Personal Finance: U.S. default and main street

Just like the whole Greek debt drama a few weeks back, the whole high stakes game of chicken on the debt ceiling going on in Washington is not arcane economics.  Default will have significant impact on everybody, and Ezra Klein at the washington post tries to explain how.

How default would harm homeowners, cities, businesses and everyone else (washington post)

Emergency Fund: How much money to set aside

So opinions vary.  What we can say from the different experts is the emergency fund should last at least 3 months and as much as a year.  Whether you're at the low or high end depends on your ability to save that pile o money and how much will give you some peace of mind.

Having a budget will make it fairly easy to figure out how much money is 3 months or 6 months or whatever you choose.  If you don't, the most detailed worksheet I've found to help figure out your emergency fund is over at yahoo.

How much do I need for emergencies

Emergency Fund: Pick your expert

You've probably heard, and sense intuitively that you need to have some money set aside for emergencies.  This is typically called the 'emergency fund'.  And it's often step 1 in getting your personal finances in shape. Today, let's tee up this week's topic with links to personal finance experts opining on how much to save:

David Bach says at least 3
Jean Chatzky says at least 6 months
Suze's scoop? 8 months
Economists must have a useful opinion...