How long would my savings last if I lost my job?
Divide the money you could reach quickly — cash, deposits, shares and fund units — by everything that leaves your account in a month, loan EMIs included. ₹6,00,000 of reachable money against ₹50,000 of monthly outgoings is 12 months: how long you could carry on unchanged if the income stopped. It needs no assumption about growth at all.
Why this is the most honest number in personal finance
Almost every forward-looking figure in money rests on a rate of growth somebody has assumed. Change the assumed rate and the answer moves enormously, which is why two calculators can give the same person very different retirement dates. This one has no such input. It is a division of two things you already know, and it is either right or your two figures are wrong.
That makes it the first number worth knowing, and the one worth watching month to month. It moves when you save and it moves when your outgoings change, which are precisely the two things within your control.
Getting the two figures right
On the top, count only what you could genuinely reach in a hurry: bank balances, fixed deposits, shares and mutual fund units. Leave out the home you live in, and leave out retirement accounts you cannot access at your age. Including them can double or triple the answer while changing nothing about your actual position: add ₹12,00,000 of provident fund to the ₹6,00,000 above and the same household reads 36 months instead of 12, although not a rupee more of it can be spent next month.
On the bottom, use total outgoings rather than the tidy figure people usually quote. That means rent or EMIs, bills, food, school fees, insurance premiums and the irregular things averaged out. Understating this side is the commonest way people flatter themselves here, and it is the side that matters more, because it also tells you what a leaner month would buy you.
What moves it, and how fast
Because it is a ratio, both halves move it, and the bottom moves it harder than people expect. Cutting monthly outgoings by a tenth does not add a tenth to your runway; it adds rather more, because you are dividing by a smaller number every month thereafter. On the same ₹6,00,000, outgoings of ₹45,000 instead of ₹50,000 stretch 12 months to about 13.3 — a ninth more time from a tenth less spending. That is a useful thing to know before a stressful month rather than during one.
The top half moves more slowly, which is the honest news: a runway is built over months of saving, not in a week. What the figure is good for is direction. Watch it across a few months and it tells you plainly whether your position is improving, and a number that has not moved is itself an answer.
Questions people ask
How do I work out how long my savings would last?
Add up the money you could reach within a few days — bank balances, deposits, shares and fund units — and divide it by your total monthly outgoings, EMIs included. ₹6,00,000 against ₹50,000 a month is 12 months; against ₹40,000 a month it is 15.
How many months should I be aiming for?
Common practice is somewhere between three and six months of outgoings held in reach, with more for irregular or commission-based income. What matters most is knowing your current figure rather than hitting a particular target.
Should I count my provident fund?
Generally no, if you cannot withdraw it freely at your age. Counting money you cannot actually spend makes the figure look healthier without making your position any safer, which defeats the purpose.
Does this change if I have loans?
Yes, and significantly. EMIs continue whether or not income does, so they belong in your monthly outgoings. With ₹6,00,000 in reach, ₹50,000 of outgoings that include a ₹20,000 EMI last 12 months; the same household without the loan, at ₹30,000 a month, would last 20.
Does this figure assume any investment growth?
None at all, which is the point of it. It is a division of money you hold by money you spend, so nobody has to agree with an assumed rate of growth for the answer to hold.
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Try it nowLast updated 29 September 2026. Figures reflect FY 2026-27 and are educational estimates, not advice. Muktify is not SEBI-registered and never recommends or ranks any instrument. How we write and check guides.