Last summer/fall we decided to pay off our HELOC dropping our fund to ~6months. We built it up to 7 months and purchased a new home (old neighborhood became unsafe) and dropped down to ~1.5 months. Built it back up to 3 months (will be 6 once we get our tax credit refund) and are now contemplating paying down additional debt (low interest student loans) and leaving it at 1-2 months. If absolutely necessary we have other means such as the open HELOC and/or credit cards plus my wife can go back to work should something happen with my employment.

In an ideal world we would keep 9-12 months in an emergency fund but then again in an ideal world I would have so much money that it wouldn’t matter e.g. Bill Gates.

The only time we’ve taken from it (and not used savings to cover what needed to be covered) was when I was diagnosed with cancer and was out of work for 6 months (and my employer screwed up my short-term disability so I didn’t actually get a check until two weeks after I started working again … which was also a new calendar year which didn’t do nice things to my taxes that year).

Last year, my husband had two surgeries, but our savings was able to absorb those costs. Car troubles (which are rare) and the like have been absorbed by savings.

I’m sure you’ll get to that full year in short order!