I scored a B+ according to their test! Over at CNN Money they have a “How Healthy are Your Finances?” quiz that you can take. It focuses on 7 financial areas – this is how I scored in each area:
- House Payments – Good
- Debt Load – Good
- Stock Diversification – Good
- Life Insurance – Good
- Company Stock – Good
- Retirement Saving – Low
- Emergency Savings – Low
It’s a pretty simple test – you either get a good or a low. Each one has a little explanation for how you scored. For instance on retirement saving, they thought I needed more based on my age and income. For emergency savings, if you don’t have 3 months worth of income saved you get marked low.
I disagree with the emergency savings – it’s not how much you save that matters but what your expenses are, plus there are other factors that come into play for me:
- I’ve been laid off before so I have some experience of what my needs would truly be. It’s definetely not 3 months worth.
- I know how to work hard at getting a job, plus I have skill sets that are useful for temporary agencies, etc.
- My wife is not working now, but she could in an emergency.
But a B+ is not bad. Anyway, it’s not a bad tool if you just want a quick review. Just know that there are many factors that go into financial decisions and just because you have a different mindset, it doesn’t mean you are wrong!
