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c/personal-finance•dakota_miller93dakota_miller93•5d agoProlific Poster

Finally got my emergency fund to $1,500 after 8 months of trying

I kept hearing you need 3-6 months of expenses saved up, but honestly that felt impossible on my income. So I set a tiny goal of just $1,500 to start, thinking I could knock it out in a few months. But every time I got close, something came up like a car repair or a vet visit for my cat. It took me 8 whole months of putting away $50 to $100 each paycheck to finally hit that number. I had to stop eating out so much and cancel two streaming services I barely used. Now I'm wondering if I should keep going for $3,000 or just celebrate this win for a bit. Has anyone else had a tiny savings goal take way longer than you thought?
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danielowens
danielowens5d ago
Honestly, I gotta gently push back on something @michael803 said, even though they made a good point. Saving $1,500 in 8 months is definitely a win no matter what, but building the habit is actually half the battle and you already proved you can do it. That said, the whole "3-6 months" rule is usually based on your actual monthly expenses, not some random number like $3,000. So if your bills are around $500 a month, $1,500 is already three months of expenses for you. Might be worth checking that before you stress over a bigger goal.
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martinez.paul
martinez.paul5d ago
Right on, exactly what happened to me... had to reset my goal twice.
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michael803
michael8035d ago
My own experience has been that most people I know underestimate how long these goals take, myself included. There's this idea floating around that saving should be quick and easy, but life has a funny way of throwing little curveballs at you just when you're getting close. $1,500 in 8 months is actually a solid win when you look at how many unexpected things popped up along the way. Take my word with a grain of salt here, but I'd say celebrate this one for a bit before pushing for $3,000. Your mileage may vary, but building the habit is way more important than chasing some arbitrary number that might just stress you out.
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