Back to My Level

How Your Personal Level is Calculated

A transparent breakdown of the scoring methodology for your personal workspace.

Personal view

This score uses your personal workspace: your own income, budget, savings, investments, pensions, debts, and property records, not household totals.

Switching workspace changes the data being scored. The scoring rules stay the same.

Your financial level is a score between 0 and 1,300 points across 7 categories. Each category reflects a distinct dimension of financial health.

The score rewards genuine financial progress — not just income. Someone with a modest income who saves consistently and has no debt can outrank a high earner with nothing saved.

Most categories reward early progress the most — the first £1,000 saved earns more than the next £10,000. Every step still counts, just not equally.

Emergency Fundmax 200 pts

The foundation of financial health — protecting you from unexpected costs without going into debt. Just getting started matters most: the jump from 0 to 1 month earns more points than the following 4 months combined.

← bigger gains earlysmaller gains later →
ValuePointsGainProgress
0 months0 / 200
1 month54 / 200+54
2 months86 / 200+32
3 months108 / 200+22
6 months152 / 200+44
9 months180 / 200+28
12 months200 / 200+20

Essential expenses are estimated from the active workspace budget, or 50% of its net income if no budget is set.

Savingsmax 130 pts

Savings beyond your emergency fund — goals, cash reserves, and short-term targets. Your first £1,000 earns more than going from £10,000 to £25,000. Starting is the hardest part, and the score reflects that.

← bigger gains earlysmaller gains later →
ValuePointsGainProgress
£00 / 130
£50072 / 130+72
£1,00080 / 130+8
£5,00099 / 130+19
£10,000107 / 130+8
£25,000117 / 130+10
£50,000125 / 130+8
£75,000130 / 130+5

Emergency fund balance is excluded from this category.

Investmentsmax 280 pts

The highest-weighted category — consistent investing is the single biggest driver of long-term wealth. The first £10,000 is the hardest to build and earns the most per pound. After that, keep adding: every contribution still moves your score.

← bigger gains earlysmaller gains later →
ValuePointsGainProgress
£00 / 280
£1,000153 / 280+153
£5,000189 / 280+36
£10,000204 / 280+15
£25,000225 / 280+21
£50,000240 / 280+15
£100,000256 / 280+16
£200,000271 / 280+15
£300,000280 / 280+9

Pension accounts are scored separately and excluded here.

Pensionmax 220 pts

Your future financial security. Early pension savings earn the most per pound, but unlike savings, the curve is gentler — reflecting the long time horizon of retirement.

← bigger gains earlysmaller gains later →

Base points by pot size:

ValuePointsGainProgress
£00 / 220
£10,00028 / 220+28
£25,00045 / 220+17
£50,00064 / 220+19
£100,00090 / 220+26
£200,000127 / 220+37
£400,000180 / 220+53
£600,000220 / 220+40

Age bonus — same £50,000 pot, different age:

The same pot is worth more to a younger person — you have more time to grow it. The score rewards starting early and penalises leaving it late.

ValuePointsProgress
Under 2583 / 220
25–2977 / 220
30–3964 / 220
40–4458 / 220
45–4951 / 220
50–5445 / 220
55–5938 / 220
60+32 / 220

The age bonus applies to pots under £300k. Set your date of birth in your profile to apply it to your score.

Propertymax 170 pts

Owning a home and building equity is a major UK financial milestone. Points are based on the equity you've built (property value minus mortgage). Not on the ladder yet? Saving towards a deposit earns points too.

If you own a property:

ValuePointsProgress
Equity under £50k85 / 170
Equity £50k+110 / 170
Equity £100k+130 / 170
Equity £200k+150 / 170
Equity £300k+155 / 170
Equity £500k+170 / 170

If you're saving for a deposit:

ValuePointsGainProgress
£00 / 55
£5,00016 / 55+16
£10,00023 / 55+7
£20,00033 / 55+10
£30,00040 / 55+7
£50,00055 / 55+15

Equity = current property value minus mortgage remaining.

Debtmax 250 pts

The most urgent category. You start with 250 points and two separate penalties are subtracted: one for what your debt costs you in interest, and one for how large your debt is relative to the active workspace income. Both stack.

Penalty 1 — interest cost (annual interest ÷ active workspace annual income):

RangePoints lost
0% — no interestnone
Under 1%19
1–3%50
3–6%88
6–10%125
10–20%175
20–35%213
35%+231

Penalty 2 — debt size (total balance ÷ active workspace annual income):

RangePoints lost
No debtnone
Under 10%13
10–25%25
25–50%44
50–100%69
100%+88

For example: 5% interest burden (−88) + 30% debt load (−44) = 118 pts out of 250.

UK student loans are excluded — they behave more like a graduate tax than a traditional debt.

Incomemax 50 pts

Income is the lowest-weighted category because earning more doesn't automatically make you financially healthy. What you do with it does. It's here because income enables everything else — just not on its own.

ValuePointsProgress
Under £1,000/mo0 / 50
£1,000/mo5 / 50
£1,700/mo13 / 50
£2,500/mo20 / 50
£3,500/mo28 / 50
£5,000/mo35 / 50
£7,000/mo43 / 50
£10,000+/mo50 / 50

Net income is used — personal net income in personal view, or combined household net income in household view.

Level Thresholds

1Finding My Feet
0–249 pts
2Starting Out
250–349 pts
3Building
350–449 pts
4Grounded
450–549 pts
5Steady
550–649 pts
6Established
650–749 pts
7Organised
750–849 pts
8Secure
850–949 pts
9Strategic
950–1049 pts
10Advancing
1050–1149 pts
11Asset-Strong
1150–1249 pts
12Financial Command
1250+ pts

Does this feel right to you?

The scoring model is a work in progress. If a category feels unfair, missing, or weighted incorrectly — we want to know. Share your thoughts via the feedback page.