Author: Dr. Aaron Snyder
Date Published: 12/8/2025
It was supposed to be a routine Monday. Dr. James Rodriguez had been an attending for exactly three months when his check engine light came on. Not a big deal, he thought. Until the mechanic delivered the news: $3,200 for a new transmission.
James stood in the repair shop parking lot, mentally calculating his bank balance. Sure, he was making attending money now, but he’d just paid first and last month’s rent on his new apartment, bought professional clothes, and covered the costs of moving to his new city. His checking account had $4,000, which sounded like a lot compared to his residency days. But after this repair, he’d be down to $800 with two weeks until his next paycheck.
“I make six figures,” he thought, “and one car repair just wiped me out.”
If this story sounds familiar, you’re not alone. The transition from residency to attending life comes with a lifestyle upgrade, but your emergency fund needs to make that same jump. That $2,000 cushion that felt adequate on a $60,000 resident salary? It won’t cut it when you’re managing $250,000+ in annual expenses as an attending.
Why Your Resident Emergency Fund Won’t Cut It Anymore
During residency, emergencies were different. A $500 unexpected bill was manageable because your baseline expenses were lower. You had roommates, you lived close to the hospital, and you probably ate a lot of ramen. Your emergency fund of $1,500-$3,000 made sense for that life.
But think about your attending life: you might have a mortgage or higher rent, maybe a family, professional expenses, higher utility bills, car payments, and a lifestyle that can’t instantly downgrade if something goes wrong. When your water heater breaks, you can’t just “make do” until your next paycheck. When your car needs repairs, you need it fixed by Tuesday because you have patients scheduled.
The general rule of thumb is to have 3-6 months of expenses saved. But what does that actually mean for a new attending?
The Realistic Timeline: Building Your Attending Emergency Fund
Let’s be honest: you can’t build a six-month emergency fund overnight, and you shouldn’t try. Attempting to save $50,000 in your first month will either fail or make you miserable. Instead, think of it in stages.
Stage 1: The Starter Fund (Months 1-3) Target: $10,000-$15,000
This is your “car breakdown, minor medical emergency, unexpected travel” fund. It’s enough to handle most immediate crises without derailing your other financial goals.
Your strategy: Save $500-$750 from each paycheck for your first few months. If you’re paid every two weeks, that’s $1,000-$1,500 per month. Yes, it will feel like a lot. Yes, you can do it.
Stage 2: The Breathing Room Fund (Months 4-9) Target: $25,000
Now you’re building real financial security. This amount covers most major home repairs, significant medical expenses, or several months of basic living costs if something unexpected happens with your job.
Your strategy: Once you hit your starter fund goal, drop your monthly contribution to $500-$1,000 per month. You’re simultaneously tackling other goals now (like maxing retirement accounts), so this is a marathon, not a sprint.
Stage 3: The Sleep-Well-at-Night Fund (Months 10-18) Target: $50,000
This is your ultimate goal. With this cushion, you can weather almost any financial storm: job transitions, major home repairs, family emergencies, or even a career change.
Your strategy: Maintain steady contributions of $500-$1,000 monthly until you reach this goal. Some months you’ll contribute more, some less. That’s okay.
Where Should You Keep This Money?
Here’s where a lot of new attendings make a mistake: they either keep their emergency fund in a checking account earning nothing, or they invest it aggressively in the stock market. Both are wrong.
Your emergency fund needs to be:
- Easily accessible (you can get it within 1-2 days)
- Safe (no risk of losing value)
- Earning something (even if it’s modest)
The Best Option: High-Yield Savings Account (HYSA)
A high-yield savings account is like a regular savings account, but it actually pays you meaningful interest. As of 2024, many HYSAs offer 4-5% annual interest, compared to the 0.01% you’ll get from most traditional bank savings accounts.
Let’s do the math: $25,000 in a HYSA at 4.5% earns you about $1,125 per year in interest. That’s essentially free money for keeping your emergency fund somewhere smart. The same $25,000 in a regular savings account at 0.01%? You’d earn about $2.50. Yes, really.
Popular HYSA Options:
- Ally Bank
- Marcus by Goldman Sachs
- American Express Personal Savings
- Discover Online Savings
These accounts are FDIC insured (your money is protected up to $250,000), have no monthly fees, and you can transfer money to your checking account in 1-2 business days.
The Psychology of Emergency Funds
Dr. Lisa Patel had been an attending for a year when her hospital system announced restructuring. While her job was secure, three of her colleagues were let go. “For the first time in my life,” she told me, “I understood why my parents were always worried about money. But instead of panic, I felt… calm? I had eight months of expenses saved. I knew I’d be fine even if something happened.”
That’s the real value of an emergency fund: it’s not just about the money. It’s about the mental space it creates. When you have a solid emergency fund:
- You make better career decisions (not desperate ones)
- You negotiate from a position of strength
- You sleep better at night
- You can handle life’s inevitable surprises without derailing your other financial goals
The “But I’m Paying Off Debt” Dilemma
“Shouldn’t I pay off debt first instead of saving?” It’s a fair question, and you’ll hear different answers from different financial experts. Here’s my personal take based on working with hundreds of physicians over the past decade:
Build your starter fund ($10,000-$15,000) first, before anything else except high-interest debt (credit cards over 15%). Here’s why:
Without an emergency fund, the first crisis sends you right back into debt. Your car breaks down, and suddenly you’re charging $3,000 to a credit card. You just undid months of debt payoff progress.
Once you have your starter fund in place, then you can focus on aggressive debt payoff while slowly building toward your larger emergency fund goals.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Mistake #1: Keeping It All in Your Checking Account Your checking account is for paying bills, not storing emergency savings. Keep 1-2 months of expenses in checking, and move the rest to your HYSA.
Mistake #2: Investing Your Emergency Fund Yes, the stock market has better long-term returns. But your emergency fund needs to be there when you need it, and the market doesn’t care about your timing. Keep it safe and accessible.
Mistake #3: Spending It on Non-Emergencies “But it’s a really good deal on this car…” No. An emergency fund is for emergencies: job loss, medical crises, major home repairs, urgent family needs. Not for deals, vacations, or lifestyle upgrades.
Mistake #4: Never Starting Because the Goal Feels Too Big $50,000 sounds impossible when you’re starting from zero. That’s why you break it into stages. Start with $10,000. You’ll get there faster than you think.
Making It Automatic
Dr. Rodriguez, from our opening story, learned his lesson. After that transmission replacement, he set up automatic transfers to his HYSA. Every paycheck, $750 moved automatically from his checking to his savings before he could even think about it.
“The first month, I noticed it,” he said. “The second month, I adjusted my spending slightly. By the third month, I didn’t even think about it. The money was just… gone, in a good way.”
That’s the secret: automation removes willpower from the equation. You’re not deciding each month whether to save. It just happens.
Your Action Plan for This Week
Ready to start building your financial safety net? Here’s what to do:
- Calculate Your Target: Estimate your monthly expenses as an attending (or use your current expenses and add 30-40% for lifestyle inflation). Multiply by 5 to get your fund goal.
- Open a HYSA: Research options, choose one, and open an account today. It takes about 15 minutes online.
- Set Up Automatic Transfers: Link your checking account and schedule automatic transfers. Start with whatever you can manage consistently.
- Give It a Name: In your bank app, name your HYSA something meaningful: “Peace of Mind Fund” or “Stability Savings.” Make it real.
- Track Your Progress: Set reminders to check your balance monthly. Watching it grow is surprisingly motivating.
The Real Finish Line
Six months after the transmission debacle, Dr. Rodriguez hit his $15,000 starter fund goal. “I know it’s not the full amount yet,” he said, “but I finally feel like an actual attending. Not just in title, but financially. I’m not living paycheck to paycheck anymore.”
That’s the goal. Not perfection, not some arbitrary number, but the feeling of security and control over your financial life. You’ve spent years training to be an excellent physician. Now it’s time to build the financial foundation that lets you focus on being that physician without constant money stress.
Your emergency fund isn’t just about preparing for disasters. It’s about building the freedom to live your life, make good decisions, and sleep well at night knowing you’re prepared for whatever comes next.
Start today. Your future self will thank you.
Transitioning to attending life comes with many financial adjustments. Our Bridge Loan program helps new attendings bridge the gap between training and practice while building long-term financial security.
