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Old 11-05-2009, 09:12 AM
red92s red92s is offline
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I'll chime in here, as I have recent experience in establishing, and using, an emergency fund.

Unemployment benefits vary from state to state, and vary quite a bit. In MA, I maxed out the scale at about $620 per week, plus an extra $25/week from the stimulus plan. After taxes, that comes to about $550. In GA, the maximum is quite a bit lower (almost half). You should be able to find out the benefit rate in your state fairly easily, but you will typically need accurate pay information from the last three quarters to determine it.

As mentioned above, don't underestimate the costs of health insurance if you become unemployed and have employer-subsidized insurance. I was SHOCKED when I saw how much it would be to continue my coverage without my employer subsidizing it ($300/month). You gain get 65% off of COBRA coverage thanks to the stimulus plan, but I wouldn't count on that always being in place.

Someone mentioned above that job loss is NOT the only type of emergency. Sometimes job loss is paired with ANOTHER emergency, as in my case. I lost my job about a month ago, and then my car was involved in a serious accident and I had to fork out $1k for an insurance deductible.

I think equally as important as having an emergency fund, is having an emergency plan. In my case, I pretty much knew exactly what bills, utilities, and expenses I'd cut in the event of income loss. So the day I was laid off, I canceled digital cable, the gym, and netflix. The next day I started the process of moving out of my apartment and in with my brother to save on rent.

My emergency fund was about 6 months of my "normal" expenses. It is probably about 12+ months on my "crisis" budget.
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