Monthly Expense Categories
| Category | Monthly Amount | Remove |
|---|---|---|
| Total Monthly Expenses | 0.00 |
Tip: Enter your monthly expenses by category. Use the currency that makes sense for you.
Risk & Household Factors
Results
Summary: Based on your monthly spending and risk profile, the calculator estimates a prudent reserve to cover essential expenses during a disruption.
- Total monthly expenses:
- Recommended months of coverage:
- Target emergency fund:
Monthly Expense Distribution
Example Data Table
These sample categories illustrate a typical monthly budget you can use as a starting point.
| Category | Monthly Amount |
|---|---|
| Housing | $950 |
| Utilities | $180 |
| Groceries | $450 |
| Transportation | $220 |
| Insurance | $160 |
| Healthcare | $90 |
| Debt Payments | $300 |
| Childcare | $250 |
| Other | $150 |
Formula Used
Let M be total essential monthly expenses and R be the recommended months of coverage. The target emergency fund T is:
T = M × R
We estimate R by starting from a baseline of 3 months and adding adjustments for household risk factors. The adjustments used in this tool are:
- Employment type: permanent +0, contract/freelance +1, self‑employed/seasonal +2
- Dependents: +0.5 months per dependent (max +2)
- Income volatility: from 0 to +2 months scaled by the 0–10 slider (i.e.,
volatility/10 × 2) - Health coverage: good +0, average +0.5, poor +1
- Single‑income household: +1 month
- Extra buffer preference: 0 to +3 months (user chosen)
Finally, R is clamped to the range 3–12 months and rounded to the nearest 0.5 month for practicality.
These heuristics are conservative defaults. Adjust categories and factors to reflect your situation.