Emergency Fund Calculator
Work out your emergency fund: 3 to 12 months of essential expenses to cover job loss, medical emergencies, or unexpected costs.
Monthly Essential Expenses
Monthly Essentials Total
Recommended Emergency Fund
Gap from Current Savings
Expense Breakdown
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Park your emergency fund in highly liquid instruments: savings account, sweep FD, or liquid mutual fund. Avoid equity for this money. Results are indicative only.
What is an Emergency Fund Calculator?
An emergency fund calculator works out how much money to set aside as a safety net: your essential monthly expenses multiplied by 3 to 12 months. Unlike regular savings or investments, an emergency fund is a dedicated liquid reserve for job loss, medical emergencies, unexpected repairs or other shocks, so you don't have to sell investments or borrow.
The calculator analyses your essential monthly expenses across categories (rent, groceries, utilities, insurance, transport, medical, and more) and multiplies the total by your target months to give you a target. It also shows your shortfall or surplus relative to your current liquid savings.
Worked Example: ₹35,000 a Month of Essentials
Illustrative: a salaried household spends ₹15,000 on rent, ₹8,000 on groceries, ₹3,000 on utilities, ₹2,000 on insurance premiums, ₹3,000 on transport, ₹2,000 on medical costs and ₹2,000 on other essentials, with no school fees. These are the calculator's default inputs. Keep the target at 6 months and enter ₹50,000 as current liquid savings.
The calculator shows monthly essentials of ₹35,000, a recommended emergency fund of ₹2,10,000 and a shortfall of ₹1,60,000. A single-income or self-employed household that picks 9 months instead needs ₹3,15,000.
The decision this informs is how fast to close the gap. Building it over 6 to 12 months means setting aside about ₹13,300 to ₹26,700 a month until the shortfall is filled. Keep roughly one month (₹35,000) in your savings account and the rest in a liquid fund.
How to Use This Emergency Fund Calculator
- 1
Enter your monthly essential expenses
Include only non-discretionary expenses: rent/EMI, groceries, utilities, school fees, insurance premiums, transport, and medical costs. Exclude dining out, entertainment, and shopping.
- 2
Choose your target months
3 months can suit dual-income households with stable jobs. 6 months suits most salaried households and is this calculator's default. 9–12 months is better for single-income families, self-employed individuals, or those in volatile industries.
- 3
Enter your current liquid savings
Include only funds you can access within 2–3 days: savings account balance, liquid mutual funds, sweep FD. Do not include equity MFs, FDs with lock-in, or EPF.
- 4
See your shortfall or surplus
The calculator shows the gap you need to fill. If there's a shortfall, create a plan to build it over 6–12 months by directing a portion of your monthly savings exclusively to the emergency fund.
Where to Park Your Emergency Fund
Savings Account
Best for 1 month of expenses, since the money is instantly accessible. Large banks pay low savings rates (SBI pays 2.5%), so compare rates, but put safety first: choose a bank you trust and remember that deposit insurance is limited.
Liquid Mutual Funds
Suits the rest of the fund beyond that first month. Redemptions are usually credited by the next business day. Returns track short-term money-market rates and are usually higher than savings accounts, with low (but not zero) risk; check a fund's recent returns before investing. Use instant redemption facility for emergencies.
Sweep-in FD
FD linked to savings account that auto-breaks when you spend. Earns your bank's FD rate on the swept amount while staying almost as accessible as a savings account. An alternative to a liquid fund for that remainder if you would rather keep it with your bank.
What to Avoid
Never keep your emergency fund in equity mutual funds, stocks, or PPF. These are either too volatile or have lock-in periods. Emergency means access within 24–48 hours, not days or months.
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