CFPB Releases Financial Well-Being Tool

Financial Literacy

On December 11, the CFPB released a tool designed to help measure a person’s financial well-being, defined in the agency’s January report as “a state of being wherein a person can fully meet current and ongoing financial obligations, can feel secure in their financial future, and is able to make choices that allow them to enjoy life.” The tool consists of a set of questions and a scoring worksheet, as well as abbreviated versions of both. Financial educators are encouraged to use the tool to quantify a consumer’s financial well-being on a scale that considers the person’s present and future financial security and financial freedom of choice. The scale is designed to help financial educators (i) assess a person’s financial well-being at the beginning of the consultation; (ii) track a person’s financial progress over time; (ii) gauge how effective a program is in improving consumers’ financial well-being; and (iv) analyze the relationship between financial well-being and other factors in financial survey research.