This is such good advice, I feel the need to echo it. But there are more dimensions to an emergency fund than you've listed. For instance, I've used the fact th

This is such good advice, I feel the need to echo it. But there are more dimensions to an emergency fund than you've listed. For instance, I've used the fact that I had 6+ months of savings to push back against an assigned task at work that I felt was unethical. Knowing that I would be okay if they didn't back down and fired me allowed me to protect my integrity. Money may not be able to buy happiness, but it can buy freedom. Freedom from stress, freedom to pursue something you feel is important, freedom to do the right thing when the wrong thing is convenient. And the beautiful part of the saving process is that you're almost getting 2-for-1 on each dollar you save. People with little savings are, duh, spending basically what they earn. In that state, it may seem daunting to think, "How can I save 6 times what I spend when I have so little left over each month?" But as you cut back expenses, you start to see how little you actually need to survive. And that 6-month target, when translated into dollars (or whatever currency you're saving), starts to shrink. So, for instance, say you make $5k/mo after taxes and are spending just about that much. Saving $30k seems really hard. But if you can cut your expenses by 30% down to $3500/mo, now you're saving $1500/mo and only need to save $21k to get to 6 months of savings. That can be done in roughly one year.