Tarsi
Three to six months is the usual advice. Here is how to work out your own number.
The standard answer, three to six months of expenses, hides the real question: how replaceable is your income, and how fast?
A regular employee in a stable industry with a working partner sits at the low end. A freelancer, a commission earner, or the only income in a household sits at the high end, or beyond it.
Size it against essential monthly spending, not your salary. Rent, food, utilities, transport, insurance, minimum debt payments. The cinema subscription does not belong in the calculation.
Work out that number once and make it a goal with a deadline. Tarsi will show you the monthly contribution it implies, which is usually the moment the target stops feeling abstract.