Comments on: Emergency Fund Calculator: How Much Cash Do You Need?

By: Carla

Carla — Sat, 14 May 2011 14:34:25 +0000

Robert – This may sound bizarre, but I say no. Cash is king. Construct a reasonable plan to repay the debt of $2,400, but keep your cash in the bank and keep on saving as well until you’ve maximized a comfortable emergency fund. During a volatile economic time, it’s important to have a healthy emergency cash reserve. Simple math would tell you, of course, that you are losing money while paying the 12% on the CC debt, because your MMA probably earns far less than that, especially right now. However, if you were to lose your job tomorrow, and depleted your emergency cash reserve last month to pay down your CC debt, and it would take you 6-12 months to replace your income with a new comparable job, where will you find the $$$ to cover your essential needs in the meantime? You can’t pay everything with a credit line, you need cold hard cash.

By: V

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 14:58:51 +0000

Yes, unless you are earning more than 12% on the 7,000 in the money market account (which of course isn’t the case) you should pay off the credit card.

By: Robert Nelson

Robert Nelson — Tue, 18 May 2010 18:03:24 +0000

I have 7,000 dollars in a money market account and I have 2,400 in credit card debt with a rate of 12.00%. Should I pay it off using from the money market? I bring home 4,000 a month with 3,000 in normal debt.I ve had a permanent gov.job for 17 years now. Thank you.

By: John Browning

John Browning — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:15:56 +0000

I like the simple, quick way this was explained, along with the example of $50k yearly and stable job of 5 years. Basically the amount to be saved was three times a single paycheck. Ouch. But then the author explained clearly and succinctly why that would be reasonable, and even cited the idea that it can be hard to change one’s level of living– recognize that I’m going to still go to some restaurants, still see a movie now and again. Great advice, and I’m taking it.

By: Josh

Josh — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:27:47 +0000

it’s asking me for a password to un-protect the sheet.

By: Karla (threadbndr)

Karla (threadbndr) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 21:59:09 +0000

I was about $600 off originally, but I think I initially underestimated my commutibility factor by leaving out the years I was a SAHM. If I count that time as “working” time (and I certainly wasn’t on vacation those years LOL), my spreadsheet result is VERY close to where I’ve figured my ‘goal’ efund should be – within $15!

Very nifty little wiget; thank you for publishing it!

By: Josh

Josh — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:57:28 +0000

Thanks for the formula. I tried it out and was only $32 off from my previous estimates. I would say it is pretty accurate