Why save anything before the debt is gone?
Because emergencies don't pause for repayment plans. With no cushion, every surprise becomes new debt at a high rate, which undoes months of progress. A modest fund — even a few hundred — breaks that cycle. Think of it as insurance for your debt plan, not a competitor to it.
How much is enough to start?
A common first target is one small, realistic cushion — enough to cover a typical emergency in your life, like a car repair or a week of reduced hours. It is deliberately small: the rest of your spare money keeps flowing to your target debt. Bigger savings goals come later, once expensive debts are under control.
Where to keep it
- A separate account from your everyday spending — out of sight, out of drift
- Easy to reach in a real emergency, but not one tap away on a Friday night
- Not invested — this money's job is to exist, not to grow
How to build it without stalling your debt plan
Split your spare money rather than choosing one goal: most goes to your target debt, a small fixed amount goes to the cushion. Move the cushion amount on payday, before it can drift into everyday spending. When the cushion is used, refilling it becomes the temporary priority — then you switch back.
What counts as an emergency?
Decide this in advance, while you're calm: essentials like housing, utilities, food, medication and getting to work. A sale, a gift or a weekend away is not an emergency. A written definition protects the fund from your future tired self.
One step for this week
Open a separate savings space if you don't have one, and set one automatic transfer for the day after payday — however small. Money Reset tracks your cushion alongside your debts from the numbers you enter, so you can watch both move at once.