princeadewale
New member
Hi! So, I have a lot of savings piling up and I want to know: what's a sufficient Emergency Fund for an American living and working n Indonesia? As in, at what point do I stop saving and start looking for other saving/earning vehicles?
Background information: Personal Info: 36yo, F, single, no children. Most of my income, what I'm saving, is non-taxable income I get monthly. This means I cannot contribute to an IRA, Roth or Traditional. Also, I'm able to save for several reasons: I'm house sitting instead of paying rent at the moment, I don't have credit card debt, and I'm not able to drive, so I don't have/need a car, car note, or fuel costs. My health insurance costs are paid for by the company, for the most part (it excludes Dental). Finally, I currently have no tax liability in the US, because my taxable income (what I earn here in Indonesia) falls well, well below $120,000 (in fact, I think I'm under $12,000 USD taxable a year).
However, I am able to save about a third to half of my non-taxable income a month, so roughly $1-2,000 on average a month.I do have a student loan, that's currently paused due to the US Covid relief measures, and is not collecting interest. I also have a plan for paying it off in two years when repayments start in September.
Until then, I want to continue to build my emergency fund.That said, in the interest of building my savings base before I spend on any trips, or attack my student loan, how much should I have squirreled away in savings? The 3~6 month worth of bills doesn't seem to fit, as I can go from suddenly having minimal bills to an emergency that takes me back to the US and then having FAR MORE bills, theoretically, at any time. Also, if I do end up renting here, there's a possibility I'll have to pay the year's rent up front, so I know I need about $8-10,000 USD on hand for that, as well as the cost of a short notice ticket home. What else needs to be factored in to an EF?
Background information: Personal Info: 36yo, F, single, no children. Most of my income, what I'm saving, is non-taxable income I get monthly. This means I cannot contribute to an IRA, Roth or Traditional. Also, I'm able to save for several reasons: I'm house sitting instead of paying rent at the moment, I don't have credit card debt, and I'm not able to drive, so I don't have/need a car, car note, or fuel costs. My health insurance costs are paid for by the company, for the most part (it excludes Dental). Finally, I currently have no tax liability in the US, because my taxable income (what I earn here in Indonesia) falls well, well below $120,000 (in fact, I think I'm under $12,000 USD taxable a year).
However, I am able to save about a third to half of my non-taxable income a month, so roughly $1-2,000 on average a month.I do have a student loan, that's currently paused due to the US Covid relief measures, and is not collecting interest. I also have a plan for paying it off in two years when repayments start in September.
Until then, I want to continue to build my emergency fund.That said, in the interest of building my savings base before I spend on any trips, or attack my student loan, how much should I have squirreled away in savings? The 3~6 month worth of bills doesn't seem to fit, as I can go from suddenly having minimal bills to an emergency that takes me back to the US and then having FAR MORE bills, theoretically, at any time. Also, if I do end up renting here, there's a possibility I'll have to pay the year's rent up front, so I know I need about $8-10,000 USD on hand for that, as well as the cost of a short notice ticket home. What else needs to be factored in to an EF?