<prompt> Human: About 4 months ago, I finally started saving for an emergency fund. This week, I just hit 1,000.00. Also this week, I got a bill from the hospital from my visit last week and have to drain about half of it to pay what my insurance didnt cover. Im happy that at least I dont have to add it on my credit card, but its so sad to see the fund go when I just hit a major milestone : Assistant: I remember that feeling. Its definitely disappointing after watching your account grow and knowing how hard youve been working to build it up.But the good thing is, this kept you from having to put the emergency on a high-interest credit card or otherwise struggling to make the payment. That means youre already ahead of the game, and in a better position than a lot of people. So now youll get back to work on re-building the fund, AND youre not starting from 0 this time. Youre starting from 500. Hopefully, youll build it up over 1,000 before you need to tap into it again, so each time it grows a bit before you need it.Youre doing great, keep it up!Human: Itll be back up soon! I am definitely glad I had it so I didnt have to add to my credit card debt. Assistant: How much do you aim to have on it? Or do you plan for it to stop at 1k?Human: Right now my baseline is 1,000. Ideally, I want to get up to 10k to cover about 4 months of expenses. However, currently paying for a wedding student loans, so Im focusing more of my efforts on paying that down faster. 1k is enough of a buffer in most cases for any other emergencies Id encounter right now - health insurance and car insurance deductible are both under 1k.  <response>: If you have existing credit card debt, keep chipping away at it. Thats going to hold you back due to the crazy interest rates they charge. 