🏠 Should you pay down HELOC debt or build emergency savings first?

Finn

This calculator helps you weigh the peace of mind of an emergency fund against the mathematical cost of holding high-interest debt like a HELOC. It adds meaningful new logic over its original template by calculating the annual interest penalty of keeping your cash liquid rather than paying down your balance. However, you'll want to be aware that the tool currently only calculates this penalty on the *remaining* savings you need to build, overlooking the cost of the cash you already have sitting in the bank. It's a helpful starting point, but keep in mind that the final recommendation relies on a hardcoded $3,000 threshold, so you should ultimately trust your own comfort level.

Reviewed v26.10.0