Emergency fund

[croquetas]

I have some funds in easy access savings (roughly 3.5 months salary) I have found over the past 2-3years. My biggest emergency spend has been car repair of about £450. I do not anticipate any repairs that will clear the entire pot in one go.

Will it be unreasonable to reduce this to equivalent of 1 month's saving and stash the rest in a notice account?
I have a notice account that pays slightly more than my easy access and I can withdraw with 30days notice.

Probably not, but the nature of the emergency pot is in the name, and is meant to be for those unknowns. What if you had a large sudden bill, e.g. house repair, new boiler, etc.., that couldn’t wait for 30 days? For me, one month wouldn’t be enough, but I am naturally conservative. Personally, I don’t think I could have less than 6 months, but that’s just me.

Second thing, given how much extra interest you would get in a 30 day notice account, versus instant access, is it worth it? Check that you are getting the best rate for your instant access account, as you may get a lot more elsewhere

If you've found one that makes a material difference, let me know!

Personally, I don't think 3/4 month's salary is a lot for the emergency fund and would keep it accessible.

Let's say it's £10,000. The difference between 0.5% and 0.75% is £25 per year. If it was a big difference it may be worth the risk, but in the current market does it even make that much difference?

@Residentnumber1 @SaturdaySpread
You are both right. Not a massive difference in interest. In all honesty, the issue is the easy accessibility. I'm just trying to avoid a situation where I will dip too far in and will take longer to top back up.

I’d have no qualms about a notice account - because I have a large limit on my credit card and can’t think of an emergency so great that I couldn’t use that, and pay it off with a withdrawal from the notice account.

I'm not sure what that the traditional advice on emergency finds is really all that useful now with online banking and such easy access to credit.
Doesn't make sense to have debts while having an emergency fund.
I'd invest rather than use a notice savings account simply because the increase in interest you'd get on these is of negligible benefit