Plot No. 28 · Money & Finance
Emergency Fund Calculator
Work out how big your emergency fund should be and how far your current savings already stretch. Multiply your essential monthly expenses by the number of months of cover you want to get your target fund, then subtract what you have saved to see the shortfall. Dividing savings by expenses shows the months you are covered for today.
Base the expenses figure on essentials only, the spending you could not pause in a crisis. Keep the fund in an easy-access account.
The link saves your inputs so you can bookmark or share this exact result.
How the emergency fund target is worked out
An emergency fund is cash set aside for a job loss, a broken boiler or any shock that hits without warning. The calculator multiplies your essential monthly expenses by the number of months of cover you want to get a target fund, then subtracts your current savings to show the shortfall still to save. Dividing your savings by your monthly expenses shows how many months you are already covered for.
Three to six months of essentials is the usual benchmark, with six to twelve months suiting self-employed people or single-income households whose income is less predictable. The key is to base the figure on essential spending only, the bills you genuinely could not pause if money stopped coming in.
How to use the emergency fund calculator
- Add up your essential monthly outgoings (housing, utilities, food, insurance and minimum debt payments) and enter the total.
- Choose how many months of cover you want from the dropdown: 3, 6, 9 or 12.
- Enter what you already have saved to see the shortfall and the months you currently cover.
Worked examples
Halfway to a six-month buffer
Inputs: Essential expenses 2,000 a month, 6 months of cover, current savings 5,000
Result: Target fund 12,000, with 7,000 still to save. Your 5,000 already covers 2.5 months.
Stretching to twelve months
Inputs: Same 2,000 expenses and 5,000 saved but 12 months of cover
Result: Target rises to 24,000 and the shortfall to 19,000, while months covered now stays at 2.5.
Limitations and common mistakes
Edge cases and limitations
- It assumes your essential expenses stay flat. A change in rent, childcare or debt payments shifts the target.
- It does not factor in inflation eroding the fund over a long savings period, so revisit the target each year.
- Months covered is a simple division. A real emergency may bring extra costs that burn through the fund faster than expected.
Common mistakes
- Entering total spending including holidays and subscriptions, which inflates the target beyond genuine essentials.
- Counting money locked in investments or notice accounts as the emergency fund when it cannot be reached instantly.
Frequently asked questions
How many months of expenses should an emergency fund cover?
Three to six months of essential expenses is the common rule, with six to twelve months suited to self-employed people or single-income households. With essentials of £2,000 a month, a six-month fund is £12,000. Pick the months that match how stable and predictable your income is.
What counts as an essential monthly expense?
Use only the spending you could not easily stop: rent or mortgage, utilities, food, insurance, minimum debt payments and transport to work. Leave out holidays, subscriptions you could pause and discretionary shopping. A leaner figure gives a more realistic target for genuine emergencies.
Where should I keep my emergency fund?
Keep it somewhere safe and instantly accessible, such as an easy-access savings account, not locked away in investments that can fall in value or in a fixed-term product with penalties. The point of an emergency fund is that you can reach it the day you need it.
Related calculators
UK Salary Take-Home Calculator
Estimate your monthly take-home from a UK gross salary using simplified 2025 tax bands.
Mortgage Repayment Calculator
See your monthly mortgage payment and total interest over the life of the loan.
FIRE Retirement Calculator
Find out when you can retire based on savings, monthly investing and target spend.
Loan Amortization Calculator
Year-by-year breakdown of principal and interest for any fixed-rate loan.
See all money & finance calculators.