I personally would aim for 6 months barebones budget (shelter, minium debt payments, food), then focus on any debt or maxing out the retirement account and then return to beefing up the emergency fund more if you take care of the rest.

Hi all,

This is Alden, the assistant editor at LearnVest. We actually recommend you save six to nine months of your take-home pay--that's your pay after taxes and retirement have been withheld and what is deposited in your account each pay period. The reason why we recommend this is because if you were to be laid off, by only saving bare bones, you're asking yourself to go through a tough time, while also turning down outings with friends, not spending on shampoo and trying to be at your best for interviews without the benefit of your usual morning coffee, for example. Ideally you want to be able to invite a business contact out for lunch, or decompress with friends. If this seems like a lot to save, start with the bare bones expenses, but keep going until you build up six to nine months take-home pay. You'll be much happier for it!