Save · Lesson 3 of 3
Your emergency stash comes first
Phone dies? Hours cut? Car needs a tire? Before investing or big purchases, save about 3 months of expenses so a bad week doesn’t become high-interest debt.
1Learn
Keep it in a high-yield savings account — not checking (too easy to spend) and not stocks (they can drop 30–40% right when you need cash).
2Try it Calculator
Your emergency fund
Time to build a 3-month cushion
12 months
3Check
Remember
Emergency money must be safe and easy to reach — growth can wait. Selling investments in a down market defeats the whole point.
Quick check
Why shouldn’t your emergency fund live in a stock account?
Emergencies don’t wait for a good market day. Forced selling at a loss defeats the point of an emergency stash.