Emergency Fund Planner

Ad-free tool to size and grow your safety buffer

Use this page to see how many months of essential expenses your current savings cover, and how long it might take to reach common targets like 1, 3, or 6 months.

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Your situation

Use your essential monthly costs (housing, food, utilities, minimum debt payments, transport).

Rough totals are fine – rounding to the nearest £10 or £50 is usually enough.
Only include money genuinely available for emergencies.
Set to 0 if you are not adding regularly right now.

Emergency buffer overview

Enter your details and select Update plan to see how you are currently positioned.

What is an emergency fund?

An emergency fund is a cash buffer for genuine surprises – job loss, car repairs, urgent home problems, health costs, and so on. It is usually kept in a simple savings account so you can reach it quickly.

How big should my emergency fund be?

Common rules of thumb are:

  • 1 month: initial starter buffer.
  • 3 months: more comfortable for many households.
  • 6+ months: often suggested if your income is less secure or you have dependants.

These are guidelines only – your own risk tolerance and job security matter.

Should this include rent or mortgage overpayments?

This planner assumes you keep emergency savings separate from overpayments or investments. Overpayments and investing can be helpful, but they are usually harder to access quickly than cash.

Educational use only; not personalised financial advice.