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It has taken more than a decade, but PayPal - the coaster of the Internet that has had a downhill ride with the wind at its back pretty much since acquisition - is finally under serious threat. It may not be showing up in PayPal's numbers yet. Indeed, by the time you start to see these things on the balance sheet, the damage is irreversible. The question is whether it can still be reversed now. I'm arguing no for three big reasons. The first is the decreasing relevance of eBay. PayPal was never founded to be merely the payment arm of eBay, but eBay was so dominant in ecommerce at the time and the need for digital payments on the platform was so great that that became the bulk of the business.

Having at least six months of expenses provides financial stability, helps you avoid debt with high interest payments, and lowers stress levels. We have a full year of expenses put aside in liquid cash, and it lets me sleep well at night. Emergency funds can actually have a better return on investment than what you see on a bank account. But that doesn't mean I shouldn't still maximize my interest earned, especially as cash is an asset class where you can increase your return without having to take on additional risk (if you stay FDIC-insured or equivalent).