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Emergency fund checklist

Built from nothing rather than from a windfall — a standing order the day after payday and a small first target, so the fund grows before it's noticed as spending money.

18 items

Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.

The items

  1. Essential monthly costs added up: rent, food, bills, minimum debt repayments
  2. A target set, based on months of essential costs rather than a round numberThree to six months is the usual range, but the real number is whatever the essential list above adds up to.
  3. A separate account opened, apart from everyday spending
  4. Access checked: reachable within a day or two, not locked away for weeks
  5. A standing order set up the day after payday, before spending startsMoney saved from whatever's left over rarely survives the month.
  6. A small first milestone setA month's worth of essentials feels distant; a smaller first target gets momentum going.
  7. Windfalls and unexpected money directed straight into the fund
  8. Tax refunds
  9. Work bonuses
  10. Cashback and refunds
  11. Gifts of money
  12. Existing debt weighed against the pace of savingA fund still matters even with debt outstanding — it's what stops a crisis becoming a new loan.
  13. What counts as an emergency defined in advanceWithout a definition, a fund gets spent on something that could have waited for payday.
  14. A rule set for topping the fund back up after it's used
  15. Interest or growth on the fund checked occasionally, without touching the balance to do it
  16. Progress reviewed every few months rather than daily
  17. Fund kept separate from any account used for planned spending
  18. Partner or household informed of where the fund is and how to reach it, if relevant

Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.

Questions people ask

How big should an emergency fund actually be?
Enough to cover three to six months of essential costs — rent, food, bills, minimum debt repayments. Add up that list first; the target follows from it rather than the other way round.
Where should the money actually sit?
Somewhere separate from everyday spending, reachable within a day or two. Not locked away for weeks, and not sitting in the same account it would otherwise get spent from.
Should I build an emergency fund before paying off debt?
Usually both, at a smaller pace each — a fund with nothing in it means the next unexpected cost becomes a new debt, which undoes the point of paying down the old one.