Financial Health Assessment
Elliot: Residency Household Scores 57 Out of 100
By Ryan Inman
Published · Updated
ResidencyResident · PGY-1 internSingle, no children
Financial Health Assessment score
57 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. Elliot lands at 57, in the Corrections band, score 40 to 69.
Elliot is a PGY-1 intern, age 26, in a four year residency program in Miami. The specialty is not stated. He earns about $59,000 a year before tax, lives with a roommate at just under $1,200 a month including utilities and parking, and carries $217,541 of federal student debt. The assessment scores the household 57 out of 100, in the Corrections band.
The saving system runs like payroll. Automatic withdrawals each paycheck send $1,500 to a Roth 403b and $500 toward the next January Roth IRA lump sum, $2,000 a month in all, about 40.7 percent of the $59,000 income. An Ally bucket system assigns every dollar, with a core savings bucket that catches rollovers. Investable accounts stand at about $26,950, and there is no debt beyond the student loans: the cards are paid monthly and the car was bought with cash.
The Protection Stack is where the file thins out. An individual disability policy stands in force, and everything around it is group cover, unstated, or absent: group life only, health cover not stated, no estate documents, and no umbrella policy at all, stated plainly. The hosts called this probably the best resident assessment they have seen, and the one fix they prescribed with a box attached is the umbrella.
$2,000 a month
Saving flows · about 40.7 percent of pay
$217,541
Federal student loans · REPAYE, PSLF track
$10,000
Emergency fund · stated as four to six months
About $59,000
Income · PGY-1 intern, pre tax
61
Score with the traced fix · Corrections band
The short version
- The score: 57 out of 100, in the Corrections band. The Lifestyle Guardrails earn 19 of 22 and the Transition framework the full 10 of 10, while the Protection Stack earns 4 of 22.
- Saving runs at about 40.7 percent of pay: $2,000 a month on automatic withdrawals, $1,500 to a Roth 403b and $500 toward the January Roth IRA lump sum.
- The hosts call this probably the best resident assessment they have seen. The file behind the verdict: every dollar in a bucket, no debt but the federal loans, and a car bought with cash.
- Protection is the thin side: group life only, no individual term, health cover and malpractice unstated, no estate documents, and no umbrella policy.
- One traced fix moves the score 4 points to a 61: obtain the umbrella coverage the hosts prescribe, a standard $1,000,000 policy against about $37,000 of stated assets. A score of 61 stays in the Corrections band.
The hosts' verdict is the headline. The umbrella is the fix.
What They Did Right
An intern file the hosts graded with a verdict. This is the machinery already running.
- About 40.7 percent, saved $2,000 a month on $59,000 of pre tax pay, split between a Roth 403b and a January Roth IRA lump sum. Floor and stretch both grade full.
- Every dollar in a bucket Ally buckets and automatic withdrawals assign every dollar, with a core savings bucket that catches rollovers. Named lanes earn the full 4.
- No debt but the loans Cards paid off every month, a car bought with cash, and nothing else owed. Cards and other debt earn the full 4.
- A full loan strategy Federal loans on REPAYE with a PSLF track, and a stated plan for the fork after residency. The box earns the full 6.
- Goals funded, all three Three net worth goals, each funded by the stated flows. Goals funded earns the full 6.
The Score: 57 out of 100
The Financial Health Assessment grades a household across the same seven frameworks and lands the total in a band. Elliot scores 57, in the Corrections band. This household is scored on the resident and fellow rubric path. The specialty is not stated in the record, and this page carries the residency without one.
19
Measures graded
7
Frameworks
57
Elliot's score
The 3 Bucket Framework earns 13 of 26. Milestones earn 0, because the milestone net cannot be determined from what the intake states. The emergency fund earns 3: $10,000 stated as four to six months, and the supported range does not establish six months. Named lanes earn the full 4, on Ally buckets and automatic paycheck withdrawals that assign every dollar. Goals funded earns the full 6: all three stated goals are net worth goals, and all are funded by the stated flows.
The Physician Wealth Equation earns the full 6 of 6 on the resident stretch box: a savings rate of about 40.7 percent is full on the resident scale. Residents are never scored on debt to income. The $217,541 loan is graded through the loan strategy box instead.
The Protection Stack earns 4 of 22. Health earns 0, because cover is not stated. Disability earns 2: an individual policy is in place, and its own occupation status is not stated. Life earns 2: group cover only, with no individual term. Umbrella earns 0, because there is no umbrella insurance, as stated. Malpractice earns 0, type and tail not stated. Estate documents earn 0, because none exist.
The Transition framework earns the full 10 of 10. The loan strategy box earns the full 6: federal loans on REPAYE with a stated PSLF track. Cards and other debt earn the full 4, because the cards are paid off every month and no other debt is stated.
The Tax Ladder earns 2 of 8, at 2 and 0: every retirement account is Roth, the IRA and the 403b, with no bracket reason stated, and the bracket and deliberate tax moves are not stated. The Decision Filter earns 3 of 6 on three stated goals, partial on the resident bar.
The Lifestyle Guardrails earn 19 of 22: the Savings Floor at the full 12 on a rate of about 40.7 percent, the leak at 3 because the bucket system accounts for spending and rolls leftovers to savings while variable spending is not itemized, and wealth first automation at the full 4, on automatic withdrawals each paycheck funding savings first.
| Framework | What it covers | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 02 3 Bucket Framework | Milestones 0, emergency fund 3 at a stated four to six months, named lanes 4, goals funded 6 | 13 of 26 |
| 03 Physician Wealth Equation | Stretch saving 6 at about 40.7 percent. Residents are not scored on debt to income | 6 of 6 |
| 04 Protection Stack | Health 0 (not stated), disability 2, life 2, umbrella 0, malpractice 0, estate documents 0 | 4 of 22 |
| 05 Transition | Loan strategy 6, REPAYE with a PSLF track. Cards and other debt 4, no other debt stated | 10 of 10 |
| 06 Tax Ladder | Roth against pre tax 2, bracket plus moves 0 | 2 of 8 |
| 07 Decision Filter | Goals written 3, three goals stated | 3 of 6 |
| 08 Lifestyle Guardrails | Savings floor 12, the leak 3, wealth first automation 4 | 19 of 22 |
| Total | Corrections band | 57 out of 100 |
Read the shape, not just the total. The money system is finished work at intern scale: a 40.7 percent savings rate, every dollar in a bucket, no consumer debt, a full loan strategy. The Protection Stack holds 18 of the 43 missing points in boxes that are group only, unstated, or empty. The distance between the hosts' verdict and the score is the distance between how the money runs and what stands behind it.
The Prescription
One traced fix, and the open items behind it.
- Obtain umbrella coverage. This is the Protection Stack, and it gains 4 points, moving umbrella from 0 to 4. The hosts prescribe the coverage in place of premium card fees. A standard $1,000,000 policy would exceed the stated assets of about $27,000 invested plus the $10,000 emergency fund.
- State the unstated lines. Health cover, malpractice type and tail, and the disability policy's own occupation status are not stated, which holds three boxes at zero or partial. No point gain is traced for this item.
- Put an individual term policy and the estate set on the list. Life cover is group only today, $50,000 through residency plus a free $25,000 policy, and there are no estate documents. No point gain is traced for this item in the record's target.
- Keep the nitpicks in their place. The hosts' remaining items, the emergency fund's CD bank and the premium card fees, map to no box in the record. No point gain is traced for this item.
Run the traced fix and the arithmetic is 57 plus 4, a score of 61. The gain is 4 for obtaining the umbrella coverage the hosts prescribe. A score of 61 out of 100 keeps the household in the Corrections band.
What This Case Teaches
A system can outrun its safety net. The hosts call this probably the best resident assessment they have seen, and the money system is complete: automatic, bucketed, and saving about 40 percent of an intern's pay. The score lands at 57 because the boxes behind the system, the Protection Stack, hold group cover, unstated lines, and an empty umbrella box.
Grade the system and the safety net separately.
The second lesson is the price of the missing points. Eighteen of this file's missing Protection points sit in one framework, and the single traced fix is a policy whose standard size exceeds the household's stated assets. The record prices the gap between a well run month and a protected one at 4 points.
Behind the score
The Household
Elliot is 26, a PGY-1 intern in a four year residency program in Miami, and the specialty is not stated anywhere in the record. He is single, with no children, and earns about $59,000 a year before tax. His rent share with a roommate runs just under $1,200 a month including utilities and parking.
Investable accounts total about $26,950: a Roth IRA at about $15,000, a Roth 403b at about $11,000, and a taxable fun account at about $950. The emergency fund is $10,000 in a no penalty CD, stated by the caller as a four to six month fund. The supported range does not establish six months, and the box grades it partial.
Forty percent of an intern's pay, saved on automatic withdrawals.
The saving system is the file. Automatic withdrawals each paycheck fund savings first: $1,500 a month to the Roth 403b, aiming to max the year, and $500 a month toward the next January Roth IRA lump sum. Ally buckets assign every dollar, including a core savings bucket for rollovers. Variable spending is not itemized in the transcript, which is the one soft spot the leak box records, at 3 of 6.
Debt is one line. The student loans are $217,541 federal consolidated, on REPAYE and on track for PSLF. The stated plan is to continue REPAYE through residency, then refinance or continue PSLF depending on the job. There is no other debt, as stated. Multiple credit cards are paid off every month, and the car was bought with cash.
Protection is bought in one place and absent in the rest. The disability policy is individual, through Principal, paying $5,000 a month with a cost of living rider, at $1,013.25 a year. Its own occupation status is not stated. Life cover is group only: $50,000 free through residency plus a free $25,000 policy, with no individual term. There is no umbrella insurance, stated explicitly. Health cover is not stated, malpractice type and tail are not stated, and there are no estate documents.
| Household fact | Where it stands |
|---|---|
| Careers | PGY-1 intern, four year residency program in Miami. Specialty not stated |
| Household income | About $59,000 pre tax, one earner. Rent share just under $1,200 a month including utilities and parking |
| Family | Single, no children, age 26 |
| Student loans | $217,541 federal consolidated, on REPAYE, PSLF track. Plan to continue REPAYE through residency, then refinance or continue PSLF |
| Other debt | None stated. Credit cards paid off every month. Car bought with cash |
| Emergency fund | $10,000 in a no penalty CD, stated as four to six months |
| Saving | $2,000 a month: $1,500 Roth 403b plus $500 toward the January Roth IRA lump sum. About 40.7 percent of pay |
| Balances | Investable about $26,950: Roth IRA about $15,000, Roth 403b about $11,000, taxable fun account about $950 |
| Disability | Individual policy through Principal, $5,000 a month benefit, cost of living rider, $1,013.25 a year. Own occupation status not stated |
| Life insurance | Group only: $50,000 free through residency plus a free $25,000 policy. No individual term |
| Umbrella | None, stated explicitly |
| Estate documents | None. No minors |
| Goals | Three stated goals, all net worth goals, all funded at the stated flows |
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 19 of 22, and the Protection Stack, which scores 4 of 22 on one individual policy and a row of group and unstated lines.
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. At intern scale, all three nearly max out.
- The savings floor Built
- A savings rate of about 40.7 percent of pre tax pay, run on automatic withdrawals. The box earns the full 12 of 12.
- The leak Partial
- The bucket system accounts for spending and rolls leftovers to savings. Variable spending is not itemized in the record. The box earns 3 of 6.
- Wealth first automation Built
- Automatic withdrawals each paycheck fund savings first, before spending. The box earns the full 4.
Framework two
The Protection Stack
The Protection Stack grades the coverage that keeps one bad month from ending the plan. One individual policy stands here, and the rest is group cover, unstated lines, and empty boxes: 4 of 22.
- Disability, individual Partial
- An individual policy through Principal pays $5,000 a month with a cost of living rider. Its own occupation status is not stated. The box earns 2 of 4.
- Life, group only Partial
- $50,000 free through residency plus a free $25,000 policy, with no individual term in force. The box earns 2 of 4.
- Umbrella and estate documents Missing
- There is no umbrella insurance, stated plainly, and no estate documents. Each box earns 0, and the umbrella is this file's traced fix.
No Umbrella Policy at All
The first look is the one empty box the hosts priced. Elliot carries no umbrella insurance, stated explicitly on the intake. The hosts prescribe the coverage in place of premium card fees, and the record traces the full box to it: 4 points, this file's one traced fix.
The sizing in the record is plain. A standard $1,000,000 umbrella policy would exceed the stated assets it stands behind: about $27,000 of investable accounts plus the $10,000 emergency fund. The box grades cover against stated assets, and on those figures the standard policy clears the bar with room.
The empty box is the one the hosts named as a purchase.
Health cover is not stated. Malpractice type and tail are not stated. There are no estate documents. Life cover is group only, and the disability policy's own occupation status is unstated. Of the stack's empty and partial lines, the umbrella is the one the hosts named as a purchase.
No minors are stated, and the household is one person, which keeps the estate set simple when it comes. This page carries the umbrella as the traced fix and the rest as open lines.
Two Thousand a Month on an Intern Salary
The second look is the system the hosts were grading when they gave their verdict. The flows are $2,000 a month on about $59,000 of pre tax pay: $1,500 to a Roth 403b, aiming to max the year, and $500 set aside monthly toward a single January Roth IRA lump sum.
The mechanics are automatic. Withdrawals leave each paycheck before spending starts, Ally buckets assign every dollar a lane, and a core savings bucket catches what rolls over. Wealth first automation earns the full 4, and the leak earns 3 of 6 on the one gap in the record: variable spending is not itemized.
The system runs on the paycheck, not on willpower.
The balance sheet behind the system is thin and clean: about $26,950 invested, a $10,000 emergency fund in a no penalty CD, no consumer debt, and a car bought with cash. The one large number is the $217,541 federal loan, on REPAYE with a PSLF track and a stated plan for the fork after residency.
The hosts' remaining items are carried in the record as nitpicks: the emergency fund's CD bank and the premium card fees. They map to no box, and no points hang on them. Their one priced prescription is the umbrella, in the section before this one.
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 Elliot, 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 3 at a stated four to six months, named lanes earn the full 4 on buckets that assign every dollar, and goals funded earns the full 6 on three funded net worth goals. The framework earns 13 of 26.
Questions this case answers
What score did Elliot receive on the Financial Health Assessment?
Elliot scored 57 out of 100, in the Corrections band. The Lifestyle Guardrails earn 19 of 22 and the Transition framework the full 10 of 10, while the Protection Stack earns 4 of 22.
How does an intern save about 40 percent of pay?
The stated flows are $2,000 a month: $500 toward the next January Roth IRA lump sum and $1,500 to a Roth 403b, about $24,000 a year on about $59,000 of pre tax pay, about 40.7 percent. An Ally bucket system and automatic paycheck withdrawals assign every dollar, and the car was bought with cash.
What is missing for Elliot?
There is no umbrella policy, stated plainly, and no estate documents. Life cover is group only, $50,000 free through residency plus a free $25,000 policy, with no individual term. Health cover is not stated, malpractice type and tail are not stated, and the disability policy's own occupation status is not stated.
What do the fixes do to Elliot's score?
One traced fix moves the score 4 points, from 57 to 61: obtain the umbrella coverage the hosts prescribe. A standard $1,000,000 policy would exceed the stated investable assets of about $27,000 plus the $10,000 emergency fund. A score of 61 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. Elliot's specialty is not stated in the record, and this page carries the residency without one, exactly as the record states it.
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.
Written by Ryan Inman, MBA, MAFM. Last updated October 2026.