Mr. Boylan advises setting an initial goal of one month’s pay, then moving on to two months’ after the first goal is attained, then three months’, and so on. “Take it one step at a time,” he said.

J. Michael Collins, director of the Center for Financial Security at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, advises automating savings by having a fixed amount — even if it’s a very small amount — regularly transferred from your checking account to a savings account. “If it’s up to you to decide every month if you want to do it and how much,” he said, “it won’t happen.”

Jonathan Morduch, a professor of public policy and economics at New York University who has studied the financial habits of low- and moderate-income families, said even lower-income families saved, but they tended to put aside money for specific items they knew they would need in the next two to three months — say, back-to-school clothes or holiday gifts — rather than building reserves for an emergency that may or may not happen.

For some people, getting started is the biggest hurdle. Christina Mele, 50, who works for a temp agency in Virginia Beach, Va., said she had never had a savings account until she started saving for an emergency fund last year, after enrolling in the Bank On education program sponsored by the City of Virginia Beach, local banks and community groups.

She set up a savings account at a credit union and has 5 percent of her paycheck automatically deposited to the account. She declined an A.T.M. card so that she couldn’t easily get to the money. She has saved $600 toward her goal of $1,000. “If you have to physically walk into a branch to withdraw the money,” she said, “you’ll think twice.”

Here are some questions about building emergency savings:

■Where should emergency savings be kept?

An emergency savings account should be accessible — since the point is to be able to get the money quickly if you need it — but not too accessible. Using a bank separate from where you have a checking account helps. Enlisting a trusted friend or family member as a “money guard” can help you stay on track.