How Do You Really Feel About Your Money?
Not how much you earn, but how secure and free your finances let you feel
Two people on the same salary can live in completely different financial worlds: one sleeps easily with a cushion in the bank, the other lies awake doing sums. Financial well-being is the name researchers gave to that experience - feeling in control today, able to absorb a shock, on track for the future and free to enjoy some of life. A US government agency built a short scale to measure it, and later research split it into today's money stress and tomorrow's security.
Before you start There are no right answers. Pick what is usually true for you, not what sounds best.
Answer about your situation as you experience it over the last few months. There are no right figures here - only how it feels.
What it measures
Your overall sense of financial well-being as defined by the CFPB - control, a cushion for shocks, progress towards goals and freedom to enjoy life - plus two related parts: day-to-day money control and confidence in your financial future. It is about your situation as you feel it, not your attitudes to money, which the money attitudes test covers.
Based on: CFPB Financial Well-Being Scale (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2015) and perceived financial well-being (Netemeyer et al., 2018)
Possible results
Financial well-being
Your overall sense of security and freedom with money.
Day-to-day money control
How calm and on top of things you feel with money today.
Future financial security
How confident you feel about your money in the years ahead.
Common questions
Is financial well-being the same as income?
No, though income clearly matters. The CFPB defined financial well-being by four experiences - control over day-to-day finances, capacity to absorb a shock, being on track to meet goals and the freedom to make choices that let you enjoy life - and savings, debt and habits all shape these alongside earnings. That is why two people on the same salary can score very differently.
Is this test financial advice?
No. It measures how your financial situation feels to you, using a published research scale as a guide, and it says nothing about what you should do with your money. For decisions about debt, savings or investments, a qualified and independent adviser - or a free public debt service - is the right place to go.
Why does money stress matter so much?
Because it is felt every day. In Netemeyer and colleagues' large studies, current money management stress and expected future security were separate parts of financial well-being, together predicting overall well-being about as strongly as several other areas of life combined. Reducing the daily friction - knowing what is due, avoiding surprise charges - can improve how you feel even before your overall position changes much.
Sources
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (2015). Measuring financial well-being: A guide to using the CFPB Financial Well-Being Scale. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (report).
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (2015). Financial well-being: The goal of financial education. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (report).
- Netemeyer, R. G., Warmath, D., Fernandes, D., & Lynch, J. G., Jr. (2018). How am I doing? Perceived financial well-being, its potential antecedents, and its relation to overall well-being. Journal of Consumer Research. doi:10.1093/jcr/ucx109
An honest note The items are Quinthea's own wording adapted from the CFPB scale, so scores are not comparable to its published norms. Only the first bar corresponds to that scale, which gives one score; the other two are adapted from Netemeyer and colleagues' related measure, not factors of it. Both were developed in the United States. This is not financial advice or a diagnosis: if money problems feel unmanageable or affect your sleep or mood, talk to a free debt adviser or a professional.
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