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The rule of thumb for personal finance is that everyone needs an emergency fund worth three to six months of living expenses — ideally stored somewhere highly liquid, such as a checking account.
But about 1 in 3 Americans had no emergency savings at all in 2025, according to research from Empower (1).
The study found that 29% of those surveyed couldn’t cover a $400 expense — whether health care related or otherwise. This update presents a slight improvement from when the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System looked at this issue. In 2024, the Fed found that 37% of Americans didn’t have enough money to manage a $400 emergency using cash or an equivalent (2).
Financial gurus — from Dave Ramsey to Suze Orman — typically recommend setting up an emergency fund as a key part of establishing your financial security. After clearing any debts, making sure you can deal with the unexpected is the next logical step.
But if you’re close to the line, even a minor expense, let alone a health care crisis or unexpected job loss, could put you into the red.
An emergency account is your financial shock absorber. You can’t predict layoffs, accidents, natural calamities or medical emergencies, but a sizable account balance can help you weather the storm when it hits.
Simply losing your house keys and hiring a locksmith can cost up to $400, with the average sitting a bit lower at $150, according to CNBC (3). If you don’t have an emergency fund, this minor expense could take a meaningful chunk of your safety net.
Bigger emergencies can demolish this safety net much faster. The average emergency room visit can cost anywhere from $1,200 to $1,300, according to American Family Care (4), and the average property owner spent $1,143 on emergency repairs in 2025, according to Angi’s State of Home Spending Report (5).
Perhaps the biggest risk is losing your primary source of income. In the current economic climate, finding a new job after a sudden and unexpected layoff is harder than ever. As of February 2026, a typical jobseeker took 25.3 weeks on average to find new employment, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (6).
That means most workers should be ready for roughly six months of unemployment.
That’s a tall order, but if your account is lagging behind, there are several ways to bolster it relatively quickly.
Read More: I’m almost 50 years old and don’t have retirement savings. Is it too late to catch up?
Perhaps the most effective strategy is to tighten up your budget, even if it’s on a temporary basis.
For instance, six months of suspending any leisure activities or eating out can help you stack up savings quickly. You can also commit to saving any windfalls, such as tax refunds or bonuses, until you hit a savings benchmark.
If you need a hand building a better budget, you could work with Monarch Money’s all-in-one budgeting app to get a top-down view of your finances.
Monarch Money puts all your financial ins and outs under one roof, from your banking 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 through a seven-day free trial. If you like what you see, you can then snag 50% off with code WISE50.
Another option is to find some extra work, specifically a side hustle as a silver bullet to bolster savings. As of 2025, 72% of American adults either had a side hustle or were considering one, according to SurveyMonkey (7).
The average side gig generated $885 per month, so if you hit that target and save it all, you can start building your way towards resiliency.
A third option for generating extra cash is to look for unused items you can sell online.
According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, citing data from ThreadUp, U.S. tariffs are leading to a boost in demand for second-hand items, with the potential to double in five years.
From old TVs to designer coats, selling a few items every year can help you save cash while decluttering. Regularly reselling stuff online and putting the money in a checking account can help you bolster your safety net.
Finally, switching from a checking account to a high-yield savings account could be the catalyst for a wider safety net.
A high-yield account like a Wealthfront Cash Account can be a great place to grow your emergency funds, offering both 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 clients can get a 0.75% boost during their first three months on up to $150,000 for a total APY of 4.05%. That’s more than 10 times the national deposit savings rate, according to the FDIC’s February report.
With no minimum balances or account fees, as well as 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers, your funds remain accessible at all times. Plus, Wealthfront Cash Account balances of up to $8 million are insured by the FDIC through program banks.
If you want to search around for the best rate possible, you can also check out the Moneywise list of the Best High-Yield Savings Accounts of 2026 and find an offer that fits with your savings goal.
A combination of some of these steps can help you accumulate 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); BLS (6); SurveyMonkey (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.