5 inputs. 2 minutes. One number that tells you exactly how exposed you'd be if your income stopped tomorrow — and what to do about it.
| Score | Status | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| 0–2 | Resilient | Strong position. Focus on maintenance and quarterly monitoring. |
| 3–4 | Watch | Runway exists but gaps are present. A disruption becomes a crisis within 90–120 days without action. |
| 5–7 | Exposed | A layoff creates financial hardship within 60–90 days. Multiple dimensions need attention. |
| 8–10 | Critical | Immediate action required. A job loss creates crisis conditions in days, not months. |
This tool is a financial fragility screening instrument, not a diagnostic. It provides a rapid, structured signal about financial resilience for employed professionals — not a comprehensive financial plan or personalized advice.
The five dimensions and their benchmarks:
1. Emergency Runway — Liquid savings ÷ monthly essential expenses = months of coverage. Safe = 6+ months; Watch = 3–5.9 months; Danger = under 3 months. Benchmark source: CFPB Financial Well-Being guidance and standard CFP practice standards.
2. Expense-to-Income Ratio — Essential expenses as a % of monthly take-home income. Safe = 50% or under; Watch = 51–70%; Danger = over 70%. Based on the 50/30/20 framework adapted for essential-only expenses.
3. Debt-to-Income Ratio — Total non-mortgage debt as a % of annual income. Safe = 15% or under; Watch = 16–35%; Danger = over 35%. Source: Federal Reserve Consumer Credit data and standard lending underwriting thresholds.
4. Income Diversification — Number of active income streams generating $200+/month. Safe = 3 or more; Watch = 2; Danger = 1 or fewer. Single-source dependency is the primary structural layoff vulnerability.
5. Savings Adequacy — Liquid savings as a % of the 6-month essential expense target. Safe = 100%+; Watch = 50–99%; Danger = under 50%.
How the final score is calculated: Each dimension receives a sub-score of 0 (Safe), 5 (Watch), or 10 (Danger). The five sub-scores are averaged to produce a 0–10 final score. A floor rule applies: if emergency runway is under 1 month, the final score cannot be below 7, because immediate liquidity risk overrides all other factors.
Known limitations: Equal weighting across dimensions is a simplification. A person with high income diversification but zero savings is more exposed than this score may reflect in isolation. This tool is a starting signal, not a comprehensive assessment. The paid system includes a weighted scorecard that accounts for dimension interactions and produces dollar-amount gap targets per dimension.