Tools · Deductible Coverage

Deductible coverage.
Your FOO Step 1 target, calculated.

Step 1 of the Financial Order of Operations is having cash equal to your total insurance deductibles. Add up your deductibles to find your exact target and how long it takes to fill it.

Worked example: Auto deductible $1,000, health $3,500, home $2,500. Total Step 1 target: $7,000. Currently saved: $2,000. Gap: $5,000. At $500/month: 10 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
TOTAL DEDUCTIBLES
$0
SAVED
$0
GAP
$0
TIME TO COMPLETE
N/A
RECOMMENDATION
Enter your numbers above.
How this tool works
  • Total deductibles = auto + health + home/renters + 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.
  • HSA-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.

Related

→ Financial Order of Operations · the full 9-step decision tree → Insurance · coverage essentials → Budgeting → Cash Management · where to keep your Step 1 cash
HOW THIS IS CALCULATED

This tool runs entirely in your browser — no data is sent to any server. All formulas use standard financial math. Verify the methodology or inspect the source code in your browser's dev tools.