I suppose that the 3 to 6 months of savings in case you lose your job is a good idea but here are a couple of things to consider.
The reason you need 3 to 6 months of savings is not because you won't be able to find another job before then. It's because it might take you that long to find one that pays the same amount as you were making before so you can afford to pay your bills again.
If you had fewer bills, you would have more options in the interim. I'm not proposing that you downgrade your job on purpose. I did that last time and I don't ever want to do that again. I'm just saying that it becomes an option.
The original point that I wanted to make on emergency funds was for less drastic emergencies than job loss. I still think the best way to prepare for having no pay is having no bills but let's talk about the "surprise" expenses.
Let me start off by saying there aren't too many surprise bills. The timing might come as a bit of a surprise but it shouldn't be shocking. Let me explain.
If you are alive, have a house, and have a car, you are going to get sick, the house is going to need to be repaired, and the car is going to have mechanical problems. None of this is surprising. Not in the least. Everyone should agree that this is normal. Normal is the opposite of surprise.
We just don't always know when there is going to be a problem and that's where an emergency fund comes into play.
I'm going to cover this more tomorrow but I just want to leave you today with this thought and let it sink in. I see people get absolutely flustered when the car breaks down because they can't afford this "right now". It reminds me of the old TV shows where a kid saves up *just* enough money to buy a car but then is caught off guard because you have to buy gas and insurance too. That's part of car ownership. So too is regular lube service, tires, and minor repairs. In adultland, that's all part of car ownership. And houses. And human bodies.
To pretend that none of these will need maintenance is either delusional or naive.