Free Family Emergency Fund calculator with clear step-by-step results.
Sizes the fund against essential spending rather than total income, then adjusts for how exposed the household actually is: two earners diversify the risk of losing one income, while commission or freelance income needs a deeper buffer because the gaps are longer and less predictable.
Target fund
Target = essential monthly spend x months of cover x stability factor x earner factor
Months to fund
Months = (target - current savings) / monthly saving
Essentials - housing, food, utilities, insurance, minimum debt payments and childcare. Discretionary spending is the first thing to cut in an emergency, so funding it inflates the target.
Somewhere accessible within days and not exposed to market falls, which usually means an instant-access or notice savings account rather than investments.