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Hit $5k in my emergency fund today, took 18 months
I was aiming for $3k but kept seeing people say 3-6 months of expenses, so I pushed a bit more. Has anyone else's goal shifted once you got close to the original number?
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uma_ellis1mo ago
Oh man, congrats! That's a solid win. I did the same thing - started with a $3k goal and then kept bumping it up as I got closer. For me, I realized my actual 'oh crap' number was about $4k based on my rent, car insurance, and food for 3 months. Once I hit that, I stopped stressing and put the extra into my Roth IRA instead.
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wesley1811mo ago
I hit $5k too but honestly I think the 3-6 month rule gets taken too literally. My rent is $900, my car is paid off, and I could live on rice and beans if I had to. $3k covers my actual emergencies like a transmission blowing or a root canal. Once I had that locked in, I felt no reason to keep piling cash in a savings account earning nothing. I shifted my extra money to paying off my 5% credit card debt instead.
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