How much cash would make life safer?
Build the target from bills that still need paying in a bad month. See the first useful milestone, your full buffer and when your monthly saving reaches it.
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Saved setupsNothing is saved automatically
6-month emergency fund
£12,600
Your essentials total £2,100 a month. You currently cover 1.4 months.
Your path
| One month of essentials | £2,100 |
|---|---|
| Three months | £6,300 |
| Full target | £12,600 |
| Saved now | £3,000 |
| Still to build | £9,600 |
Target date
2 years at £400 a month, estimated finish August 2028.
What this means
- Build the first month before chasing the full target£0 more reaches one full month of essentials.
- Keep this money accessibleAn emergency fund is for speed and certainty, so an easy-access savings account is usually more useful than volatile investments.
- Choose the target for your real riskVariable income, dependants, health needs or a specialist job can justify more months than a stable two-income household.
A planning target, not a rule or financial advice. It excludes non-essential spending and interest earned while saving.
Method
How this calculation works
Essential spending is totalled into one month of coverage, then multiplied by your chosen target. Current savings are divided by essentials to show coverage; the remaining gap is divided by monthly saving and rounded up to a whole month. Interest is excluded for a conservative timeline.
Rates and assumptions
Every planning assumption is editable in the calculator.
Full Plainly methodology