How much money should you have saved in order to feel comfortable.

[Lindsey23]

I am in the process of saving and growing up never had any money but now i managed to save some funds but still dont feel financially secure.So i was wondering how much do you think you need to have in the bank to be stable.

[LittleMsMom]

I am a huge Dave Ramsey Follower. I like his baby steps, when paying off debt having at least $1000. But once your debts are paid off having 3-6 months of expenses in the bank in case of an Emergency.

You can go online and find Dave Ramsey's Baby Step. It would be worth it for you to check his book out at the library if you have never read his books.

I personally though am working on having a 12 month Emergency Fund. I feel I need more because I am a single parent with a mortgage so I feel I need a bigger safety net.

[DebbieL]

I personally can't stand Dave Ramsey, but I do agree with the previous poster about having an emergency fund of 3-6 months expenses (maybe even 1 year if a single income family with job that isn't 100% stable). Our emergency fund is about 3-4 months worth currently, but we do have other accounts we could liquify to last for up to about a year if in dire circumstances.

As for when I will feel truly financially secure? Probably when I have about 250K in my portfolio - this is just a guess on my part since we aren't there yet. Not that I'm going to stop at that, but I will at least have that feeling of security.

[LuckyRobin]

I think we all feel secure at different levels. For me, it will be when we have a year's worth of income (not expenses but income) in the savings account. That's a lot, but I've weathered some storms in my life and that's just what I think I need to feel secure. Most people will say 3 to 6 months of expenses.

[Frugal]

I would need at least six months to one year of expenses in an emergency fund to fill secure. As in, money sitting in the bank. Those are my two cents. Security is measured differently for everyone, because we all grew up differently, and have differing levels of financial need and income.

[JessieHanz]

It definitely depends on your satisfaction and the your bankroll limitation..

[frugalgirl]

Having an emergency fund is very important to our security (we have 5 months of living expenses in there), but having insurance is just as important to my feelings of security. Currently, we are essentially a one-income family so having enough life and disability insurance to get the kids through college, pay the mortgage, and get to retirement if something happened to the main bread-winner is also a very high priority.

We also have an umbrella policy to protect our current assets.

[thomsoad]

Lindsey it really is a very personal question. I do think DR gives a very good "finger in the wind" approach but everyone is different. Personally I think 5K is good but my GF thinks we need 12K. So we have 12K even tho I think its too much but it makes her happy.

Point is this ... whatever YOU think is the right amount is the correct answer. If you have a DO (designated other) then whoever is the more cautious of you two is the correct answer.

[disneysteve]

I don't think there is a particular dollar amount that makes me feel secure. What makes me feel secure is having a plan, sticking to it and periodically checking in to make sure we're on track. Knowing that we are preparing for our future needs in an orderly and deliberate way is what makes me feel secure.

[snafu]

Only your life experiences can define your comfort parameters. You can improve your feelings of security by developing a personal financial plan. Where are you now, where do you want to be by March 31, 2016? What steps are you willing to take to get there? Having a written plan is the 1st step to get you where you want to be.

Once you have money to cover 3 months bare bones expenses easily accessible in a linked saving or Money Market a/c you have taken your 1st steps toward financial security. Understand that this is a don't touch base unless life strikes you a nasty blow. So many people believe a 'budget' is restricting but really it'd telling your money what to do instead of wondering where it went.

If you pay yourself 1st you are taking the 2nd step After all, it's not how much you make...it's how much you keep that makes you financially secure.