How to create and manage Emergency Fund?
hi all,
I'd like to have specific amount as assigned for logical construct as Emergency Fund.
Such fund should have enough to cover my 3 months expenses, or any amount I define.
No, I can't use any of my Checking or Savings account for this, while any cash in those should be counted as appropriate positions in the Emergency Fund.
I'd like to have in the Emergency Fund:
1. all cash from all my Checking and Savings accounts - immediate access
2. all MM (Money Market) Funds / positions from all my after tax Investment (brokerage) accounts - the next day access
3. all my short term US Treasury Bills - weekly or monthly access
4. all my US Treasury and Gov Agency Bonds - the next day upon a sale, even at a loss, access
How I can get such Emergency Fund functionality, that can be tracked automatically from above positions.
thanks.
Answers
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The only way that I can think of is to create an Asset report that includes the needed accounts with only the desires securities included.
Q user since February, 1990. DOS Version 4
Now running Quicken Windows Subscription, Business & Personal
Retired "Certified Information Systems Auditor" & Bank Audit VP1 -
I can't create a Rule for such report.
The TBills positions come and go, so manually select each Security for every report isn't practical
Best Regards0 -
You could add the total of 2 reports:
Account Balances report, including just checking and savings accounts
Portfolio Value report with just taxable accounts selected and the security types you want to include - Money Market, T Bills, Govt Bonds, etc. When setting up a new security, you would have to select the desired Security type. You can create new security types as needed.
QWin Premier subscription1 -
@mikek753b could you possibly set up a Savings Goal called "Emergency Fund"? It will create a "pseudo" account that you can transfer in and out of without affecting any of your account balances. This account would be listed in your account balance list, but kept separate.
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Thank you all for your replies.
I was hoping that I ether missed such important for the financial planning feature or someone already has a solution ;-)
So far I can't do mix and match, or I don't know how to do it.
I'd like to keep correct Security Type for the Allocation report.
The Savings Goal require MANUAL add and remove, while I have my TBills on auto renew and adding new and join at the maturity from a few into single, also I change from 4 weeks to 17 weeks and back, the same for 6 and 13 to adapt to APR.
I wish to have TAGs and just run Report for all for such "Emergency Fund" TAG, but I can't apply a TAG to Checking account or Treasury Direct
on another side - Am I only one who wants such Planning feature?
Best Regards-1 -
@mikek753b I think of an Emergency Fund as a concept rather than an actual fund or account that needs to be stringently administered. That is why I am having a hard time grasping what you are trying to accomplish.
For myself, I have a hierarchy that I use if I need funds for an emergency or an unexpected bill.
- Regular Savings - I keep a balance there just in case I need funds on the spot.
- High Yield Savings - I maintain a balance there at a certain level and transfer money to my checking account when needed. I also replenish the balance from checking to maintain a certain balance.
- Taxable Brokerage Account - made up of CDs, Money Market MF, and Cash. As CDs mature, I can decide to reinvest in more CDs, or transfer money to the High Yield Savings account.
These are all liquid accounts and, in total, are my Emergency Fund. I monitor these accounts, but I don't have a strict or automated process that I need to follow for them.
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I'd like to keep correct Security Type for the Allocation report.
The Asset Allocation report, if that is what you are referring to, uses securities' Asset Class settings, not the Security Type. The standard Security Types are Stock, Bond, Mutual Fund, etc. and to some extent they affect the options you can set for the security. But you can also define your own types if you want, like T Bills, and for some reports you can filter by security type.
Each security also can have an Investing Goal and you can define your own goals. If you don't use the Goals for other purposes, you could define a goal of Emergency and use that for your T Bills, Money Market funds, etc. Then you can set the Portfolio Value report to just include the taxable accounts and that security type. Personally I would not include Banking accounts in the emergency fund, but that is up to you.
My approach to an Emergency Fund is a report that combines the money market balances in my taxable brokerage accounts and my traditional IRA. To satisfy RMD requirements, I have money transferred from the IRA to the brokerage account each month, but if I needed cash on short notice, I could withdraw the IRA money sooner, up to the RMD amount, without tax consequences.
QWin Premier subscription1 -
thanks
this was my logic 3 years ago, but when TBills went up and above all CD, MM, Savings I moved all to short term TBills, while keep about $10k in MM Fund SNSXX in the same brokerage where I buy Gov Agency Bonds as well.
I'm in California, so US Bonds are CA Tax Exempt, as well as SNSXX, that saves me above 10% extra
yes, before I just had used MM accounts and CD accounts and online Savings, now it's different
Tomorrow might be also different, so I try to adapt.
Best Regards-1 -
this is interesting, but I hit new issue by using new Investing Goal - Security Report shows and aggregate all Transactions for the date range.
While I need current Market value.
I have had MM Fund for above 3 years, I don't care for this report about any history, old sold positions, just current value.
Any report that just uses current Market value per Security with the Investing Goal "Emergency Fund"?Something like for a account Holdings dialog window.
thanks
Best Regards-1 -
Any report that just uses current Market value per Security with the Investing Goal "Emergency Fund"?
That would be the Investing > Portfolio Value report, as I said earlier.
Also if you have Banking accounts, such as savings accounts, that you want to think of as reserved for emergencies and not for everyday spending, you can go to the Account Details > Display Options tab and set the Account Intent to Investing. This will move that account to the Investing section of the Accounts Bar and make it available to include in the Portfolio Value report. To include these accounts and any cash in your investing accounts in the report, select No Goal for the Investing Goal.
Unfortunately changing the Account Intent does not work correctly for all of the Investing reports.
QWin Premier subscription3 -
@mikek753b I think US Bonds are tax exempt from any state tax, not just CA and the SNSXX is mostly exempt from state tax because it's not 100% invested in US government obligations. But, still a good point. I don't do my own investing so I will ask about US Bonds the next time I speak with my investment manager.
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this is off-topic, I'll try to address context wise.
the State per State taxes are complex, so I only speak about what I know for California State, where I pay taxes.
The same applies to all Money Market Funds, those are not the same, so I selected the SNSXX which I has used for years that is exempted for CA.
Sure, it isn't as easy as well, as the Fund reports about own investments as post fact or after a TY only, so there is no 100% guarantee all 100% income is exempt, while some minor percentage to be taxed by CA.
Yes, please talk to your CPA and I'd appreciate your update, even in private ;-)
Best Regards0 -
@mikek753b sure I can share, but I don't know if would be anything too interesting, and for the record, he is a CPWA, but he could be a CPA as well.
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thank you, it's getting better via Portfolio Value report with my selected "Emergency Fund" Goal
But, I hit another issue → this report shows aggregated "Cash" instead of current balance and also ignores current Investing Goal Filter. As result I got the value of 100x more vs real for the Cash row.
- how to get current Cash balance? instead of subtotal for Cash transactions?
- how to omit the Cash from this report?
Best Regards0 -
Please explain what you mean by "aggregated cash" and exactly what you want included in the report - securities like Money Market funds that you have given an Investing Goal of Emergency Fund and what else?
If you want the cash balance in your investing accounts tho be included, you will have to include No Goal in the Investing Goal selections and give all other securities some other goal, because there is no easy to assign an Investing Goal to Cash.
QWin Premier subscription0 -
this is where all those -Cash- are aggregated for resulting Balance, where the value is very wrong.
I have $0.00 Cash in all those Investment accounts, but the report shows absurd value.
I don't see this "-Cash-" in Security Types to be able to exclude.Best Regards0 -
The "Price and Value History" report is displayed if you click on the Cash segment of the pie chart and then click on the graph that is displayed.
It appears that your investment accounts have the "Show Cash in a checking account" option selected and the Price and Value History in your your second screen shot shows the money - dividends and sales of securities - that was transferred to those accounts. The linked checking accounts appear in the Banking section of the Accounts Bar and act like regular checking accounts, but they are really still part of the investing accounts.
Do you not want that cash included in your Emergency Fund?
QWin Premier subscription1 -
thank you for the reply.
- yes, the Investment brokerage is tracked in "Show cash in a checking account. But, this is irrelevant for my report for the TreasuryDirect account that doesn't have such split, all those XOut -Cash- are from other accounts that funds those TBills. Current Cash balance in brokerage account is $0.00, while it shows absurd amount as aggregate / sum of all prev transactions.
- yes, I'd like to have any current Cash to be included, but this isn't big deal as that Cash balance is below $500.00 on average, so omitting that Cash isn't big deal. Far more important to have current value of all TBill and MM Fund positions.
Based on your guidance I build another report from Portfolio Value Graph By Account, where I can select just "Emergency Fund" for the Goal filter ,that gives me close enough data.
But, again another issue, I have to unselect "No Security (includes cash)" to exclude those cash transactions, that way I will need to add / select any new Security manually for the tracking, instead of keep "Include all securities".
So far this is the best I was able to configure.
BTW logical Savings Goals doesn't work for my Use Case at all, it is only allows manual Contribute and Withdraw of a Cash, no any investment positions are supported there.
Best Regards0 -
@mikek753b you can find out which account(s) the cash is coming from by subtotaling the report by Account.
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Would you elaborate more for this guidance? please.
like in simple steps what and where I should set and configure, please.
Best Regards0 -
@mikek753b for your "Portfolio Report - Emergency Fund - As of 6/8/2025", change the "Subtotal by" dropdown to "Account".
It should then show your report subtotaled by account. It looks like cash is coming from more than one account.
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At the top of the Portfolio Value report, there is a Subtotal By: dropdown box. You can see it in the first screenshot you posted. Instead of Don't Subtotal, click on the arrow and choose Account.
Any account that has cash in it will show a -Cash- line with the amount as of the ending date of the report.
QWin Premier subscription0 -
Yes, I know this and yes the Cash is coming from many accounts and know those accounts.
The issue for such report is I can't exclude that -Cash- , I don't know how to configure to exclude that and that -Cash- distorts the report big time.
As result I've worked with "Portfolio Value Graph By Account" that allows my exclude that -Cash- .I don't know why it works in one report type and doesn't work in another.
Best Regards0 -
Sorry, how are you accessing the "Portfolio Value Graph by Account?" Step by step please, se we are all looking at the same thing.
QWin Premier subscription0 -
I can't do anything to exclude that -Cash-
Best Regards0 -
@mikek753b to exclude cash I think you need to uncheck this box -
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I don't think you can have it show for some accounts but not for others, but to exclude all the Cash, you can go the the Securities customization tab and de-select "No Security (includes cash)"
If you have set any Banking accounts with an Account intent as Investing as we were discussing earlier, unfortunately this will exclude the cash in those accounts as well.
QWin Premier subscription0 -
This I discovered when I created new View to the HOME.
Click at the HOME top tab Add View and then Add» Portfolio Value Graph.
This is the new report type "Portfolio Value Graph by Account"
As result I was able to save it as my custom Report
Best Regards0 -
This doesn't work for me for the "Portfolio Value" , but work for this new "Portfolio Value Graph By Account".
Sure, I agree it must work for all Reports, but it isn't.
Does it work for you?
I understand you might not have similar setup to try it on your side.
Again, thank you a lot for your prompt replies and help.
Best Regards0 -
@mikek753b it works only for true investment accounts. It doesn't work for non-investment accounts whose Account intent was changed to "Investment".
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