You’ve heard the experts talk about how badly everyone needs an emergency fund at their disposal and you’re in total agreement. You’re trying to set one up, but you aren’t sure how much you should aim to set aside.

Most experts will tell you it’s best to have 3 to 6 months’ worth of expenses in your fund. If your monthly expenses add up to $3,000, that means you could potentially need to have $18,000 in your emergency fund.

While that’s a good guideline to follow, you may need less money than that in your emergency fund, or you might need more.

The following factors can let you know whether you should plan on saving more or less.

How Steady Your Job Is

If you’re in a shaky industry or there have been layoffs at your workplace, you should aim for saving the full 6 months in your emergency fund.

Any time you think you’re in danger of losing your job, you should be extremely conservative with your money.

If Your Spouse Is Working

If you have a spouse who also works and would be able to cover part of your bills if you lost your job, you may be able to get away with only having 3 months of savings. It’s unlikely you’ll both lose your jobs at the same time. But if you’re both in shaky fields that have experienced a lot of downsizing, you might want to up that to 6 months.

Also, if you and your spouse work at the same company, it’s a good idea to save 6 months’ worth of expenses. If your company closes its doors, you’ll both be out of luck.

You Have Medical Issues

If you have a chronic or long-term medical condition, you should opt to save more, not less. Medical problems can be expensive and you have to make sure you’re covered fully for the worst-case scenario.

You Have Few Expenses

If you’re living at home with your parents still or if you are renting a place with a roommate, you should save more money. Although your expenses are low and conventional wisdom says you wouldn’t need as much in savings, you need to plan for the future.

Your roommate could move out and your parents could eventually kick you out so you can become more independent. If your expenses are low right now, that’s the perfect time to set aside more of your money.

You Have Children

If you have children, you need to save at least 6 months of expenses in your account. Children are wonderful, but they are expensive. They count on you for all their needs so you have to be responsible.

It would also be a good idea to open a Roth IRA on the side, in addition to funding your emergency fund. With a Roth IRA, you can take out the money you’ve invested in the account with no penalties in certain situations. That would allow you to have more money to fall back on if you faced some hardships and your emergency fund was drained.