When was the last time you used your emergency fund and what was the purpose?

I usually keep between 5-10k as emergency funds.

I had to dig into it to buy the dip during the stock market crash in 2020 (no regrets there, made a decent profit.)

I also use my emergency funds when I see equipment that I need being sold at a heavy discount on carousell (I run my own media business).

But your "risk appetite" will determine what you use your emergency funds on.

I haven’t yet had to dig into my emergency fund but emergency fund as the name suggests is for emergency !

• In Between Jobs
• Gives you the freedom to leave your job even if you don’t have a job
• unexpected expenses such as house repairs, car maintenance / repair etc.
• urgent travel (not a use case right now but in general)

I am sure could be many more.

In 2019 May, where I left a job with no prospect (contract staff tasked to do more than perm, but management have no intentions of converting contracts to perm), no Internet (uses intranet), and phones are not allowed into compound (so I'm totally uncontactable by HR from other firms during office hours). Was jobless for around 3 months or so, and survived on emergency funds.

I then found an Events Industry job, small scale family business, where 3 family members made up half the company. Here in this company, they owed me my salary, and petty cash claims can reach 5 digits. Left them 2020 Jan, with them owing 4 months of CPF and 3 months of salary. It was not until I threatened to report when they paid me a month after I left them.

So for the whole period of May 2019 to Feb 2020 (when I found the next employment), I was as good as surviving on my emergency cash.

I was lucky I managed to find a job before covid hit SG hard, or I would be unemployed for much longer, and very likely to have to cash out my FDs or investments.

January, when market crashed I took $10k to invest. But I didnt top up the amount back though.