How big is your emergency fund?

chelseablue

I currently have £11,000 in my 123 account.

This is my Emergency Fund money that I can use if me or my partner are ever out of work.

As well as this cash I have a credit card with a £5,000 limit (balance £0)

Not sure I need a £16k EF

Tempted to use £5,000 of the cash to overpay the mortgage, if I did this I would still have £6,000 + £5,000 on the card available.

How much do you have as an emergency fund?

Oakdene

Mine is about £200

TadleyBaggie

25K in savings accounts
20K in Premium Bonds
64K in s&s ISAs
13K in s&s investment account

However this year we intend to replace all the windows and doors, install a new kitchen and refurbish a bathroom, so a fair chunk of that will be used.

chelseablue

TadleyBaggie wrote: »

25K in savings accounts
20K in Premium Bonds
64K in s&s ISAs
13K in s&s investment account

However this year we intend to replace all the windows and doors, install a new kitchen and refurbish a bathroom, so a fair chunk of that will be used.

Blimey, I can only dream of such an amount

MyOnlyPost

Everybody's emergency fund will be different because everyone's circumstances are different.

What do you call an emergency? What if you lost your job and your boiler broke? Or you had an expensive motor repair? Do you own your home or rent? Do you have mortgage cover? etc etc.

How tied up are other monies you own? If you can access them in 14-30 days then you can have a lower fund. If they are tied up in longer term investments or property then you need a higher emergency fund

chelseablue

MyOnlyPost wrote: »

Everybody's emergency fund will be different because everyone's circumstances are different.

What do you call an emergency? What if you lost your job and your boiler broke? Or you had an expensive motor repair? Do you own your home or rent? Do you have mortgage cover? etc etc.

How tied up are other monies you own? If you can access them in 14-30 days then you can have a lower fund. If they are tied up in longer term investments or property then you need a higher emergency fund

Thank you. I consider an emergency to be if either of us lost our jobs and didn't get another within about 3 months.

We own our house (with a mortgage)

I guess if something went majorly wrong in the house, new roof needed for example then that is something we would claim on the buildings insurance (good point about the boiler, ours is only 8 years old but I think we can add boiler cover to our policy)

Savings are in a current account, so instant access

MyOnlyPost

Personally I would want at least 6 months salary and possibly 12 as an emergency fund and my mortgage is paid off. However I have arthiritis and therefore my scope for getting a new job would be limited and I may spend longer out of work. If you have relevant skills/qualifications and jobs in your skill set are abundant where you live you may be able to get a job more quickly than I.

I recently bought a BTL and within the 1st year of ownership had to replace the roof at a cost of £3k. The insurance wouldn't cover it as buildings insurance generally covers damage caused by an extraordinary event or vandalism and not general wear and tear.

It's impossible to know what is round the corner and therefore impossible to budget for, but consider that you don't just need enough to live on for 3-6 months, you also need enough for an emergency arising during the time you are not working

chockydavid1983

About 6 months expenses for if I lost my job and needed some time to get another one.
This could also cover a big expense like boiler/ roof etc but I'd look to build it back up ASAP in that case.

TheShape

I wouldn't count investments as an emergency fund. I wouldn't want the risk of making a loss if I had to cash in.

I have approx £27k in 'cash', approx £24k of which is accessible instantly without penalty. Approx £3k available on 0% Credit Card and another £11k at card's standard rate.

The 'cash' is not my emergency fund but includes my emergency fund because it's what I'd use if needed.

economic

im 33, living in london, here are my numbers:

property equity: 336k
cash: 229k
P2P: 9k
S&S isa: 132k
gold: 3k
pension (equities): 88k

trailingspouse

It all depends on the emergency!!