Same for non fiction writing. If people can see how you might make a living from what you make, they love to downvote it to oblivion. Guess we’re all suppposed to have office wage jobs all day and write fanfic for free at night. It definitely keeps me from ever posting about my writing.
We both work in very precarious fields, so we aim at 12 months of expenses plus cash on hand equal to the single largest machine/system in the house (maybe it’s the heat pump, air conditioner, etc for you). I’m happier when we have 18 months in reserve.