to six months of essential expenses, though the right target varies with job stability, whether a household has one income or two, and existing insurance coverage. Because the fund's job is availability rather than growth, it's typically held in a high-yield savings account or similar low-risk, liquid vehicle rather than invested in the market, where a downturn could coincide with exactly the moment the money is needed.
