Size your emergency fund for real life: test your skills
Three to six months of expenses — but the right number depends on your specific situation. Answer each question to see the explanation; your score appears at the end.
This test checks that you can
- Calculate monthly essentials
- Choose a target between three and six months
- Set a first milestone you will reach
- Practice
1. An emergency fund should be sized on…
- Practice
2. Who usually needs closer to six months or more?
- Practice
3. What is a good use of the fund?
- Key idea
4. Which statement best explains "Count essentials, not all spending"?
- Key idea
5. Which statement best explains "Risk sets the months"?
- Key idea
6. Which statement best explains "One month first"?
- Action plan
7. In the action plan, which step comes first?
- Mistake to avoid
8. Which of these is a mistake this lesson warns against?
- Mistake to avoid
9. Which of these is a mistake this lesson warns against?
Essentials are $2,200 a month. What is a four-month target?
Show the answer
$8,800
$2,200 × 4 = $8,800.
Add up your essential costs from last month and write down your one-month milestone.
More tests in this bootcamp
- Size your emergency fund for real life
- Is it an emergency? Decide before you spend
- Find room in your budget for an emergency fund
- Give your cash three jobs: spending, buffer and emergencies
- Compare high-yield savings beyond the headline rate
- Rebuild your emergency fund after a setback
- See what inflation does to your cash savings
- Final exam: Emergency fund and savings