Is a 3-Month Emergency Fund Really Enough?

Is a 3-Month Emergency Fund Really Enough?

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[customtheatres]

12 month emergency fund here. My boss can’t scare me anymore

[hurt]

I prefer a 12 month emergency fund myself. Probably overkill, but It makes me sleep well at night and I feel comfortable

[wadesuhr]

These two co-hosts are great together.

[djw]

My current comfort level for emergency fund: 12 months. Too much weirdness going on right now. PS I'm in Texas.

[armyguy]

The most terrifying thing i have ever heard " I have seven daughters"

[MrJay]

If I had it my way I would have 50 year emergency fund. In reality one year would be nice.

[clarks]

I didn’t have any mental reservations with saving my first $1000. I had more mental reservations with buckling down to pay my debt because it means I had to get uncomfortable with life. Now I’m debt free, still uncomfortable but definitely feel better about the leap I took. Now I have 3mo of savings and I’m gonna keep putting money aside to make it into 6mo.

[Chet_]

Having 1 yr saved up is ideal. Being able to tell your boss to stfu if you've had enough is very empowering.

[PlethoraShae]

I really enjoyed this back and forth between Anthony and Christy.

[JohnsonKayla]

I’ve heard if you have kids you should have a 6-12 month emergency fund.

[DaveM-FFB]

Look into teaching college level at a university that offers free tuition for children of workers. Yup, it's a thing!

[justfine]

Anthony is the heir to Dave’s throne. I love his whole game. He gives sound and confident advice.

[davidmilhouscarter]

I’m debt free save the mortgage and I have slightly more than 50% of my gross annual income saved and still don’t feel completely comfortable.

[earthsteward]

On The Financial Diet one guy said he had a 12 month emergency fund because he worked freelance who was always bouncing from contract to contract

[lmelior]

Considering half of his income is absolutely guaranteed, he could very easily have an even smaller emergency fund based on specific unexpected events like a car breaking down or a leaking roof or losing an HVAC unit (I say "unexpected" because if you know one of these things is coming, then you should be saving up for a replacement separate from your emergency fund). One of the main reasons for the 3-6 month time frame is that's how long it should take to replace your income in the event of a job loss. But if he can make that ~$4k/mo stretch in the event of losing his teaching job, he doesn't really need that time-based emergency fund.

[balazsbuza]

First time I've gotten to like someone after 2 minutes of listening to them without even seeing them, this caller was really cool.

[whitney]

I think <its the thought that counts> refers to when people try but it doesnt work out, not that they just thought about doing something, but didnt act.

[Lon]

The most motivating thing is dopamine and other neurochemicals, and progress is the way to get a continual flow of them to your brain's reward centres.

[patricksanden]

The drive for me has been “zero payments.”

[MillionaireMindsetClub]

3-month emergency fund works for most but there isn't one answer for all. As Rachel said, there is room for customization.