How much would you keep in emergency funds? And where do you keep them such that they bring a decent yield?
Are bonds, vteb a reliable place to put emergency fund? Emergency funds, to me, implies 6 month rent + groceries. What is emergency fund for you, OP?
Bonds are not good for emergency fund. Bonds can go down in value. Money market is ok.
You don't expect yields from emergency funds. They are just the most liquid form of money in your bank account that you can use in case you lose your job/meet with accident/incur other unplanned expenses. Or that's how I understand it.
If it is in an FDIC-insured bank account earning a non-trivial rate of interest, why would you say no to free money?
Enough to cover all expenses (mortgage/rent, other recurring payments, food, gas etc) for 8 months. Check out https://www.bankrate.com/banking/savings/rates/ for places to park your emergency fund.
6 months expenses. Alliant credit union 1.6%
6 months to a year of expenses. Ally Bank can be good. Honestly I just have money in the market plus large cc limits. What's your threat model? Health emergency? Layoff? Market crash? Plan accordingly.
6 months paychecks (net take home) worth (done). Now I add $300 a month and 20% of my annual bonus, without capping. Barclays saving acct, 1.65%
$1K cash in small bills at home in fire safe. Assume major disaster with grid-down for days or weeks (e.g. Puerto Rico). 3-6 months living expenses in savings/money market at bank with East and West coast data centers.
The east/west coast data centers is something I hadn’t thought of. How did you find that out? Which bank do you use?
12 months costs, cash in a safe under my bed.
I keep them in a straight savings account, post tax. I keep 1.5 years with of expenses. In that case, if anything extreme were to ever happen, I would feel secure enough to take care of all bills for a prolonged period of time. This is separate from any investment, brokerage, and 401k/IRA account. The yield is zero to none. I have multiple savings accounts that meet the max FDIC limit incase our banking system pulls a 2008.
Barclays savings online. 1.50%apy