Emergency fund calculator
Work out the buffer that covers your essential spending, how much of it you already have, and how long the rest takes at your current pace.
Your buffer
Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere — the maths runs in your browser.
How this emergency fund calculator works
Enter your essential monthly spending, choose how many months you want covered, then add what you have already set aside and what you can save each month. The calculator shows the target, the gap and roughly how long the gap takes to close.
| Situation | Months to aim for |
|---|---|
| Salaried, dual income, no dependants | 3 months |
| Salaried, single income, dependants | 6 months |
| Freelance, commission or business income | 6 to 12 months |
The target is a range, not a number
An emergency fund exists to buy time — time to find work, recover, or handle a bill without borrowing. Once you cross three months of essentials you are already past the point where most shocks become debt.
What to do next
Read the saving guide for where to keep the buffer, and once it is full, use the SIP calculator to put the same monthly transfer to work.
Read how to size your emergency fund before choosing a coverage period. Check DICGC deposit protection when deciding where cash sits: eligible deposits are insured up to ₹5 lakh per depositor per bank, including principal and interest in the same right and capacity. Mutual funds are not deposit-insured.
Frequently asked questions
How many months should an emergency fund cover?
Three months of essential spending is a sensible floor for a salaried job with one earner in the household. Six months suits variable income, a single-income family or a specialised role that takes longer to replace.
Should I count my full salary or only essentials?
Only essentials — rent, food, utilities, transport, insurance premiums and minimum loan payments. In a real emergency the discretionary spending stops, so budgeting the full salary makes the target larger than it needs to be.
Where should the money sit?
Somewhere boring and reachable within a day: a savings account, a sweep-in fixed deposit or a liquid fund. The point is access, not return. An emergency fund invested in equity is not an emergency fund.
Do I build this before investing?
Mostly yes. Without a buffer, the first unexpected bill becomes debt or a redemption at the worst possible time. Many people build the fund and start a small SIP at the same time so the investing habit begins early.
Go deeper
Your next step
- See the full guideSaving — the complete guideHow much should I be holding in cash before anything else?
- Go deeperCompound interest calculatorSee what a lump sum plus monthly additions grows to at a chosen rate.
Put this into your own situation. North tracks the buffer as a goal with a pace and a projected finish month, using the figures you enter.
Try North
These calculators are educational tools, not financial advice. Any figure involving an assumed rate of return is a projection, not a promise. See all North tools.