Emergency fund
How far you are from a three-month cushion and a full six-month fund.
SHIP'S INSTRUMENTS
Emergency fund calculator
An emergency fund is the cash that keeps a surprise bill from becoming new debt. Enter your monthly expenses, what you have set aside, and what you can add each month to see the gap to a three-month cushion and a full six-month fund.
How it's calculated
- The starter target is three months of expenses; the full fund is six. Progress is what you have saved divided by each target.
- Time to reach a target is the remaining amount divided by your monthly savings, rounded up to whole months. Interest on the fund is ignored, which keeps the estimate conservative.
Worked example
With $3,200 in monthly expenses, $2,500 saved, and $500 added a month, the three-month cushion of $9,600 is about 15 months away and the six-month fund of $19,200 is just under three years out.
Frequently asked
How many months do I really need?
Three months covers most single-income households with stable jobs; six is the common recommendation for variable income, a single earner supporting others, or a specialized field where a job search takes longer. The app's Build Your Ark path treats a small starter cushion as step one and the full fund as a later milestone.
Where should the money live?
Somewhere boring and liquid: a high-yield savings or money-market account you can reach in a day or two, separate from the checking account you spend from. Not invested - a market drop and a job loss tend to arrive together.
Should I build this before paying off debt?
Build a small starter cushion first - often around one month of expenses - so the next surprise does not go on a card. Then attack high-interest debt, and finish the full fund after. The payoff planner can show what the debt side looks like.
Related calculators
Every calculator here runs in your browser and matches the math in the BudgetArk app's Charts tab. Nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.
Want it with your real numbers?
In the app, this tool pulls from your actual debts, budget, and accounts - and everything stays on your phone.