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MoneyLingo
Tax year 2026-27 · was AY 2027-28

Emergency Fund Calculator

How many months of cover your situation calls for, and what shifts the number up or down.

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A range to aim for
₹1.8 lakh – ₹3.6 lakh

6–12 months of your ₹30,000 monthly outgo

You currently have
0 months

Of cover

Gap to the lower end
₹1.8 lakh

What moved the range

Factor
Stable salaried income — a shorter buffer is usually workable.
No health cover. A single hospitalisation in a metro can cost several lakh, and an emergency fund is a very expensive substitute for a health policy.

What this means

  • This is a range produced by a rule of thumb, not a calculation of what will happen to you. Adjust it for how easily you could find similar work, and for who depends on you.
  • Where an emergency fund is held matters as much as its size: it has to be reachable in a day or two without a loss. A savings account, a sweep-in deposit or a liquid fund all qualify. Equity does not — the moment you need it is disproportionately likely to be a moment markets are down.
  • Buying health cover usually reduces the emergency fund you need by more than the premium costs.

Questions people actually ask

What matters about where an emergency fund is kept?
Two properties: the money is reachable within a day or two, and getting it out does not force a loss. Market-linked holdings lack the second — the moment you need the fund is disproportionately likely to be a moment prices are down. Which account or product to use is your call.

Understand what the number means

A figure on its own decides nothing. These explain what is being calculated and what changes it.

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