Enter a few numbers. Get a benchmarked score against real Canadian data with plain-language next steps.
Tap any row to see the target range and how you're scored.
Each area is scored from 0 to 100. The five scores are combined using the weights above. If you leave an area blank, it's simply excluded and the remaining areas are reweighted — you'll still get a useful score.
What we measure: the percentage of your take-home pay that goes toward savings and investments each month.
We estimate your take-home pay using actual Canadian tax rates for your income bracket — not a rough flat guess. This matters because someone earning $60k takes home around 77% of their gross, while someone earning $150k takes home closer to 64%.
What's a good savings rate? The target depends on your income — higher earners are expected to save more. Here's the range we use:
| Annual income | You're on track if saving | You're doing great at |
|---|---|---|
| Under $30k | 3–7% of take-home | 10%+ |
| $30–50k | 4–8% | 12%+ |
| $50–75k | 5–10% | 15%+ |
| $75–100k | 7–12% | 18%+ |
| $100–150k | 8–15% | 20%+ |
| $150k+ | 10–18% | 22%+ |
If your income is low for your city: we ease the targets slightly. Earning less than 75% of what peers in your sector typically earn in your city is genuinely harder — the math reflects that.
Sources: Statistics Canada (household savings rate 4–6% nationally); Fidelity Canada (15% rule of thumb for long-term goals).
What we measure: your total monthly debt payments (housing + all other debts) as a share of your gross monthly income.
This tells us how much of every dollar you earn is already spoken for. The less room debt takes up, the more flexibility you have to save, invest, and handle unexpected costs.
We need your housing cost to score this area — without it, we can't calculate a meaningful ratio, so we exclude it from your score.
| Debt payments as % of income | What it means | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Under 20% | Excellent — lots of breathing room | 90–100 |
| 20–30% | Good — manageable | 70–90 |
| 30–40% | Caution — getting tight | 50–70 |
| 40–50% | High — limited flexibility | 30–50 |
| Over 50% | Very high — financial stress likely | 0–30 |
If non-housing debts (loans, credit cards) alone eat more than 10% of your income, we apply a small extra deduction — that level of consumer debt is a meaningful risk signal.
Sources: Statistics Canada (Canadian household debt service ratio ~14–15% of disposable income).
What we measure: how many months you could cover all your essential obligations — housing, debt payments, and daily living expenses — using only your emergency fund.
We use total monthly needs rather than just groceries because a real emergency means covering everything: your rent or mortgage, your loan payments, and food. A fund that covers groceries but not rent isn't a true safety net.
If you haven't entered your monthly breakdown, we estimate your obligations as half your take-home pay.
| How many months covered | Score |
|---|---|
| Under 2 weeks | 0–25 — very vulnerable |
| 2 weeks – 1 month | 25–40 — thin buffer |
| 1–3 months | 40–70 — building |
| 3–6 months ✓ target | 70–90 — on track |
| 6–12 months | 90–100 — strong |
| 12+ months | 100 — excellent |
The 3–6 month target is the standard Canadian guideline. Starting with just $1,000 is already meaningful — it prevents most small crises from becoming credit card debt.
Sources: Canada.ca financial guidance; major Canadian financial institutions (BMO, National Bank, Scotiabank).
What we measure: your total net worth — everything you own minus everything you owe — expressed as a multiple of your annual income.
For example, if you earn $80k and your net worth is $120k, that's 1.5× your income. This single number captures both what you've built and what you still owe, giving a more honest picture than looking at savings alone.
What's a realistic target? The benchmarks below are based on Statistics Canada wealth data, adjusted for age. They represent where typical Canadians land — not an aspirational ceiling.
| Age | Behind | On track | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18–24 | Under 0.05× | Around 0.20× | 0.40×+ |
| 25–34 | Under 0.50× | Around 1.50× | 2.50×+ |
| 35–44 | Under 1.50× | Around 4.00× | 6.00×+ |
| 45–54 | Under 4.00× | Around 8.00× | 10.00×+ |
| 55–64 | Under 8.00× | Around 12.00× | 15.00×+ |
| 65+ | Under 10.00× | Around 15.00× | 18.00×+ |
Your city matters. Building the same net worth is objectively harder when rent is $3,000/month than when it's $1,500. We soften the targets in expensive cities so your score reflects local reality:
| City | How much we ease your target |
|---|---|
| Toronto, Vancouver | 15% easier (targets × 0.85) |
| Montréal, Ottawa, Victoria | 8% easier (targets × 0.92) |
| Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg | 3% easier (targets × 0.97) |
| Other cities | No adjustment |
Sources: Statistics Canada Survey of Financial Security 2019; Fidelity Canada age-based accumulation targets.
What we measure: your monthly housing cost (rent or mortgage) as a share of your gross income, adjusted for the cost of your city.
The national guideline from CMHC is that housing should cost no more than 30% of your gross income. But 30% of income means something very different in a city where a one-bedroom costs $2,500 versus one where it costs $1,000. We adjust your threshold based on where you live.
| City | Adjustment applied |
|---|---|
| Toronto, Vancouver | Threshold raised 15% — higher costs are factored in |
| Montréal, Ottawa, Victoria | Threshold raised 10% |
| Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg | Threshold raised 5% |
| Other cities | Standard CMHC 30% guideline |
| Housing cost (after city adjustment) | Score |
|---|---|
| Under 20% | 90–100 — very affordable |
| 20–30% | 70–90 — healthy range |
| 30–40% | 40–70 — above guideline |
| 40–50% | 20–40 — high pressure |
| Over 50% | 0–20 — severe strain |
Sources: CMHC 30% affordability guideline; Statistics Canada (22% of Canadians spend 30%+ on shelter nationally; Toronto ~42%, Vancouver ~41%).
After you calculate your score, we show you where your income sits relative to others in your field and city — above typical, around typical, or below typical. This is context, not a judgment.
We never penalise you for earning less. The only effect: if your income is meaningfully below what peers in your sector typically earn in your city, we ease your savings targets slightly — because someone earning less genuinely has less room to manoeuvre.
Sources: Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey; sector wage data.
To calculate your savings rate, we need to know roughly what percentage of your gross income actually hits your bank account after tax. Rather than using a rough flat guess (like "assume 70%"), we use blended Canadian average tax rates by income bracket. The difference matters — it can move your savings rate score by 8–12 points at mid-range incomes.
| Gross annual income | Approx. take-home % | Example: $75k earner |
|---|---|---|
| Under $30k | 88% | |
| $30–40k | 84% | |
| $40–55k | 80% | |
| $55–70k | 77% | |
| $70–85k | 75% | $75k → ~$56,250/yr take-home |
| $85–100k | 72% | |
| $100–120k | 69% | |
| $120–150k | 67% | |
| $150–200k | 64% | |
| Over $200k | 61% |
These are blended averages across federal and provincial taxes. They won't match your exact paycheque — actual take-home varies by province, deductions, and credits — but they're a fair approximation for benchmarking.
Every calculation happens in your browser. The numbers you enter are never sent to any server, never stored, and never logged. Close the tab and they're gone. This isn't a marketing promise — it's how the app is built. There's no server receiving your data because there's no server-side code at all.
This tool gives you educational benchmarks to help you think about your finances. It is not personalized financial advice. For guidance tailored to your specific situation, speak with a licensed financial planner (CFP or QAFP in Canada).
Read enough personal finance books and a strange thing happens. Despite loud disagreements — snowball vs. avalanche, rent vs. buy — the foundational sequence is remarkably consistent across every major author.
The differences live in degree, sequencing, and cultural context. Dave Ramsey wants you out of debt at any psychological cost. Ramit Sethi wants you to automate aggressively. Suze Orman wants you to hoard cash after fifty. David Chilton wants you to pay yourself ten percent and forget the rest. Each is right — for a particular person, at a particular stage.
Your score reflects this consensus. It tells you where you stand. This page tells you why that matters and which tradition applies to you right now.
The disagreement is not whether to have one — it's how big. Every major source agrees that a liquid cash buffer is the foundation everything else rests on.
| Source | Target | Key nuance |
|---|---|---|
| Dave Ramsey | $1,000 starter → 3–6 months | Start small immediately, complete after debt is cleared |
| Ramit Sethi | 6–12 months | More than the standard rule — provides genuine psychological security |
| Suze Orman | 3–6 mo. general; 3–5 years after 50 | Older users need much larger buffers to avoid selling investments in downturns |
| Sun Life Canada | 3–6 months (~$30k+) | Hold inside a TFSA — separate from retirement savings |
| Canada.ca / FCAC | 3–6 months essentials | Start at $1,000 and automate from there |
| David Chilton | Implicit — "pay yourself first" | Consistent 10% saving; avoid credit card reliance |
The Emergency Fund pillar (20% weight) uses a 3–6 month target — the band where every source converges. Your score awards bonus points beyond six months, honouring the Sethi/Orman view without penalising users who follow the more standard Ramsey range. The denominator includes housing + debt payments + essentials — not just groceries — because a real emergency means covering all your obligations.
Attack the smallest debt first, regardless of interest rate. The math is suboptimal; the psychology is not. Small wins build the momentum needed to finish the job.
Pay highest-interest debt first — anything above ~6% APR. You cannot build a rich life while paying 20% interest on credit cards.
Invest 10% of income alongside debt repayment — don't wait until every loan is gone. Only credit card debt is truly dangerous.
After fifty, the priority shifts to retirement income security. Don't sacrifice contributions to aggressively pay off a low-rate mortgage.
Your "debt load" recommendation branches by situation: high-interest unsecured debt → avalanche guidance; multiple small balances → snowball guidance; older users with low-rate mortgages → Orman-aligned suggestion to protect retirement contributions first.
| Source | Recommended rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dave Ramsey | 15% of gross | Baby Step 4 — only after debt is cleared |
| Ramit Sethi | 10%+ retirement · 20% total | From take-home pay; automate everything |
| David Chilton | 10–15% of all earnings | "Pay yourself first." 10% is the floor. |
| Suze Orman | 15% from your 20s | Specifically for retirement savings |
| Sun Life / 50-30-20 | 20% savings + debt | Of after-tax income |
| This tool | 3–22% (income-graded) | City-adjusted; easier targets for lower earners |
A flat 15% rule is unfair to lower-income earners and undemanding for high-earners. This tool uses a sliding scale — the income-graded approach is the biggest philosophical departure from Ramsey's flat rule, and the strongest alignment with Chilton's pragmatism.
Suze Orman's savings-multiple rule is the cleanest benchmark because it self-adjusts for income — a higher earner needs more in absolute dollars but the same multiple.
The same $90k income in Toronto and Halifax do not produce the same investable surplus. Targets are softened by 15% in Toronto and Vancouver, 8% in Montréal, Ottawa, and Victoria, and 3% in Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg. Fair benchmarks must reflect lived economic reality.
Your score is a thermometer, not a verdict. It tells you which of the five areas to work on first — because attacking your weakest area produces the largest improvement per unit of effort.
The recommendation engine pairs your two lowest pillar scores with the philosophical framework that best fits your age, income, and city. The goal is not to follow any single author. The goal is to absorb the part of each tradition that applies to you right now — and act on it before next month.