Emergency fund

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Bigdebt
Bigdebt Posts: 5 Forumite
in Debt-free wannabe
Hi there I’ve been lurking around for a few weeks and have been trying to sort out a budget. On avenge how much would you like to have in an emergency fund ? Prob hard to answer I suppose as different for each person but we prob have about 100 a week left over at the mo.
Many thanks
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  • arc2014
    arc2014 Posts: 194 Forumite
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    I've seen figures flotation about and the general consensus is at least £500 if you rent, £1000 if you are a homeowner.
  • Bigdebt
    Bigdebt Posts: 5 Forumite
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    Excellent ! Thank you ! 500 saved of the £1000 then ! Then I can start tackling the debts !
  • nicjane
    nicjane Posts: 12 Forumite
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    If you’re using the Dave Ramsey baby steps, he advises saving £1,000 in an emergency fund before you start paying off debt.

    After you’re debt free (except from your mortgage), it’s 3-6 months of expenses.

    Personally, I have 6 months of expenses saved in an instant access savings account, however, I’m looking to build this up to around £15K.
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  • ethranes
    ethranes Posts: 69 Forumite
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    Same as above, £1000 for major emergencies, and then after clearning debt, 6 months of living costs.
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  • nsl101
    nsl101 Posts: 42 Forumite
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    I'm the same, I have opened a Tesco bank current account, as it pays 3% interest, better than kick in the teeth... so my £1000.00 emergency fund also earns £3.00 interest a month... also being in a separate bank i don't see it as something i can spend its entirely split out from my main banking app which helps to forget its there... Having the fund makes me feel so much more secure in the knowledge that i don't need debt...
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0 Newbie
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post I've been Money Tipped!
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    Ideally you should have the equivalent of 3 months take home pay as a back up fund.
  • Westie983
    Westie983 Posts: 5,213 Ambassador
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    venison wrote: »
    Ideally you should have the equivalent of 3 months take home pay as a back up fund.
    I thought it was six months, but I suppose at least one months would get you out of a pickle.

    Westie983
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  • adventureofmemories
    adventureofmemories Posts: 177 Forumite
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    really it's as much as you can save. Some people go for 1 month whilst others go for 1-2 years
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  • fatrab
    fatrab Posts: 1,231 Forumite
    edited 6 January 2018 at 11:24AM
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    Until I pay all of my debt off (including mortgage) I'm targeting an emergency fund of around £2000.


    I'm currently at £840 and will top this up to £1000 on payday. I should be able to add £100/month while paying off my debts and I feel so much better now that I have a safety net. I'd never had one before, I'd always paid every spare penny into debt payment at the end of the month.


    Stupidly, last year I paid money into my mortgage then left myself too skint to pay my insurance in full so ended up paying monthly, costing me more in the long run. That will never happen again!
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  • Bigdebt
    Bigdebt Posts: 5 Forumite
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    Thank you all ! What’s annoyed me more getting this £1000 together is It’s takimg me about a month to do and then hit the debts which I’m hoping I can pay £10k off in 1 year by snowballing, which I could of saved instead of having debts to pay off! So the quicker I pay them off the quicker I can save again !
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