Finance & Investment · Planning
Emergency Fund Calculator
Work out how many months of essential expenses to keep aside for job loss or emergencies — based on how stable your income is and who depends on you — your target amount, the gap from what you have, and how long monthly saving will take to close it.
Your inputs
Quick start — try a typical case
₹ 50 thousand
Rent, food, utilities, transport, school fees, medicines — what you'd still pay if your income stopped.
₹ 15 thousand
₹ 36 thousand
Health, term and vehicle premiums — keep them paid during a crisis.
₹ 1.2 lakh
₹ 15 thousand
Your result Live
Emergency Fund Target
₹3,40,000
5 months × ₹68,000 of essential monthly costs (recommended for you)
- You Have
- ₹1,20,000 — 1.8 months of cover (35% of target)
- Still to Save
- ₹2,20,000
- Time to Build It
- 1 year 3 months at ₹15,000 a month
- Recommended Cover
- 5 months
- Suggested Split
- ₹68,000 in a savings account; the rest in sweep FDs or a liquid fund
- Saved · 35%₹1,20,000
- Still to save · 65%₹2,20,000
How this is calculated
Target = (Essential expenses + EMIs + Insurance ÷ 12) × Months of cover
- Months of cover
- 4 for a stable salary, 6 for a less secure job, 9 for variable income; +1 each for dependents and a single-income household (max 12)
An emergency fund pays essential bills — including EMIs and insurance premiums — if your income stops or a large unplanned expense hits, so you don't have to sell investments at a bad time or borrow on a credit card. The less predictable your income and the more people rely on it, the larger it should be.
Assumptions & sources
- Recommended months are a rule of thumb (3–6 months is the common baseline, more for variable income), not a regulatory standard.
- Health insurance is assumed to be in place; a fund is not a substitute for it.
- Interest earned on the fund while you build it is ignored.
- 1An essential guide to building an emergency fund — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
- 2Financial Education Handbook — Reserve Bank of India
Calculator ID FIN-PLAN-EMERG-001 · version 1.0.0
Common questions
How many months should I keep?
Three to six months of essential costs for a stable salaried job is the usual guidance; nine to twelve if your income is irregular or several people depend on it.
Where should I keep it?
Somewhere safe and instantly accessible: a savings account for about a month's costs, the rest in sweep-in FDs or a liquid mutual fund. Not in equity — it may be down exactly when you need it.
Should I invest before my emergency fund is full?
Build at least 2–3 months first. After that, many people split new savings between finishing the fund and long-term investing.