How much should you actually have in savings to feel safe?

In this week’s Ask the Experts, it’s a listener letter from someone worried about layoffs and wondering whether they’ve saved enough - or maybe even too much.

Heartland Bank’s Will White joins the show to unpack what a real emergency fund looks like in 2025.

How many months of expenses should you really have tucked away? What happens if you over-save and leave too much cash sitting idle instead of investing it? And where’s the best place to keep your buffer; a high-interest account, term deposit, or offset mortgage?

If you’ve ever paused your investing to “build up the savings” or felt unsure what enough really means, this episode will give you a clear, practical framework to find your financial safety zone.

If you have a letter you’d like us to answer, please send it through to [email protected] and you might feature on our next episode!

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This podcast was filmed & produced by Fanaticals

Video editing & content production by Lana Byrne

Audio engineering by Tash Chittock

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction

01:01 - Can you save too much?

01:46 - How big should your buffer be?

03:55 - Budget reality: find the fat

05:08 - Debt vs saving—what first?

07:21 - Next steps

11:24 - Offset & revolving: pros & pitfalls

16:43 - Outro