Financial Health Assessment
Bennett and Alena: Pediatrics Resident Household Scores 42 Out of 100
By Ryan Inman
Published · Updated
PediatricsResident · Hospitalist fellowship plannedCouple, no children stated
Financial Health Assessment score
42 out of 100
Corrections
- Needs a workup 0 to 39
- Corrections 40 to 69
- Stable 70 to 84
- Healthy 85 to 100
The score grades the household on 19 measures across seven frameworks. Bennett and Alena lands at 42, in the Corrections band, score 40 to 69.
Alena is a pediatrics resident planning a hospitalist fellowship and an academic hospitalist practice, with take home pay of about $60,000 a year. Bennett works in tech and has been searching for a job since immigrating from Canada, with no income for the last couple of years. The assessment scores the household 42 out of 100, in the Corrections band.
The saving is the surprise in the file. On one training income, the household saves $1,150 a month into a student loan fund that holds $15,000 toward a $20,500 goal, while the loans sit on hold. Seven high yield savings accounts separate money by named need, for travel, annual expenses, and other purposes. A Roth IRA holds $11,500, funded at $5,500 for 2018 and $6,000 for 2019. The savings rate works out to about 23 percent of take home pay.
The debt sits behind the saving. Alena carries $98,000 of direct unsubsidized Stafford loans at 5.06 to 5.96 percent, plus $81,000 of loans for disadvantaged students at 5 percent, with no interest or payments in training: $179,000 in total. Bennett carries Canadian student loans of CAD $48,300, stated as about $34,500 US. The household total is about $213,500 US. Against all of it, the Protection Stack scores 0 of 22: no health cover stated, no disability, no life cover, no umbrella, no estate documents.
$179,000
Alena's student loans · two federal loan groups
$1,150/mo
Saving to a student loan fund · while loans are on hold
0 of 22
Protection Stack · nothing stated in place
About $60,000
Household take home pay · one training income
About $213,500
Household student debt · US figure as stated
54
Score with the three traced fixes · Corrections band
The short version
- The score: 42 out of 100, in the Corrections band. The Transition framework earns the full 10 of 10 and the Decision Filter the full 6 of 6, while the Protection Stack earns 0 of 22.
- Saving of $1,150 a month on about $60,000 of take home pay is a rate of about 23 percent, built while the student loans are on hold and one earner has no income.
- The loan fund holds $15,000 toward a $20,500 goal, saved to pay loans the hosts urged the household to price against PSLF first, because an academic practice after residency plus fellowship could put Alena halfway to forgiveness.
- No insurance of any kind is stated in place: health cover not stated, no disability, no life cover, no umbrella, malpractice not stated, and no estate documents.
- Three traced fixes move the score 12 points to a 54: individual disability cover for Alena, umbrella coverage, and estate documents in place, at 4 points each.
A 23 percent savings rate with a zero in the protection column.
What They Did Right
A 42 built on discipline alone. This is the discipline, itemized.
- Saving $1,150 a month on one training income About 23 percent of take home pay, saved while the loans are on hold and the second earner has no income. The Savings Floor earns the full 12.
- Seven accounts, each with a named job Travel, annual expenses, and other needs each sit in their own high yield savings account, beside a $1,000 buffer fund. Named lanes earn the full 4.
- A loan fund with a target and a balance $15,000 saved toward a $20,500 goal, before the first loan payment comes due. The plan exists before the bill does.
- A Roth IRA funded every training year $11,500 in the account, $5,500 for 2018 and $6,000 for 2019, funded for both years.
- No consumer debt beside the student loans No credit card, car, or other debt is stated. Cards and other debt earn the full 4 of 4.
The Score: 42 out of 100
The Financial Health Assessment grades a household across the same seven frameworks and lands the total in a band. Bennett and Alena scores 42, in the Corrections band. This household is scored on the resident and fellow rubric path.
19
Measures graded
7
Frameworks
42
Bennett and Alena's score
The 3 Bucket Framework earns 7 of 26. Milestones earn 0, because the milestone net cannot be determined from what the intake states. The emergency fund earns 0: the stated fund is $2,000 against about $4,364 a month of stated expenses, under one month. Named lanes earn the full 4, on one checking account and seven savings accounts separating money by named need. Goals funded earns 3, with $1,150 a month flowing to the loan fund and extra money to the loan fund or the Roth IRA, while the goals are not fully funded.
The Physician Wealth Equation earns 3 of 6: a calculable savings rate of about 23 percent sits at or above the 12 percent partial line and below the 25 percent full line on the resident stretch box. Residents are never scored on debt to income.
The Protection Stack earns 0 of 22, every box at zero. Health coverage is not stated. No disability insurance is listed. No life insurance is listed. Umbrella is absent by the household's own statement. Malpractice type and tail are not stated. No estate documents exist.
The Transition framework earns the full 10 of 10. The loan strategy box earns the full 6: federal direct loans with a deliberate highest interest payoff strategy. Cards and other debt earn the full 4, because no credit card or other consumer debt is stated.
The Tax Ladder earns 2 of 8: the Roth IRA is funded every training year by stated plan, with no bracket tied reason stated, earning 2, and the bracket plus moves box earns 0, with the bracket not stated and fewer than two deliberate moves stated. The Decision Filter earns the full 6 of 6 on five stated household goals.
The Lifestyle Guardrails earn 14 of 22: the Savings Floor at the full 12 on a rate of about 23 percent, the leak at 0 because the unaccounted amount is not stated, and wealth first automation at 2, on a stated planned split of savings to the loan fund and the Roth IRA, with automation not stated.
| Framework | What it covers | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 02 3 Bucket Framework | Milestones 0, emergency fund 0 at under one month stated, named lanes 4, goals funded 3 | 7 of 26 |
| 03 Physician Wealth Equation | Stretch saving 3 at about 23 percent. Residents are not scored on debt to income | 3 of 6 |
| 04 Protection Stack | Health 0, disability 0, life 0, umbrella 0, malpractice 0, estate documents 0 | 0 of 22 |
| 05 Transition | Loan strategy 6, federal loans with a highest interest payoff strategy. Cards and other debt 4 | 10 of 10 |
| 06 Tax Ladder | Roth against pre tax 2, bracket plus moves 0 | 2 of 8 |
| 07 Decision Filter | Goals written 6, five goals stated | 6 of 6 |
| 08 Lifestyle Guardrails | Savings floor 12 at about 23 percent, the leak 0, wealth first automation 2 | 14 of 22 |
| Total | Corrections band | 42 out of 100 |
Read the shape, not just the total. The Savings Floor, named lanes, Transition, and the Decision Filter are at full marks, and the entire Protection Stack is at zero. A single injury to the household's only earner ends the saving, the loan plan, and the fellowship plan in the same month, and nothing in the file pays out if it happens.
The Prescription
Three traced fixes, and the open item behind them.
- Obtain individual disability insurance for Alena, as soon as possible in training. This is the Protection Stack, and it gains 4 points, moving disability from 0 to 4. She is the household's only earner, and no disability cover is listed anywhere in the file.
- Obtain umbrella coverage. This is the Protection Stack, and it gains 4 points, moving umbrella from 0 to 4. The household states it does not have umbrella cover today.
- Put estate planning documents in place. This is the Protection Stack, and it gains 4 points, moving estate documents from 0 to 4. A will, a power of attorney, and a healthcare directive. No minors are stated in this household, so the set is the adult set.
- Run the PSLF math before the loan fund commits. Price forgiveness on the academic path, residency and fellowship years included, against the payoff plan the loan fund is saving for. No point gain is traced for this item. It decides what the saving is for.
Run all three traced fixes and the arithmetic is 42 plus 12, a score of 54. The gains are 4 for individual disability cover, 4 for umbrella coverage, and 4 for estate documents. A score of 54 out of 100 keeps the household in the Corrections band.
What This Case Teaches
A savings rate is not a safety net. This household saves about 23 percent of a single training income, sorts money into seven named accounts, and funds a Roth IRA every year. It also carries no disability cover, no life cover, and no umbrella on the only income all of that depends on. The discipline is real. So is the exposure.
Insure the one income before you improve anything behind it.
The second lesson is about free choices expiring. The loan fund feels like pure discipline, and it is, aimed at a payoff plan that the forgiveness math might beat. While the loans sit on hold, checking costs nothing. Once the $20,500 is spent on principal, the other answer is gone.
Behind the score
The Household
Alena is a pediatrics resident. She plans a hospitalist fellowship and an academic hospitalist practice after residency. Her take home pay is about $60,000 a year, and it is the household's only income. Bennett works in tech and has been searching for a job for the last couple of years, since immigrating from Canada. His stated income in that period is $0.
The household statement for this case was read aloud by a sponsor attorney reader to preserve anonymity, not by the caller. The facts on this page are the household's stated facts, carried exactly as the record states them.
Seven named savings accounts, and not one insurance line.
The money system is a set of named buckets. One checking account and seven high yield savings accounts separate money by named savings need: travel, annual expenses, and other purposes. A $1,000 buffer fund and a $2,000 emergency fund sit inside that system. The stated emergency fund of $2,000 stands against about $4,364 a month of stated expenses with loans, under one month, which is why the emergency fund box earns 0 even inside a careful system.
Saving runs $1,150 a month while the student loans are on hold, into a student loan fund holding $15,000 toward a $20,500 goal. Extra money flows to the loan fund or the Roth IRA by a stated plan. The Roth IRA holds $11,500, with $5,500 contributed for 2018 and $6,000 for 2019. The savings rate is about 23 percent of the $60,000 take home pay.
Protection is the empty page of this file. Health coverage is not stated. No disability insurance is listed, and the hosts name that as a gap. No life insurance is listed. The household states it does not have umbrella cover. Malpractice type and tail are not stated. There are no estate planning documents. No children are stated, so no guardian question arises on this record.
| Household fact | Where it stands |
|---|---|
| Careers | Pediatrics resident planning a hospitalist fellowship and academic practice. Spouse in tech, searching for work since immigrating from Canada |
| Household income | About $60,000 a year take home, one earner. Second earner at $0 for the last couple of years |
| Family | Couple. No children stated |
| Student loans | Alena: $98,000 Stafford at 5.06 to 5.96 percent plus $81,000 at 5 percent with no interest or payments in training, $179,000 total. Bennett: CAD $48,300, about $34,500 US. Household about $213,500 US |
| Other debt | None stated: no credit card, car, or other debt |
| Emergency fund | $2,000 stated, against about $4,364 a month of stated expenses with loans, under one month. Plus a $1,000 buffer fund |
| Saving | $1,150 a month to a student loan fund, $15,000 saved toward a $20,500 goal. Roth IRA $11,500 |
| Accounts | One checking account and seven high yield savings accounts for named needs |
| Disability | None listed. The hosts name it as a gap |
| Life insurance | None listed |
| Umbrella | None, stated: the household does not have it |
| Estate documents | None |
| Goals | Five household goals stated, including a dream of owning a castle, with no timeline |
The Two Frameworks Behind the Score
The score grades 19 measures across seven frameworks. Two of them carry this case: the Lifestyle Guardrails, which score 14 of 22 on a 23 percent savings rate, and the Protection Stack, which scores 0 of 22 because nothing in it is in place.
Framework one
The Lifestyle Guardrails
The Guardrails grade whether today's lifestyle leaves room for the plan: the savings floor, the leak, and whether wealth is paid first. On one training income, the floor carries this framework almost alone.
- The savings floor Built
- A rate of about 23 percent on about $60,000 of take home pay earns the full 12 of 12.
- Wealth first automation Partial
- A planned split sends saving to the loan fund and extra money to the loan fund or the Roth IRA. Automation is not stated. The box earns 2 of 4.
- The leak Missing
- The unaccounted amount is not stated, so the box earns 0 of 6.
Framework two
The Protection Stack
The Protection Stack grades the coverage that keeps one bad month from ending the plan. In this file the stack is empty from top to bottom: 0 of 22, the lowest possible reading.
- Disability Missing
- No disability insurance is listed for the household's only earner, and the hosts name it as a gap. The box earns 0 of 4.
- Life, health, and umbrella Missing
- No life insurance is listed, health coverage is not stated, and the household states it has no umbrella cover. Those boxes earn 0.
- Estate documents and malpractice Missing
- No estate planning documents exist, and malpractice type and tail are not stated. Those boxes earn 0.
The Loan Fund and the Forgiveness Math It Skips
The first close look is the choice inside the saving. The household saves $1,150 a month into a loan fund, aiming at $20,500, to pay down $179,000 of federal loans with a highest interest first strategy. The loans are on hold in training, so the fund grows while no payment is due.
The hosts urged the household to run the PSLF math before abandoning it. Alena plans academic practice after residency plus fellowship, and the hosts said she could be halfway to forgiveness on that path.
Price forgiveness before you save to pay in full.
The score does not settle the argument. The loan strategy box earns the full 6 on the federal loans and the deliberate payoff strategy. The forgiveness route and the payoff route both run through the same federal system, and the box grades the strategy being executed, not the road not taken.
What the episode adds is a warning about sequence. Money saved to kill a loan in full is money committed to one answer. If the forgiveness math wins, the same money is free for the household's other goals. Run the math first, while the loans are still on hold and the choice is still free.
An Empty Protection Stack Behind One Income
The second close look is the zero. The Protection Stack has six boxes, and this household scores 0 on all six: health 0, disability 0, life 0, umbrella 0, malpractice 0, estate documents 0. No other framework in the file is close to that empty.
The exposure is plain. One income supports two people, a fellowship plan, and about $213,500 of household student debt. If Alena cannot work, the income stops and every other number in the file stops with it: the $1,150 a month, the loan fund, the Roth IRA funding. The hosts named disability cover as the gap, and the prescription prices it first.
Every plan in this file runs on one uninsured income.
The three traced fixes are the stack's core, at 4 points each: individual disability cover for Alena as soon as possible in training, umbrella coverage, and estate documents in place. Together they are worth 12 points, because the starting point is zero.
Health coverage is the box to state rather than assume. It is not stated anywhere in this record, for either earner, and the page carries it that way. The score grades the record, and the record is silent.
Milestones: Scored on What Is Stated
Inside the 3 Bucket Framework, the milestone checklist tracks the markers a training household has already hit. This checklist earns 0 for Bennett and Alena, because the intake never states a milestone list the net can be computed from. The box pays only for stated milestones.
The rest of the bucket picture: the emergency fund earns 0 on the stated $2,000 against about $4,364 a month of stated expenses, named lanes earn the full 4 on the seven named accounts, and goals funded earns 3 of 6. The framework earns 7 of 26.
Questions this case answers
What score did Bennett and Alena receive on the Financial Health Assessment?
Bennett and Alena scored 42 out of 100, in the Corrections band. The Transition framework earns the full 10 of 10 and the Decision Filter the full 6 of 6, while the Protection Stack earns 0 of 22.
How does a resident household save 23 percent on one income?
Saving of $1,150 a month against about $60,000 of take home pay works out to about 23 percent. The money flows to a student loan fund holding $15,000 toward a $20,500 goal, while the student loans are on hold.
Why is the Protection Stack zero for Bennett and Alena?
No box in the stack is in place on the record: health coverage is not stated, no disability or life insurance is listed, the household states it has no umbrella cover, malpractice is not stated, and there are no estate documents.
What do the fixes do to Bennett and Alena's score?
Run all three and the arithmetic is 42 plus 12, a score of 54. The gains are 4 for individual disability insurance for Alena, 4 for umbrella coverage, and 4 for estate documents. A score of 54 out of 100 keeps the household in the Corrections band.
Sources and Basis
This assessment is built from the household's own intake for the Financial Health Assessment and the episode assessment of it. Every figure on this page comes from that record, and the score is traced box by box under the locked resident and fellow rubric. The household's statement was read on air by a sponsor attorney reader to preserve anonymity, as the record states.
The resident and fellow rubric weights the seven frameworks at 26, 6, 22, 10, 8, 6, and 22, for a total of 100. The bands are Needs a workup from 0 to 39, Corrections from 40 to 69, Stable from 70 to 84, and Healthy from 85 to 100. Residents and fellows are scored on the Transition fork: the loan strategy, and the state of cards and other debt.