Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open.

Is there a good rule of thumb for how much I should have set aside as emergency cash?
While I certainly agree with the principle of paying down debt, there is some value in having a healthy cash cushion.  If an emergency expense were to come up, and your credit has been cut-off or reduced to the point where you have no excess credit, then having real cash on hand is critical. I would perform the following thought-experiment:  What if my available credit had been cut off?  How much would I need in cash to survive for 1 month, 3 months, 5 months, etc.?  Consider what time period you'd be comfortable with, and set that amount as your minimum desired cash on hand. While it may seem extreme to not have access to credit at all, during the credit crisis many banks and lenders "tightened" their lending: reducing credit limits, closing lines of credit, calling loans, raising rates, etc. Suze Orman recommends cash savings equivalent to 8 months living expenses. That doesn't mean 8 months salary, but 8 months of what it would take to live on.  At one point, in the midst of the economic crisis, I thought that made sense. The Simple Dollar blog considers Suze's recommendation and the idea of emergency fund vs. debt repayment.  Worth reading: Is Suze Right? Do Emergency Funds Now Trump Debt Repayment?.