What’s your Bulwark Score?

Answer five quick questions about your money and Bulwark Score will grade your financial readiness — plus show the specific moves that would raise it most. No sign-up, no email, no account.

Takes about 60 seconds 5 factors, weighted to 100 100% anonymous — runs in your browser

1 · Income & saving

Use your typical month. Rough numbers are fine.

$
$

That’s a savings rate of 8% of take-home pay. A common target is 20%.

2 · Safety net

Your emergency fund is what stands between a bad week and a bad year.

months

If you lost your income tomorrow, how many months could your savings cover the bills? Three months is the classic minimum; six is the gold standard.

3 · Debt load

Minimum payments on everything except your mortgage — cards, car, student loans, personal loans.

$

That’s 11% of your take-home pay. Lenders start worrying around 36% of gross income.

4 · Retirement

Be honest — the score only helps if it’s real.

5 · Protection

Insurance is boring right up until the day it isn’t. Tap everything you currently have.

One uncovered emergency — a hospital visit, a fire, a lost income — can erase years of saving. Coverage counts for 10% of your score.

What’s next

Your score is step one. These companion tools are in the works — each one picks up where this grade leaves off.

Coming soon

Debt Payoff Planner

Enter your balances and see the exact month you’d be debt-free — and how much interest the avalanche vs. snowball method would save you.

Coming soon

Retirement Forecaster

Project where your current savings rate actually lands you at 60, 65, and 70 — and what one small bump per year does to the ending number.

Coming soon

Net Worth Tracker

A simple snapshot of everything you own minus everything you owe, designed to retake in a minute and watch climb over time.

The flip side: what small spending could become

Every week has a little money that evaporates — delivery fees, impulse buys, subscriptions you forgot. Here’s what that same amount would grow into by 2043 if it went into the market instead, assuming a 10% average annual return, added weekly.

$
years

Assumes a 10% average annual return, compounded weekly as each week’s amount goes in. Markets don’t move in straight lines — this is an illustration, not a promise.

Projected value in 2043

$0

From $100 a week, invested instead of spent.

Where it comes from

You put in: $0 Growth adds: $0

How the score works

Five factors, weighted by how much each one protects you when life goes sideways. The math is shown, not hidden — move any slider above and watch exactly which factor moves your score.

Emergency fund25%Months of expenses in savings. Full marks at six months; the curve rewards getting to three months most.
Savings rate25%Share of take-home pay you save or invest each month. Full marks at 20% or more.
Debt load20%Monthly debt payments as a share of take-home pay, with a steep penalty for carrying a credit-card balance at high interest.
Retirement20%Whether you’re contributing at all, capturing the full employer match, or saving 15%+ of income.
Protection10%Health, home/renters, and life or disability coverage — the guardrails that keep one emergency from wiping out the other four factors.

What the bands mean

A score is only useful if you know where you stand and what “better” looks like.

ScoreBandWhat it means
0–39Needs attentionOne surprise expense could turn into debt. The fastest wins: a starter emergency fund and stopping any revolving card balance.
40–59BuildingThe foundations are going in. You have some cushion, but a job loss or big repair would still hurt.
60–74On trackSolid habits are in place. Most emergencies are an inconvenience now, not a crisis.
75–89StrongWell cushioned, investing steadily, protected against the big risks. Fine-tuning beats overhauling from here.
90–100ExceptionalTop-tier readiness. Your money system can absorb shocks and keeps compounding in the background.

Letter grades: A+ 97–100 · A 93–96 · A− 90–92 · B+ 87–89 · B 83–86 · B− 80–82 · C+ 77–79 · C 73–76 · C− 70–72 · D+ 67–69 · D 63–66 · D− 60–62 · F below 60. Your grade is the headline in the score panel; the number is the detail underneath it.

Financial readiness score FAQ

Is a 100 actually achievable?

Yes, but it’s demanding on purpose: six months of expenses saved, a 20%+ savings rate, no debt payments eating your income, retirement saving at 15%+, and full insurance coverage. Most people who score 75+ are in genuinely strong shape.

Why doesn’t the score ask about my income level or net worth?

Readiness is about resilience, not wealth. A high earner with no emergency fund and heavy card debt is more fragile than a modest earner with six months saved and no revolving debt. This score measures the habits and buffers that decide how a bad month goes.

Should my mortgage count in debt payments?

No — leave it out. Housing is a fixed living cost, not the kind of debt this factor targets. The debt load factor is about consumer and installment payments that compete with saving: cards, car loans, student loans, personal loans.

Are my answers private?

Completely. The calculator runs entirely in your browser. There is no account, no form submission, and nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere — closing the tab erases it.

Is this financial advice?

No. It’s an educational snapshot based on widely used rules of thumb (three to six months of expenses, a 20% savings rate, capturing the full employer match). Your situation may call for different priorities — a licensed financial professional can advise on specifics.