Money
The Financial Health Score: what it is and what it isn't
A simple number, designed to be honest. Here's how we compute it, why we picked these inputs, and what we deliberately left out.
Dev Patel1 min read
Most financial apps either don't grade you, or they grade you on something useless. We landed on a single number, the Financial Health Score, that tries to be honest.
What it measures
Two ratios, blended:
- Savings Efficiency. What fraction of your spending goes toward growth (investments, education, health) versus consumption.
- Growth vs. Consumption. Your growth spend divided by your consumption spend, capped at 1.
The formula:
score = (savings_efficiency × 0.6) + (min(growth_ratio, 1) × 40)
Then we clamp to 0–100.
What it doesn't measure
- Net worth (which often reflects luck or inheritance more than behavior).
- Income (income inequality is real; we don't reward it twice).
- Investment returns (we're a tracker, not an advisor).
The bands
| Band | Range | Color |
|---|---|---|
| At risk | 0–15 | red |
| Building | 16–30 | amber |
| Healthy | 31–50 | green |
| Elite | 51+ | gold |
A 60 means you're spending 60% of your money on things that compound. That's elite.
Why this score, and not a different one
We considered nine alternatives. They all failed one of three tests:
- Honest. Does it reward behavior or accident?
- Actionable. Can you move it by Tuesday?
- Stable. Does it bounce around for no reason?
This one passes. It's not the only number that matters. But it's the one we keep on the dashboard.