Unpopular opinion: That 3-month emergency fund target is way too fast

I tried hitting the $10k savings goal in 3 months like everyone pushes. Took me 11 months instead. Burned out after month 2 from cutting everything. Had to rebuild my budget twice after I slipped up. The 'rice and beans' advice just doesn't work for real life with a car payment in Austin. Ended up saving $300 a month steady instead of $3000. Anyone else take way longer than the gurus say?

2 comments

2 Comments

alex_coleman27d ago

Yeah man that 3 month thing is totally unrealistic for most people... I did the exact same thing with my savings, tried to go hard and fast and just crashed. What actually worked for me was just picking a smaller number I could do without hating my life, like $200 a month automatic transfer, and then forgetting about it. Took way longer but I actually stuck with it.

fiona50226d ago

Totally agree, my dumb $50 a week autosave has been way more consistent than any grand plan I ever made.