You've reached the Virginia Cooperative Extension Newsletter Archive. These files cover more than ten years of newsletters posted on our old website (through April/May 2009), and are provided for historical purposes only. As such, they may contain out-of-date references and broken links.
To see our latest newsletters and current information, visit our website at http://www.ext.vt.edu/news/.
Newsletter Archive index: http://sites.ext.vt.edu/newsletter-archive/
Emergency Fund | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Red (0-3) | ______ | no cash reserve available for financial emergencies |
| Yellow (4-7) | ______ | 1 to 3 months of income in cash reserves for financial emergencies | |
| Green (8-10) | ______ | 3 to 8 months of income in cash reserves for financial emergencies | |
Credit Card Debt | |||
|
| Red (0-3) | ______ | balance over 15 percent of income |
| Yellow (4-7) | ______ | balance between 5 and 15 percent of income | |
| Green (8-10) | ______ | balance under 5 percent of income | |
Household Debt Consumption (excluding credit card debt) | |||
|
| Red (0-3) | ______ | payments over 15 percent of income |
| Yellow (4-7) | ______ | payments between 5 and 15 percent of income | |
| Green (8-10) | ______ | payments under 5 percent of income | |
Household Mortgage Debt | |||
|
| Red (0-3) | ______ | payments over 30 percent of income |
| Yellow (4-7) | ______ | payments between 15 and 30 percent of income | |
| Green (8-10) | ______ | payments under 15 percent of income | |
Credit History | |||
|
| Red (0-3) | ______ | numerous delinquencies, repossession on record or bankruptcy |
| Yellow (4-7) | ______ | some delinquency on debt | |
| Green (8-10) | ______ | current on all payments, no bankruptcy | |
Savings and Investments (including stocks, bonds, mutual funds) | |||
|
| Red (0-3) | ______ | no current investing, some withdrawals taken from long term investments |
| Yellow (4-7) | ______ | save between 1 and 5 percent of income | |
| Green (8-10) | ______ | save 5 percent or more of income | |
Defined Retirement Plan Contributions | |||
|
| Red (0-3) | ______ | no current plan contributions, some withdrawals from long term investments |
| Yellow (4-7) | ______ | save between 1 and 5 percent of income | |
| Green (8-10) | ______ | save 5 percent or more of income | |
Insurances | |||
|
| Red (0-3) | ______ | no insurance or planning has taken place |
| Yellow (4-7) | ______ | some insurance but not a comprehensive plan | |
| Green (8-10) | ______ | comprehensive plan including major medical, life, disability, liability, household, and long term health care | |
Long-Term Estate Planning | |||
|
| Red (0-3) | ______ | no wills, estate plan, or power-of-attorney |
| Yellow (4-7) | ______ | will developed, but lack of estate and power-of-attorney | |
| Green (8-10) | ______ | wills, estate plan, power-of-attorney, and update done every 5 years | |
Written Financial Plan | |||
|
| Red (0-3) | ______ | no formal plan with goals, objectives, and measurements |
| Yellow (4-7) | ______ | partial plan, lacking significant components | |
| Green (8-10) | ______ | written plan with goals, objectives, and measurements with update done every 5 years | |
Return to the The Personal Finance Scorecard: Your Annual Check.