Emergency Fund Checkup

An emergency fund is what turns a car repair into an errand instead of a crisis. It's easy to want and hard to build when nobody has shown you how, where to keep it, or what to do after you've used it. This checkup asks six questions about the cushion between you and a bad month.

You get a plain read on where you stand and, for anything that came up short, the one move that helps most. No dollar targets: the right size depends on your bills, and the Emergency Fund calculator works that out from your own.

Common questions

• How big should my emergency fund be?+

  Common guidance is several months of must-pay bills, not total spending. If your income swings or you're the only earner, lean toward the higher end. Start smaller: a starter cushion for one surprise, then one month, then build. The Emergency Fund calculator works out your own number.

• Should I save or pay off debt first?+

  Most people do some of both: a starter cushion first, so the next surprise doesn't go on a card, then extra toward high-interest debt, then back to building savings. The Debt Management brick goes through the order.

• Should I invest my emergency fund?+

  Generally no. Emergency money needs to be there, at full value, the day you need it, which is why it belongs in an insured savings account rather than the stock market. This is educational coaching, not personalized investment advice.