Quick Answer
Divide your liquid assets by your usual monthly spending minus your passive income. In the example, S$30,000 with S$3,000 of spending and S$200 of passive income lasts about 10 months. CPF and your home are left out, because you cannot easily spend them.
The Useful Number: S$30,000 of savings, S$3,000 of monthly spending and S$200 of passive income last about 10 months. That reaches Level 1, Safety Net.
Why Count Wealth In Months?
A big number in the bank means little on its own. Counting months ties your savings to the life you live.
Take your usual monthly spending minus your passive income (money that comes in without work, such as interest, dividends or rent), then divide your liquid assets by what is left.
A Worked Example: About 10 Months
These numbers are made up. With S$3,000 of spending and S$200 of passive income, savings must cover S$2,800 a month. S$30,000 ÷ S$2,800 = 10.7, rounded down to 10 whole months.
That clears the 6-month Safety Net. The next level needs S$1,800 more passive income a month, to cover the S$2,000 bare-minimum spending.
- Usual Spending: S$3,000
- Minus Passive Income: S$200
- Gap Each Month: S$2,800
- Liquid Assets: S$30,000
- S$30,000 ÷ S$2,800, Rounded Down: 10 Months
- Level 1, Safety Net: At Least 6 Months
Data as of . Source: MoneySense — Managing Your Money.
Try Your Numbers
How Many Months Could You Last?
Leaves out CPF and your home. Levels need your essential and dream spending, so they are in the full calculator.
Your Savings Could Last
10 months
Rough estimate. See the full tool for assumptions.
Four Simple Levels, Not An Official Measure
We use four milestones of our own. Level 1, Safety Net: savings last at least 6 months. Level 2, Basics Covered: passive income pays your bare-minimum spending. Level 3, Work Optional: it pays your usual spending. Level 4, Dream Funded: it pays for your dream lifestyle.
You reach a level only when every level below it is met too. The sum leaves out inflation, returns, taxes and one-off costs. CPF and your home do not count, because you cannot easily spend them.
Pick One Next Step
Below 6 months? Build cash first with the Emergency Fund Calculator. Past it? See how regular investing could grow in the Compound Growth Calculator. Passive income can change or stop, so recheck when your spending, savings or income changes.
Quick Check
Three statements from this guide. Tap True or False to check what you have read. Nothing is saved.
Card 1 Of 3
CPF and the home you live in count as liquid assets.
Why?
Liquid assets are cash, savings, fixed deposits, T-bills, Singapore Savings Bonds and investments you could sell within a few weeks.
Card 2 Of 3
S$30,000 of savings, S$3,000 of spending and S$200 of passive income last about 10 months.
Why?
Passive income shrinks the monthly gap your savings must cover, from S$3,000 to S$2,800.
Card 3 Of 3
The four levels are an official measure.
Why?
You reach a level only when every level below it is met too.
Your Score
Try It With Your Numbers
Open the calculator with this guide’s example filled in. Then change the numbers to match your situation.
Open Months You Could Last Calculator →Frequently Asked Questions
What Counts As Liquid Assets?
Cash, savings, fixed deposits, T-bills, Singapore Savings Bonds and investments you could sell within a few weeks.
CPF and the home you live in are left out, because you cannot easily spend them.
What Happens If My Passive Income Covers My Spending?
Then your savings are not drawn down, so the calculator shows that you could last indefinitely.
That is Level 3, Work Optional, on our simple levels. Passive income can change or stop, so check it often.
Try Months You Could Last Calculator →Are The Four Levels An Official Measure?
No.
Safety Net, Basics Covered, Work Optional and Dream Funded are our own simple milestones. You reach a level only when every level below it is met too.
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Sources & Assumptions
Sources checked 1 October 2026. These are examples only. Check the stated assumptions and limits before you use a result.
Rough example only, not financial advice. The levels are our own simple milestones, not an official measure. Passive income can change or stop.