Self-Employed Emergency Fund
When you are self-employed, a single slow month is not an emergency — it is normal. That is why the buffer is bigger: 9–12 months of essentials.
Build it in stages. First reach one month, then three, then six, and keep going. Keep it in a separate high-yield account so it does not blur into operating cash.
If your income swings seasonally, size the fund against your leanest months, not your best ones.