The emergency fund
Three to six months of household expenses kept somewhere you can reach within a day. It is what stops a bad month from becoming a credit card balance, and it is the foundation everything else is built on.
What it means
Three to six months of household expenses kept somewhere you can reach within a day.
Why it matters to a household
It is what stops a bad month from becoming a credit card balance, and it is the foundation everything else is built on.
Where it trips people up
Sizing it against income instead of expenses, or investing it for returns. Its job is to be available, not to grow.
In an Indian household
Single-income households and freelancers should sit at the longer end. A sweep-in FD or liquid fund is the standard home; equity is not.
Where FamTally comes in
FamTally is a free AI-driven money manager built for Indian families. It holds your loans, income, expenses, assets, insurance and goals in one place, forecasts five years ahead, and lets you ask an assistant questions about your own numbers rather than looking up general advice. Everything on this page is the kind of thing it works out for you automatically.
Stop doing this in a spreadsheet
FamTally keeps your loans, income, expenses, assets, insurance and goals in one place, forecasts five years ahead, and answers questions about your own numbers. Free, and built for Indian families.
Start freeQuestions people ask
The emergency fund
Three to six months of household expenses kept somewhere you can reach within a day.
Why does it matter?
It is what stops a bad month from becoming a credit card balance, and it is the foundation everything else is built on.
What do people usually get wrong?
Sizing it against income instead of expenses, or investing it for returns. Its job is to be available, not to grow.
Is there anything India-specific?
Single-income households and freelancers should sit at the longer end. A sweep-in FD or liquid fund is the standard home; equity is not.