Emergency fund
Your target reserve size and how many months it takes to build
Already saved
100 000,00 ₽
33% of target · 2 months covered
Time to build
10 mo
200 000,00 ₽ left to save
Month by month
10 months| Month | Contribution | Interest | Balance | To target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 000,00 ₽ | +500,00 ₽ | 120 500,00 ₽ | |
| 2 | 20 000,00 ₽ | +602,50 ₽ | 141 102,50 ₽ | |
| 3 | 20 000,00 ₽ | +705,51 ₽ | 161 808,01 ₽ | |
| 4 | 20 000,00 ₽ | +809,04 ₽ | 182 617,05 ₽ | |
| 5 | 20 000,00 ₽ | +913,09 ₽ | 203 530,14 ₽ | |
| 6 | 20 000,00 ₽ | +1 017,65 ₽ | 224 547,79 ₽ | |
| 7 | 20 000,00 ₽ | +1 122,74 ₽ | 245 670,53 ₽ | |
| 8 | 20 000,00 ₽ | +1 228,35 ₽ | 266 898,88 ₽ | |
| 9 | 20 000,00 ₽ | +1 334,49 ₽ | 288 233,37 ₽ | |
| 10 | 20 000,00 ₽ | +1 441,17 ₽ | 309 674,54 ₽ |
Empty so far
Empty so far
The comparison appears once both scenarios are saved.
Reference block: the method, a worked example and answers to common questions. It does not affect the calculation above.
How it is calculated
- The fund’s target is set in months of living: target = monthly expenses * months. The classic guideline is three to six months of essential expenses.
- Current coverage is how many months you would already last: coverage = saved / monthly expenses. Progress to the target is shown both in percent and in rubles remaining.
- The fill time is projected monthly: interest accrues on the balance at the monthly share of the rate (an exact fraction), then the contribution is added — until the first month the balance reaches the target. Contributions land at month end, as in the deposit and goal calculators.
- If the contribution is zero and interest cannot grow the balance, the target is unreachable — the calculator says so honestly instead of quoting an infinite term.
Worked example
The figures the page opens with: expenses of 50 000 ₽ a month, a 6-month target — that is 300 000 ₽. With 100 000 ₽ saved you are covered for 2 months, a third of the way.
Setting aside 20 000 ₽ a month at 6% per annum closes the missing 200 000 ₽ in 10 months. Interest adds only a few thousand on such a short path — contributions fill the cushion, while the rate mostly shields it from inflation.
Frequently asked questions
How many months of expenses should the fund hold?
Three at minimum, six for comfort. Hold more with unstable income, dependants, or a narrow profession where a job hunt takes longer. Note the formula uses essential expenses, not the whole income.
Where should the fund live?
Wherever the money is reachable within a day without losses: a savings account, a deposit with top-ups and withdrawals. Yield is secondary — the fund insures rather than earns; the “Deposit” calculator helps pick an option with a rate.
All spending or essentials only?
Essentials: housing, food, transport, medicine, loan payments. In a hard month the wants compress themselves. The “Income and expense ledger” helps average the essential articles.
Build the fund or repay loans first?
Usually: a minimal one-to-two-month cushion, then the expensive debts, then the full fund — without a reserve any emergency forces new borrowing. “Debt payoff strategies” picks the attack order.
When is it okay to spend the fund?
On real emergencies: income loss, urgent treatment, a critical breakdown. Holidays and sales are not it — save for those via “Savings goal”. After spending, put the refill back on the plan.
Does the rate speed up the fill much?
Not on short paths: in the example above it is 10 months with or without interest — the rate adds mere thousands. Its role grows with the horizon and the sum; the fund’s main lever is the regular contribution, while the rate protects what is already saved from inflation.
Is an emergency fund the same thing as a deposit?
No. The fund’s defining property is same-day access without losses, so a no-withdrawal deposit does not qualify whatever its rate: in an emergency the money would be locked. A savings account or a deposit with free withdrawals is the right home for the fund; higher-yielding, less liquid instruments serve the goals beyond it.