How many months of expenses do I have saved, and how many do I need?
Enter your cash and monthly essentials to see your months of cover, a target that fits your income, household and work status, and how long it takes to close the gap.
How steady is your income?
A salaried job you expect to keep: no extra months.
Incomes in your household
A job loss removes all of the pay. The starting point is 6 months.
People who depend on your income
No extra months.
Work status
Not on a visa: no extra months.
MONTHS OF EXPENSES SAVEDBELOW THREE MONTHS
1.8months
You have $9,000, which covers 1.8 months of your $5,000 in monthly essentials. This page’s rule-of-thumb target is 6 months ($30,000), so you are $21,000 short; saving $1,000 a month closes that in 21 months.
Target
6 months
Target amount
$30,000
Still needed
$21,000
Time to fund
21 months
UNDERSTAND YOUR RESULT
Where your cushion sits
Months of essentials in cash1.8
3 mo
Target 6 mo
You have 1.8 months of essentials in cash. FINRA gives three to six months as the usual range and the FDIC says at least six; your situation points to 6.
How fast you can close the gap
Adding $1,000 a month takes the fund from $9,000 to the $30,000 target in 21 months.
Where your target comes from
Your target is 6 months: 3 for two steady incomes, +3 for one income. This is the page’s rule of thumb, built on the three to six months FINRA gives and the “at least six” the FDIC gives. Neither publishes a formula.
What moves the needle
Each row re-runs the calculation with one change. Click to apply.How it's computed
FORMULA
Months saved = cash ÷ monthly essential expenses
Target = months for your situation × monthly essentials (3 to 12 months)
Months to fund = (target − cash) ÷ monthly saving, rounded up
- Essential expenses are what you must pay each month if income stops. The Money Map prefills your total spending, so trim it to the essentials for a truer figure.
- The target starts at 3 months for two steady incomes and no dependents (the low end of FINRA’s three to six months), adds 3 for one income (six is the FDIC’s “at least six”), 1 or 3 for less certain or irregular income, 1 or 2 for dependents and 2 for a work visa, up to 12. This is a rule of thumb, not a published formula; FINRA and the FDIC give ranges only.
- Saving is a steady monthly amount; interest on the fund is not counted, which would shorten the timeline slightly.
WORKED EXAMPLE · SAMPLE NUMBERS
$9,000 ÷ $5,000 = 1.80 months saved. Target: 3 + 3 = 6 months × $5,000 = $30,000. Gap: $30,000 − $9,000 = $21,000. $21,000 ÷ $1,000 = 21.0, rounded up to 21 months.
SOURCES
[1]Financial Foundations: start an emergency fundFINRA[2]Saving for the Unexpected and Your FutureFederal Deposit Insurance Corporation, January 2025[3]Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2025: Savings and InvestmentsFederal Reserve Board, May 2026[4]8 CFR § 214.1(l)(2) — grace period after employment endsCode of Federal Regulations, via Cornell Legal Information InstituteHSBuilt by Hussain Sehorewala · checked against worked examples · Sep 29, 2026
Keep this number honest as your life changes.
Put it on your Money Map and it re-runs as you change the seven numbers. It stays in this browser, and the calculator stays free.
Questions about this result
FINRA says financial planners often recommend three to six months of living expenses, and that people with variable income or specialized careers might need more. The FDIC says experts generally recommend at least six months. The Federal Reserve measures households against three months: in 2025, 55% of adults said they had set that much aside. This page starts at three months and adds months for one income, less certain income, dependents and a work visa.
The bills you would still have to pay if your income stopped: rent or mortgage, food, utilities, insurance, minimum debt payments, transportation, childcare and health care. Leave out what you would cut, such as dining out, travel and subscriptions. The Money Map prefills your total spending, so trim it for a truer figure.
The FDIC says to hold it in a federally insured product such as a savings account or a certificate of deposit. Money that has to be there on short notice does not belong in investments that can fall in value when you need it.
This page adds two months. A laid-off work-visa holder has a grace period of up to 60 days (8 CFR 214.1(l)(2)) in which working is prohibited unless separately authorized, and unemployment benefits depend on the state and the facts. The two months are this page’s rule of thumb, not an official figure. The layoff runway calculator counts your actual cash against your actual costs and the 60-day deadline.
This page sizes the fund and does not decide the order. A card balance usually costs more in interest than a savings account pays, but with no cash set aside a surprise bill lands on the card. The debt payoff planner shows what the interest costs at your balances so you can weigh the two.
No. FINRA and the FDIC give ranges, not a formula. The additions on this page are stated choices you can see step by step in the chart, and changing an answer shows its effect. A household with a very secure job, savings elsewhere and no dependents might reasonably hold less; one with irregular income might hold more.
THE LEDGER · 14 minThe Side Hustle Tax Bomb: The $12,000 Mistake Nobody Warns You About
THE LEDGER · 16 min15 Retirement Planning Mistakes That Cost $100,000+ (2026)