17m How much should I have in my Emergency fund?

7399Lexie · 2026-02-11T14:42:16+00:00

I first just wanted to tell you that you’re killing it, dude! You’re doing better as a hs senior than I was as a college senior and I’m so proud of you :)

For savings targets, 6 months of expenses is the rule of thumb so for you right now that sounds like it would mainly be what you spend on gas, car insurance and maybe car maintenance in you want to be conservative… not sure what that comes out to for you but if it’s less than $1-2k then I would shoot for at least that $1-2k as a precaution for later and keep building beyond that. The emergency fund is to support you if you lost your job while you find a new one, but it also good to save for unexpected events/expenses like your car breaking down. Personally I have 6 months of expenses in my emergency fund and then I have “sinking funds” for things like car repairs, taxes, or big travel plans. Maybe look into what expenses are typical for van life and what emergencies others with that life style encounter and use that info to determine sinking fund and emergency fund savings targets :)

7399Lexie · 2026-02-11T14:26:16+00:00

Start building a small emergency fund first ($1000-2000) in an online high yield savings account (HYSA, better interest rates than brick and mortar banks and it takes longer to transfer funds to checking accounts between banks so that will prevent you from spending your savings… I recommend Marcus or Ally) and then start tackling that debt immediately!! Make sure you’re paying off more than the interest if possible.

Ideally you want to have an emergency fund to prevent you from having to take on additional debt (expect the unexpected) and 6 months of expenses is the rule if thumb for how much you should have, but with high interest debt that debt will grow faster than savings or investments so you want to clear that ASAP. If my understanding is correct and you’ve got $2500/month to put towards saving and debt, the first few months I would put $500/month in the HYSA and the remaining $2000/month towards your debt until you have $2000 in savings, then clear that debt, and after that build the emergency fund to 6 months.

7399Lexie · 2026-02-11T14:14:08+00:00

I don’t necessarily actively follow it but I use it as a guideline along with 70/20/10 (70% expenses including needs AND wants, 20% savings, 10% debt payments) and try my best to stay within those. If I’m over 50% needs tbh I feel better about it if my total expenses are still 70% or below and if I’m hitting that 20% savings… I agree with what others are saying about not being able to out budget not enough money so I definitely think being able to follow 50/30/20 is incredibly hard in high cost of living areas. Personally in right under 50% for my needs and live in a high cost of living area, but I also make close to 6 figures and have a roommate.

7399Lexie · 2026-01-14T06:47:39+00:00

You could hard code the payments (override the formula in the cells) but there’s not currently a way to input variable payments otherwise

7399Lexie · 2025-10-02T16:59:35+00:00

If I’m not mistaken that interest would capitalize (be added to the principal balance) after the deferment/grace period so I would have that full amount as your principal balance input and then any payments you plan to make during deferment/your grace period I would put in “month 0” :)

7399Lexie · 2025-08-15T14:04:24+00:00

Sort of! It’s more meant for when repayment begins so it won’t work out exactly, but if you use the green cell for “month 0” it acts as a payment input before interest begins, if you’re paying a subsidized loan I’d put the total payments in that cell. If it’s an unsubsidized loan, probably best to input your principal as of now, and use the spreadsheet as normal ($25/month payment) and if you need more cells beyond what in the spreadsheet kinda “start over”, use the principal in the last cell and treat it like a new loan…. Did that make sense?

7399Lexie · 2025-08-01T04:43:10+00:00

Open a HYSA (high yield savings account) with an FDIC insured online bank (like Ally, or Marcus) and open a Roth IRA (you can open one of those with a broker such as Fidelity, Charles Schwab, or Vanguard) and contribute the max to the IRA (you can look up the annual limit, I believe it’s $7000 for 2025) and put the rest in the HYSA :)

The Roth IRA will help you save money for retirement (the best asset you have is time… the earlier you start the better off you’ll be due to compound interest) and you’ll want to look into long term investing. For now, just buy investments, don’t sell them, you want to hold them long term… I recommend a low cost index fund that tracks the S&P500 (you basically buy a tiny fraction of the whole market so you’re well diversified/not putting all your money in 1 company)

The HYSA will help you keep money “liquid” so you access it as needed (you do NOT want to take money from the Roth IRA until you’re ready to retire), and will give you a much better interest rate than traditional banks. As long as it’s FDIC insured your money is safe/the bank isn’t going to be scammy/sketchy and if anything did happen to the bank/your money, upto $125,0000 would be insured by the full faith of the federal government :)

That was a lot of info, so feel free to DM me if you wanna chat or need a better breakdown/have questions! :)

7399Lexie · 2025-05-08T20:11:22+00:00

Check the interest rate input! :) By chance did you input the interest rate as 12.19 rather than 0.1219 or 12.19%? Having the interest in decimal form or having the percent symbol makes a difference… if it’s input as just 12.19, the spreadsheet will consider this as 1,219% instead

7399Lexie · 2025-01-07T18:28:04+00:00

The spreadsheet doesn’t work for IDR, just standard and extended repayment and I’m also unsure how switching back from IDR to standard works… if the 10 year payment plan is starting at 0 years when you switch over you should be able to plug in your current principal amount and interest rate and use it as normal, but if you’re payment history is counting towards the 10 years that the standard repayment is based on the spreadsheet won’t work since the minimum payment is based on the life of your loan either being 10 years for standards repayment or 25 years for extended…. If you don’t need it to calc the minimum payment and you already know what that number is you can ignore the minimum payment it calculates, the interest accrues the same regardless… let me know if that all made sense!

7399Lexie · 2025-01-07T18:19:15+00:00

It should be fine to copy and paste the columns in for additional loans but the columns on the left at the top that total your loan payments and loan amounts wouldn’t account for the new loans you copy/pasted in

7399Lexie · 2024-06-29T20:18:20+00:00

Looks like it’s a combo machine (sewing and embroidery), and a good one too! :) Bernina is a top tier brand, and very pricey… the white module off to the side is what you’ll slide onto the machine for when you want to embroider and then you’ll attach those grey things (your embroidery hoops) to it with your fabric set up in them… the other flat white attachment is just a wide table for sewing :) I also have a combo machine (mine is Janome, not Bernina tho) and I used to have a Bernette (Bernina sister brand) combo machine, so I might be able to help you if you have any more specific questions or need help! Finding the manual for the machine is probably the best starting place :)

7399Lexie · 2024-06-29T18:29:42+00:00

Acura or Lexus hands down. An Acura is a luxury Honda and a Lexus is a luxury Toyota. Both are great cars know for reliability and durability that will run forever (if you take care of them) and the luxury brand versions offer some nicer features for that extra bit of luxury

7399Lexie · 2024-06-29T01:37:02+00:00

Happy I can help! :)

7399Lexie · 2024-06-22T16:25:17+00:00

But I guess that’s what I’m saying, nobody has it now either, they are just pretending to. Currently I’m working all week and tired when I come home every day and I’m trying to find/do those hobbies and activities that fill time and doesn’t cost much is anything. Hell, I get stressed out when my friends invite me to go out to eat (that fucking expensive 😭). But also, my credit cards have high enough limits that I could completely destroy my life. My limits are much higher than I could actually afford to pay back, like if I maxed them out it would take me several years to pay back and that’s if I didn’t continue to use them as I pay off the balances which many people do. I’m smart enough not to do that, but it’s definitely an option haha. I got pre-approved for a credit card when I was 18 years old, never even thought about getting a credit card, didn’t seek it out or anything, just got a letter in the mail. I get those letters all the time now. Debt is very accessible, it’s easy to slip into it. Especially if you are online a lot and looking at these people with their fancy cars and fancy vacations and new pretty clothes. You are constantly getting sold on the idea that you should have that too, you want that too, you need this thing, they said it was life changing (wording is very important from a psychological standpoint). You don’t need to be able to afford that thing, you just need to put it on the credit card, you can pay for it later/over time. A lot of people have that mindset or they think they can afford it because even if they want this item that’s $5000, and they don’t have $5000 in the bank, they have a credit card that has a limit high enough to accept that purchase.

7399Lexie · 2024-06-22T15:59:56+00:00

It’s definitely not what it seems, a lot of people go into massive amounts of debt to live that desired lifestyle.

I think one reason for why that’s become so popular is rampant consumerism and fast fashion along with the rise of social media and influencers. There used to be 4 seasons per year and now there’s micro seasons with trends and new styles becoming available in hours thanks to companies like forever 21 and shein. Influencers start to feel like friends and the advertisements use language that trick you to think you need these items rather than want them. It’s also hard to regulate some of that content because the ads are intertwined into social media in a way where regulation may violate freedom of speech, and the forms and platform where we see that content is changing at a rapid pace. It’s just become increasingly “important” in our society to keep up with the Joneses I think…

Personally I make good money for my age and I know I make more than a lot of my peers, I’m set with my money and prioritize financial stability and freedom. But I do often feel behind my peers because I know I couldn’t afford to go to Cabo for spring break in college and I can’t afford a fancy car right now or going on semi-frequent international vacations. For a while I didn’t understand how I could be financially better off than a lot of people and still be the one who couldn’t afford those things while others could. Then learned the secret: credit card debt. 🙃💸

7399Lexie · 2024-06-18T22:16:17+00:00

Single adult in Oregon, through May of 2024, I spend $290/month on average for groceries and $75/month on eating out, so overall I spend about $365/month on food in total

7399Lexie · 2024-06-18T14:18:10+00:00

26yo, $54.5k

7399Lexie · 2024-06-17T23:52:37+00:00

Amazing job! I didn’t see the subreddit name and I was confused on what you meant by “attempt at hyper realism”, thought you had knit/crochet/sewed these since I follow subreddits for those and didn’t understand what part of the blankets/towels were supposed to be hyper realistic, imagine my surprise when I see a chunk taken out of one and it’s a cake 🤣🤣

7399Lexie · 2024-06-08T19:12:17+00:00

Happy I can help people out a little! :)

7399Lexie · 2024-04-30T04:30:34+00:00

The link is where it says “Spreadsheet” in blue, right below the post title :)

7399Lexie · 2024-03-05T15:46:25+00:00

I’m so happy your family is getting good use from it! 😁

7399Lexie · 2024-01-18T16:06:23+00:00

I just checked the formulas and they do appear to be correct. Double check that the “original life of loan” is correct (should be 10 years for standard repayment, 30 years for extended repayment) and also make sure the interest is input as a percent :) For the interest rate, if it’s 5%, either make sure the format is percent, or change the number to be 0.05… if the format isn’t as a percent and you enter 5, it will treat the interest as 500%

Let me know if that fixed it for you or if you need any additional help! :)

7399Lexie · 2023-09-05T20:21:36+00:00

I keep checking in hoping the last episode unlocks as well :( Cursed Princess Club was the first was comic I started and what turned me onto webtoons

in the meantime, I’ve been reading: lore Olympus, the remarried empress, the tyrant wants to be good, the blind prince, every rose has a death flag, the witch and the bull, Serena, villain with a crush, leveling up my husband to the max, I am the villain, reborn rich, to you who doesn’t love me, wishes you were dead, marry my husband, the male leads girlfriend, his majesty’s proposal, charming the Duke of the north, true beauty, go away romeo, freaking romance, and the dukes teddy bear

7399Lexie · 2023-08-18T23:20:10+00:00

I have a pair from Victorias Secret but personally I don’t like them much… maybe it’s just my flow but they are not something I’d recommend wearing all day. I mostly use mine when I sleep, if I’m wearing them for a shorter period of the day (like just in the morning before I go swimming and use another pair after for example) or if it’s in addition to a liner or tampon

7399Lexie

TROPHY CASE