Building an ETB Emergency Fund: Liquidity Architecture Under High Inflation

An emergency fund held as a static balance in a current account is an emergency fund losing value every month. In a high-inflation regime, liquidity and purchasing power pull in opposite directions — the goal is to hold both at once.

We size the buffer first: six to nine months of fixed household expenses in ETB, split into three tranches. Tranche one stays in an instant-access account for genuine emergencies, tranche two rotates through short-dated instruments, and tranche three is reserved for documented opportunities.

The rotation rule is deliberately boring: every month, maturing balances roll into the next rung of the ladder, and any tranche that overshoots its target is trimmed back down. No market calls, no timing — just mechanics.

Finally, automate the contribution on payday. Households that automate their savings contribution in the first week of the month retain materially more of their income than those who decide to save "whatever is left".