<prompt> Human: Im seeing conflicting reports online about investing ones emergency fund and wanted to get some insight from my favorite community.I currently have 11,000 my emergency fund in an Ally savings and Ive been exploring how to get a better return on it. I dont have too many big expenses coming up and currently, no debt to worry about. Would it be smart to invest 50 to see how it does? I was planning on going with one of Vanguards growth ETFs.My biggest concern has been the recent market volatility and knowing my luck, Id invest it and the market will tank.Edit: Thank you for the insight! Case in point, guess who started investing in ETFs at the end of January 2018? ;_; Let me know your thoughts. Thanks!  <response>: Generally speaking an emergency fund should be thought of more as an insurance policy than an investment. The cost of lower returns is simply the cost of that insurance. That said, many people DO invest much of their emergency money with some caveats. - Its best if your job is very stable or better yet you are a dual-income household.- Your emergency fund is large enough that if it lost 50 of its value in investments, itd still be enough to see you through any conceivable emergency.- You carry a large enough balance in your checking account to cover at least a months worth of expenses or more.If this money is simply the slack needed in your budget to cover unexpected expenses medical, home or car repairs, a sudden plane ticket, etc probably best to leave it in a safe liquid account. 