Between sweeping 2025 layoffs and tariff-driven concerns of a recession, it's more important than ever to make sure your emergency fund is prepared for whatever might happen.
Whether ensuring your emergency fund is strong comes in the form of giving it a monetary boost or changing to a more suitable high-yield savings account, here are three tips from financial planners about how to prepare your emergency fund for economic uncertainty.
1. Bolster your emergency fund with extra money
Emergency funds can be used for any unexpected expense, such as surprise medical bills, home or car repairs, or emergency travel. But one of the most important reasons to have an emergency fund is to give yourself breathing room in case you lose your job.
"It's really just protecting yourself, where if something were to happen — you needed to leave your job and you have a loss of income — that you have money to be able to pay for life," says Valerie Rivera, CFP® professional, founder of First Gen Wealth.
Emergency funds are especially important in case of layoffs, so they're frequently talked about in terms of how many months of living expenses you have stored away. And because layoffs are more common right now, you might want to increase how many months of living expenses you have stored away.
"I typically recommend a minimum of six months of your take-home pay for an emergency fund. And just given all the uncertainty of everything that's happening right now, I've bumped that up to 12 months," says Chloe Moore, CFP® professional, founder of Financial Staples.
Rivera says that the danger lies not just in the increased likelihood of layoffs, but also in the longer span of time it might take to get hired after the layoff. "I'm seeing a longer timeframe, especially for my clients in tech, where it's either going to be a longer time, or it's going to be, 'I can find something, but I don't think I'm going to make as much as I did before,'" Rivera says.
Figuring out how to budget to increase your emergency fund now might save you down the line, if you're struggling to find a job that fits your needs.
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2. Keep your money in an FDIC-insured account that outpaces inflation
If your existing emergency fund is being stored in an improper place, such as in a brokerage account, you could risk losing your money just when you need it most.
"People don't always feel comfortable sitting on that much cash, so people are tempted at times to invest it. I'd say that's a big mistake, because when you have times like this, when the market is very volatile and an emergency comes up and you need the cash, you don't want to sell when the market's down," says Moore.
At the same time, you don't want to keep it in cash form or in a checking account that doesn't offer interest, because inflation will cause your money to lose its purchasing power over time.
"I typically recommend a high-yield savings account for an emergency fund," says Moore. She says these accounts let you earn some interest on your money to keep up with inflation while still being safe.
High-yield savings accounts are FDIC-insured, which means your account will be insured for up to $250,000 for an individual account or $500,000 for a joint bank account in case of bank failure. This makes them safer than investments, which you could lose money in.
In addition, high-yield savings accounts offer higher interest rates than traditional savings accounts and checking accounts while being easier to access than a certificate of deposit, another type of high-yield account that you can't withdraw your money from until the end of its term length.
Below, we've included a list of some of the best nationwide high-yield savings accounts from banks and credit unions to help you protect your emergency fund from inflation.
| Account | Annual Percentage Yield | Minimum Opening Deposit |
| Varo Savings Account | 2.50% to 5.00%* | $0 |
| Axos ONE Savings and Checking Bundle | up to 4.51% | $0 |
| Pibank Savings | 4.60% | $0 |
| Vibrant Credit Union Preferred Savings | 1.00% to 4.50% | $0 |
| Openbank High Yield Savings | 4.40% (varies depending on location) | $500 |
| Ally Savings Account | 3.60% | $0 |
| Capital One 360 Performance Savings | 3.60% (rate as of 04/08/25) | $0 |
3. Use buckets to keep an accurate measure of how much you have saved
Many people are working on multiple savings goals at the same time, which can make keeping up with progress on just one complicated. Not having a way to sort your savings goals can lead to you having less in your emergency fund than you thought.
Both Rivera and Moore say that savings accounts with buckets can help you keep track of exactly how much you have saved for emergencies.
"Some companies allow you to create different buckets for different savings goals, and you don't have to open up five or six separate accounts," says Moore.
Rivera specifically mentions the Ally Savings Account as a good place to store emergency funds.
"What I have clients do is, I have them save toward their emergency fund, and then I also have them save separately toward any other short-term cash goals," says Rivera. "Using something like Ally is a great option, because you are able to track progress to goal and have automatic amounts set up on a recurring basis."
Using one of these savings accounts can help you become more aware of your finances, ensuring you won't accidentally overestimate your emergency fund balance.
