How much do you keep in readily access savings/cash access?

IAMIAM

Versus putting it in investments/mortgages/pension top ups? Is it worth considering putting more in these on the basis that any emergency I can surely use a 0% card or indeed do additional borrowing on my mortgage fairly quickly (ie a week or two?)

mattywallace121

£10,000 which would cover my half of the bills for ten months if I lost my job.

kaMelo

It will vary depending on your circumstances but I'd be wary of relying on borrowing on your mortgage as an emergency fund. Unless it's an offset type mortgage their is no guarantee you could do so.

3,6 or 12 months are often touted, if you have debts I'd err on the higher side.

MEM62

Currently, I have a £2,000 buffer in my current account and £5,000 in a Marcus account.  We also have a £3,000 buffer in our joint account.  If either one of us lost our income, we have sufficient reserves in cash to last around 12 months.  We will build the cash reserves over the next four years as we approach retirement so that we have around two years living expenses in cash.         

Daliah

Individual circumstances differ widely, and so will the amount people think they need in cash, or actually have in cash. Even the guidelines/recommendations or the size of an emergency cash fund vary, from anything like 3-12 months. I would suggest you should not be guided by what others [say they] do, but by your needs. Once you know how much you need to survive without an income for x months, you have a fairly good idea what size cash reserve you should have. You can then look at how you best place the cash into accounts - e.g. all into one instant access pot, or some into instant access and some into notice / fixed term accounts.

Beddie

Far too much, as although I enjoy investing I'm too scared to invest as much as I should.

Flugelhorn

Beddie said:

Far too much, as although I enjoy investing I'm too scared to invest as much as I should.

I agree - far far far too much - only have a little hopeless ISA and that puts me off investing any more

DrEskimo

IAMIAM said:

Versus putting it in investments/mortgages/pension top ups? Is it worth considering putting more in these on the basis that any emergency I can surely use a 0% card or indeed do additional borrowing on my mortgage fairly quickly (ie a week or two?)

Credit cards can't be used to pay direct debits, and additional borrowing is not that quick. Besides, if the emergency is job loss, it may be difficult to be approved for additional borrowing.

I agree with having 3-6months in household expenditure.

InvesterJones

MEM62 said:

Currently, I have a £2,000 buffer in my current account and £5,000 in a Marcus account.  We also have a £3,000 buffer in our joint account.  If either one of us lost our income, we have sufficient reserves in cash to last around 12 months.   

£10k is an impressive estimate for 12 months living for two!

Daliah

InvesterJones said:

MEM62 said:

Currently, I have a £2,000 buffer in my current account and £5,000 in a Marcus account.  We also have a £3,000 buffer in our joint account.  If either one of us lost our income, we have sufficient reserves in cash to last around 12 months.   

£10k is an impressive estimate for 12 months living for two!

For some people, £10k doesn't even pay the rent for 12 months. 3-bed houses in the not very affluent area I live in are already between £800 and £1,000 to rent.

As I said earlier, people's circumstance and cash requirements vary widely. £10k is not enough for some, and way too much for others.

Zola.

A few months expenses, everything else is in the markets