I know this is just a meme, but I think it’s an important clarification: The rule of thumb is ~6 months’ worth of expenses, not salary. It really is important to hold you over in case of sudden job loss, since it takes most people 3-6 months to find a new job (but it doubles as a fund for genuine emergencies too, which can save your ass for stuff like unexpected medical or vet bills).
But unfortunately, lots of people live paycheck to paycheck, so for them, a month’s worth of expenses is the same thing as a month’s salary…
You’re right. I’m not from the USA and I’m not living paycheck-to-paycheck, but having ~6 months of expenses as savings is manageable. That depends on your situation, income, number of children, of course. Will be problematic when you’re earning in the lower income brackets, but for most people that should be a little bit under 10.000€ here in Germany.
I know this is just a meme, but I think it’s an important clarification: The rule of thumb is ~6 months’ worth of expenses, not salary. It really is important to hold you over in case of sudden job loss, since it takes most people 3-6 months to find a new job (but it doubles as a fund for genuine emergencies too, which can save your ass for stuff like unexpected medical or vet bills).
But unfortunately, lots of people live paycheck to paycheck, so for them, a month’s worth of expenses is the same thing as a month’s salary…
You’re right. I’m not from the USA and I’m not living paycheck-to-paycheck, but having ~6 months of expenses as savings is manageable. That depends on your situation, income, number of children, of course. Will be problematic when you’re earning in the lower income brackets, but for most people that should be a little bit under 10.000€ here in Germany.
It gets worse than that. Many of us have expenses that are higher than our income.
I was going to say, until roughly 12 months ago 6 months of expenses would have been more than 6 months of wages for me.
Hell, still is if all I’m counting is my own income, and not household income