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The general rule of thumb for personal finances is that everyone needs an emergency fund equal to three to six months of living expenses, ideally stored somewhere highly liquid, like a checking account.
But about 1 in 3 Americans had no emergency savings in 2025, according to research from Empower (1).
The study found that 29% of respondents couldn’t cover a $400 expense, whether health care related or not. This update presents a slight improvement over when the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System considered this topic. In 2024, the Federal Reserve found that 37% of Americans did not have enough money to handle an emergency of $400 in cash or its equivalent (2).
Financial gurus, from Dave Ramsey to Suze Orman, often recommend creating an emergency fund as a key part of establishing your financial security. After paying off any debt, the next logical step is to make sure you can handle the unexpected.
But if you’re close to the line, even a minor expense, let alone a healthcare crisis or unexpected job loss, could put you in the red.
An emergency account is your financial buffer. You can’t predict layoffs, accidents, natural calamities, or medical emergencies, but a sizable account balance can help you weather the storm when it arrives.
Simply losing your house keys and hiring a locksmith can cost up to $400, with the average slightly lower at $150, according to CNBC (3). If you don’t have an emergency fund, this minor expense could eat up a significant portion of your safety net.
Major emergencies can demolish this safety net much faster. The average emergency room visit can cost between $1,200 and $1,300, according to American Family Care (4), and the average homeowner spent $1,143 on emergency repairs in 2025, according to Angi’s State of Housing Spending Report (5).
Perhaps the biggest risk is losing your main source of income. In the current economic climate, finding a new job after a sudden and unexpected layoff is more difficult than ever. In February 2026, it took an average of 25.3 weeks for a typical job seeker to find a new job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (6).
That means most workers should be prepared for about six months of unemployment.
It’s a tall order, but if your account is lagging, there are several ways to shore it up relatively quickly.
Read more: I’m almost 50 years old and I have no retirement savings. Is it too late to catch up?
Perhaps the most effective strategy is to adjust the budget, even temporarily.
For example, six months of stopping any leisure activities or eating out can help you build up savings quickly. You can also commit to saving any windfalls, like tax refunds or bonuses, until you reach a savings benchmark.
If you need help creating a better budget, you can work with Monarch Money’s all-in-one budget app to get a top-down view of your finances.
Monarch Money brings all your financial ins and outs under one roof, from your bank statements to your investments. You can also add separate or joint accounts to your dashboard, which can be great for couples.
Even better, you can try before you buy to see if the service is right for you with a seven-day free trial. If you like what you see, you can get 50% off with code WISE50.
Another option is to find some extra work, specifically a side job as a silver bullet to boost savings. In 2025, 72% of American adults had a side job or were considering one, according to SurveyMonkey (7).
The average side gig brought in $885 per month, so if you hit that goal and save it all, you can start building your path to resilience.
A third option to make extra money is to look for unused items that you can sell online.
According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, citing data from ThreadUp, US tariffs are causing a surge in demand for second-hand goods, with the potential to double within five years.
From old televisions to designer coats, selling a few items each year can help you save money while decluttering. Reselling things online regularly and depositing the money in a checking account can help you shore up your safety net.
Finally, switching from a checking account to a high-yield savings account could be the catalyst for a broader safety net.
A high-yield account like a Wealthfront Cash Account can be a great place to grow your emergency funds, offering competitive interest rates and easy access to your cash when you need it.
The Wealthfront Cash Account currently offers a base variable APY of 3.30%, and new customers can get a 0.75% boost for their first three months up to $150,000 for a total APY of 4.05%. That’s more than 10 times the national savings and deposit rate, according to the FDIC’s February report.
With no minimum balances or account fees, plus 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic bank transfers, your funds remain accessible at all times. Additionally, Wealthfront Cash Account balances up to $8 million are FDIC insured through program banks.
If you want to shop for the best possible rate, you can also check out Moneywise’s list of the best high-yield savings accounts of 2026 and find a deal that fits your savings goal.
A combination of some of these steps can help you build up the three to six months of emergency funds that many Americans lack.
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Empower (1); Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (2); CNBC (3); American Family Care (4); Angi (5); Angi (5); SVB (6); Survey Monkey (7); The Wall Street Journal (8)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.