“We do like to make sure our clients are really balancing the living for today while protecting their future selves as well.”

Your emergency fund should cover three to six months of expenses. But how should you adapt your financial strategy when your savings account balance keeps growing beyond that target? Our hosts, Natalie and Dan Slagle, tackle this surprisingly common problem that leaves many people psychologically stuck.

The Federal Reserve data reveals interesting contrasts: while the median savings account holds just $8,000, the average sits at $62,410. For couples with kids, those numbers jump to $12,500 and $73,980, respectively. Natalie's skeptical of the averages—how can households making $70,000 annually have that much saved? The outliers on both ends skew the data, but it highlights how many Americans might be holding excessive cash.

Dan and Natalie open up about their own challenges. Their target emergency fund is $35,000-40,000 based on $12,000 monthly expenses, yet they're sitting on over $50,000. Natalie admits she never wants to see that balance drop below $50,000 now—a perfect example of how psychological comfort can override financial logic. They acknowledge the trade-off: that excess cash could have grown more if invested in their brokerage account over the past few years.

Their solutions focus on intentionality. First, separate your emergency fund from other goals by opening dedicated savings accounts labeled for specific purposes—travel, home down payment, or that new car. Second, ensure you're maximizing returns with high-yield savings accounts offering 3.5% or more, not the 0.01% many banks still pay.

Most importantly, they advocate for creating a "flexibility bucket" in a brokerage account—invested money without a specific purpose that provides options when opportunities arise. One client used theirs to buy a second home they hadn't even considered when opening the account.

The key is balancing mathematical optimization with psychological comfort while ensuring your money serves your values.

Key Topics:

• The 3-6 Month Emergency Fund Framework (06:32)
• Federal Reserve Savings Statistics (12:16)
• When to Invest vs. Keep Cash (18:21)
• Dan & Natalie's Personal $50K Dilemma (22:12)
• High-Yield Savings and Account Separation (27:46)
• The "Flexibility Bucket" Concept (29:03)

Natalie Slagle, CFP® and Dan Slagle, CFP® are the founding partners and lead financial planners at Fyooz Financial Planning — an independent firm dedicated to helping high-earning couples in their 30s and 40s confidently navigate the complexities of managing money together.

At Fyooz, they specialize in turning financial stress into strategy, guiding couples through everything from cash flow and investing to aligning money with shared goals.

Disclaimer: For updated disclosures, please visit fyoozfinancial.com.