Your emergency fund is supposed to give you some peace of mind to cover expenses when times are tough. However, most times you wish you could spend a little extra aren't emergencies. For those, give yourself a smaller "comfy couch" fund.

Life is full of emergencies, big and small. Emergency funds are meant to protect us financially in these events, but we don't always have enough to cover them or perhaps we didn't foresee a money-draining event happening to us. What event surprised you that cost you a lot?

It's a good idea to have some kind of financial buffer to help keep you in the black. The problem is, not everyone can afford it. If you're struggling to set aside money for things like an emergency fund, start small with a change jar.

You probably already know how important it is to have savings set aside for emergencies, such as a job loss or an unexpected hospital bill. To avoid tapping your emergency fund, consider creating an additional savings account for expenses that aren't so dire.

Money experts don't agree on the particulars of emergency funds, but just about everyone agrees you should save for emergencies. Nobel Prize winner and "father of modern portfolio theory" Harry Markowitz offers his rule of thumb for setting aside cash for emergencies.

You've heard of an emergency fund, and they're a must for setbacks and financial pitfalls. In case of larger financial emergencies, Financial Samurai suggests what he calls the "Armageddon Fund".

While we often treat having an emergency fund as a given, it's not something all financial experts agree on. There are some situations where it might not make sense to have an emergency fund as we normally think of it.

You need an emergency fund, there's no doubt about that. How much cash should be in that fund, on the other hand, varies depending on who you ask. Most experts say between 3-6 months, but that's a pretty big jump. For a better idea of where you fall on the spectrum, try the 3-6-9 guideline.