Chapter 2: Your Real Number

Ask most people what they spend in a month and they'll quote their income, their rent, or a guess that's off by hundreds of dollars. Almost nobody knows the number that actually matters in an emergency: what one month of your life costs when you strip it down to essentials.

That number — your Real Number — is the foundation under everything else in this book. It tells you what a layoff actually threatens, what your cushion needs to hold, and when you've genuinely reached "one month ahead." This chapter is one worksheet and about 45 minutes with your bank statement. That's it.

The worksheet (excerpt)

The full worksheet runs 17 lines, with the judgment calls ("do phones count?" — yes, and here's why) argued out in plain language, plus a fully worked example household.