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Guide

Koliki bi zapravo trebao biti vaš fond za hitne slučajeve?

The internet keeps telling you to save 3 to 6 months of expenses. It’s not wrong — but it’s not useful either, because 3 to 6 months of what? And whose expenses? Here’s a method you can actually apply to your own numbers in 20 minutes.

Koliki bi zapravo trebao biti vaš fond za hitne slučajeve?

Step 1: Your True Monthly Floor

Pull your last 3 months of bank and card statements. Write down everything that is non-negotiable in a bad month: rent/mortgage, utilities, groceries at the minimum sensible level, insurance, minimum debt payments, essential transport. Not restaurants. Not subscriptions you could cancel.

Add it up. That’s your Floor.

Step 2: Your Shock Factor

Multiply your Floor by one of the following, based on your risk profile:

  • 3× Floor — Two incomes, stable jobs, no dependents, in-demand skills. Easy to find new income if one of you loses a job.
  • 5× Floor — Single income or dependents, stable job, in-demand skills.
  • 8× Floor — Single income with dependents, cyclical industry or specialized skill, or self-employed.
  • 12× Floor — Freelancer or business owner with lumpy income, or working in an industry currently shedding jobs.

That number is your Target.

Step 3: Where To Keep It

Not in checking (too easy to spend). Not in a brokerage (too tied to markets). The right place for a US emergency fund:

  • A high-yield savings account at an FDIC-insured bank or credit union;
  • Or a money market account at a reputable brokerage, with the funds in Treasury-only money market funds.

Yields change — search for “best high-yield savings” when you’re ready to park the money. The best current rates are posted monthly by Bankrate, NerdWallet, etc.

Step 4: Build It In Tranches

  • First tranche: $1,000. This handles small shocks and gives you breathing room.
  • Second tranche: 1× Floor. This covers a month of unemployment.
  • Third tranche: 3× Floor. Enough to realistically job-hunt without panicking.
  • Final: your full Target.

While you’re building the first tranche, pause any extra retirement or investing contributions beyond the employer match. After the first tranche, resume normal contributions and build the rest alongside.

Step 5: When To Actually Use It

When one of these happens: job loss, serious medical event, major home or car repair that can’t wait. Not: a vacation, a wedding, a new TV, a down payment. Those need separate savings buckets.