Saving and cash · Calculator

Deductible coverage.
Your FOO Step 1 target, calculated.

Step 1 of the Financial Order of OperationsOrder of operationsA default sequence for spare money after essentials and minimum payments: a starter emergency fund, any employer retirement match, high-interest debt, a full emergency fund and tax-advantaged accounts (HSA, Roth IRA, more 401(k)), then taxable investing. Vesting, unstable income and near-term goals can shift it.Full definition is having cash equal to your highest insurance deductible. Enter your deductibles to find your exact target and how long it takes to fill it.

The question it answersHow much cash do I need to cover my highest insurance deductible?

Rules: United States. Privacy: runs in your browser. What you enter stays on your device unless you copy a share link, which puts your inputs in the link.

Worked example: Auto deductible $1,000, health $3,500, home $2,500. Step 1 target (highest deductible): $3,500. Currently saved: $2,000. Gap: $1,500. At $500/month: 3 months to complete Step 1.

YOUR DEDUCTIBLES
Use your in-network individual deductible for the year.
Check your declarations page. Wind/hurricane deductibles in coastal areas can run higher.
Dental, vision, umbrella, or other policies.
YOUR PROGRESS
YOUR STEP 1 TARGET
HIGHEST DEDUCTIBLE
$0
SAVED
$0
GAP
$0
TIME TO COMPLETE
N/A
RECOMMENDATION
Enter your numbers above.
How this tool works
  • Step 1 target = the highest of auto, health, home/renters and other.
  • Time to complete = (target - saved) / monthly contribution, rounded up to whole months.
  • The Money Guy FOO Step 1 logic: cash to cover deductibles is a higher-priority floor than a generic $1,000 starter emergency fund. The reasoning is that your actual exposure on a single bad event is the deductible amount, not a flat number.
  • Step 1 cash should sit in a high-yield savings account or money market fund. Yields around 3-4% are available without lock-up. See Cash Management.
  • HSAHealth Savings Account (HSA)A health savings account available only when eligibility requirements are met. Federal tax benefits depend on contribution limits and qualified medical expenses. Health coverage, other coverage and Medicare enrollment can affect eligibility; state tax treatment can differ.Full definition-eligible health-plan deductibles can be paid out of an HSA tax-free. If you qualify for an HSA, that account can serve as part of your Step 1 cash if you can keep enough liquid.

Not financial advice.

HOW THIS IS CALCULATED

This tool runs entirely in your browser: no data is sent to any server. The same rules appear under "How this tool works" above.

  • Step 1 target = the largest of the four deductibles entered (auto, health, home or renters, other). The deductibles are not added together.
  • Gap = target − currently saved, floored at $0.
  • Time to complete = gap ÷ monthly savings, rounded up to a whole month. No interest is credited on the cash while it builds.

The target covers one bad event. The tool does not model two claims in the same year, or health costs after the deductible: copays and coinsurance continue until the plan's out-of-pocket maximum, which for 2026 Marketplace plans is capped at $10,600 for an individual and $21,200 for a family[1]. Verify the methodology or inspect the source code in your browser's dev tools.

Where to go from here

Read next

Order of Operations

The order to deploy each dollar: emergency fund, employer match, high-interest debt, HSA, Roth, then taxable.

Explore further
  • InsuranceInsurance is the most important personal finance topic nobody wants to talk about.
  • Emergency Fund CalculatorEnter your real fixed monthly costs to see 3, 6, 9, and 12 month emergency fund targets.

Sources

Bracketed numbers in the text link to these sources. Figures, rates and rules change: check each source’s date before acting on it.

  1. HealthCare.gov (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services), Out-of-pocket maximum/limit. Checked 2026-09-26. ↩

Calculators are educational estimates, not financial advice. Disclosures · How pages are reviewed