WealthCalc

Emergency fund calculator

Plan a cash buffer for unexpected bills or a loss of income, so you are less likely to need debt or sell investments in a hurry.

Essential costs you would need to keep paying during an income interruption. Include only expenses relevant to your reserve target.

The number of months of essential spending to include in this illustrative target. Allowed range: 1 to 36.

Cash or other funds you consider immediately available for emergencies. Investments are not counted automatically.

Submitted inputs are processed by FirePlan’s server and are not saved. Privacy

Emergency-fund target

Monthly essential spending multiplied by the selected coverage months. This is an illustration, not a recommendation.

12,000

Currency units

Remaining gap
The additional liquid savings needed to reach the selected target.
7,000.00
Above target
0.00
Current coverage
Liquid savings divided by monthly essential spending. It is undefined when no expenses are entered.
2.50 months
Common coverage comparisons
MonthsTargetGap / surplus
36,000.00Gap 1,000.00
612,000.00Gap 7,000.00
918,000.00Gap 13,000.00
1224,000.00Gap 19,000.00

* Not financial advice. Just for fun and information. Read the full Disclaimer, also linked in the footer, for more.

Emergency-fund target: 12,000 currency units.

What an emergency fund helps with

An emergency fund is money set aside for life’s surprises: a repair, an unexpected bill, or time out of work. Having cash available can give you breathing room while you deal with the problem and help protect money invested for longer-term goals.

Enter the essential bills you would still need to pay each month, choose how many months you want to cover, and add the savings already set aside. The comparison table lets you explore different amounts of breathing room; it does not choose the right amount for you.

Reading your result

The target is the cash buffer you are planning for. The gap is how much more you would need to save; a surplus means your savings are above that target. Count money you can access when needed, without relying on selling your investment portfolio. This expense-based estimate does not separately budget for every possible one-off emergency.

For example, essential bills of 2,000 a month and six months of cover give a target of 12,000. With 5,000 already set aside, the gap is 7,000. Your chosen number of months is a planning assumption, not a recommendation. Use financial runway to also account for income that would continue coming in.

The maths behind the estimate

Target = essential monthly expenses × months of cover. The gap is the target minus available savings, with a minimum of zero; savings above the target are a surplus. Zero expenses give a zero target, but months of cover cannot then be calculated.