5 Simple Questions that Pave the Way to Financial Security

Want to know how your bank account stacks up against that of your neighbors? You’ll get an idea by asking yourself five simple questions, new research shows.

The St. Louis Fed examined data from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances between 1992 and 2013 and found a high correlation between healthy financial habits and net worth. In the surveys, the Fed asked:

• Did you save any money last year? Saving is good, of course. Just over half in the survey earned more than they spent (not counting investments and purchases of durable goods).
• Did you miss any credit card or other payments last year? Missing a payment isn’t just a sign of financial stress; it may trigger late fees and additional interest. An encouraging 84% in the survey made timely payments.
• After your last credit card payment, did you still owe anything? Carrying a balance costs money. In the survey, 44% said they carried a balance or recently had been denied credit.
• Looking at all your assets, from real estate to jewelry, is more than 10% in bonds, cash or other easily sold, liquid assets? If you don’t have safe assets to sell in an emergency, you are financially vulnerable. Just over a quarter of those in the surveys have what amounts to an emergency fund.
• Is your total debt service each month less than 40% of household income? This is a widely accepted threshold. A higher percentage likely means you are having trouble saving for retirement, emergencies, and large expenses.

The average score on the 5 questions was 3, meaning that the typical respondent—perhaps your neighbor—had healthy financial habits 60% of the time. That equated to a median net worth of $100,000. Those who scored higher had a higher net worth, and those who scored lower had a lower net worth.

In general, younger people and minorities scored lowest, while older people and whites scored highest. Education was far less relevant than age. “This may be due to learning better financial habits over time, getting beyond the financial challenges of early and middle adulthood and the benefit of time in building a nest egg,” the authors wrote.

It should come as no surprise that healthy financial habits lead to greater net worth over time. But the survey suggests a staggering advantage for those who ace all five questions. One of the lowest scoring groups averaged 2.63 out of 5, which equated to median net worth of $25,199. One of the highest scoring groups averaged 3.79 out of 5, which equated to a median net worth of $824,348. So these five questions not only give you an idea where your neighbors may stand—they pretty much show you a five-step plan to financial security.