Emergency Fund Calculator
An emergency fund is money you can reach within a day, kept for a job loss, a medical bill or a family emergency. This calculator sizes it from your real monthly outgo, including EMIs.
How it works, in one picture
How much is enough?
- 3 months: two steady salaries, no dependants, good health cover.
- 6 months: most salaried families.
- 9–12 months: single earner, freelancers, business owners, or an industry with long job searches.
Count EMIs and premiums as expenses: in an emergency the loan still has to be paid. Do not count school fees that can be deferred or discretionary spends you would stop.
Where to keep an emergency fund in India
- Savings account with sweep-in FD for the first month of expenses: instant access.
- Liquid or overnight mutual fund for the rest: better than savings interest, redeemable in a day, and some offer instant redemption up to ₹50,000.
- Never in equity, and not locked in a 5-year FD with a penalty.
Track it with the rest of your money
Capital Friends has an emergency fund goal that always gets the safest money first, before any other goal is funded. When you tick which FDs and liquid funds are for your goals, the emergency fund is protected and never part of a rebalance.
Your emergency fund as a goal the app protects
It gets the safest money first, is never part of a rebalance, and the family email shows where it is.
- Bank FD 65% of it₹7.8 L
- Multi asset fund 31% of it₹6 L
- Multi factor fund₹5.9 L
You tick which investments are for goals; the app shares them: near goals get the safe money, far goals the equity.
- Retirement is 4% off its path · 1 step due
- Flexi cap fund is 7% below its high · information, not advice
- SIP ₹40,000 due on the 5th · term policy renews in 12 days
- Net worth, every account, every fund, nominees, loans: where everything is
Sent every morning from your own Gmail to the family members you choose. If something happens to you, they know where everything is.
Put real money against this goal
In Capital Friends every goal gets a road: which of your funds are counted for it, how much is still short, and when to move money from equity to safe as the date comes near. Free, no bank login.
Frequently asked questions
Is 6 months of expenses enough?
For a two-income household, usually yes. For a single earner or an uncertain job market, 9–12 months is safer. Health insurance reduces the medical part of the risk.
Should the emergency fund be in a liquid fund or FD?
Both work. A liquid fund has no penalty for early withdrawal and is taxed only on gains; an FD is simpler and insured up to ₹5 lakh per bank. Many people split it.
Should I build the emergency fund before starting SIPs?
Build at least 2–3 months first, then run both in parallel. A SIP you have to stop in an emergency costs more than a delayed start.
Does the emergency fund count towards my goals?
Keep it separate. In Capital Friends it is its own goal, funded first from the safest assets, and excluded from rebalancing.
More free tools
Corpus you need at retirement and the SIP to reach it.
Monthly SIP → value after N years, with optional yearly step-up.
Assets minus loans, the number that shows real progress.
Your FIRE number and the age you can stop working.
How long a corpus lasts with monthly withdrawals.
Calculators use the inputs you enter and standard formulas; results are estimates, not guarantees. Returns from mutual funds, stocks and other investments are not fixed and can be lower than assumed. Capital Friends is a tracking tool and is not a SEBI-registered investment adviser; nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any security.