Financial Exposure Check
Six questions. Your answers stay in your browser. See which areas of household financial pressure are active for you.
How much do you have saved for emergencies?
Have you withdrawn from retirement savings to pay bills in the past year?
How many bills or loan payments are you currently behind on?
If you needed $2,000 for an emergency, how easy would it be to get?
Over the past year, have your essential costs (food, housing, healthcare) grown faster than your income?
How secure is your current income?
How This Works
This quiz reads five dimensions of household financial stress: Debt Stress, Buffer Depletion, Financial Conditions, Labor Market, and Cost Pressure. Buffer Depletion is split across the savings and retirement questions; the other dimensions each use one question.
Each question maps to one of those dimensions. Your result is a personal exposure score on a 0-100 scale.
The national American Distress Index is a separate measure and currently reads 47.0. The composite itself sits higher than 44% of all published quarters since 2005. It is context about national indicators, not a benchmark for your quiz score. Learn how the index is calculated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are my answers collected or shared?
Your answer choices stay in your browser. The page calculates your score and breakdown without sending your individual answers to American Default. If you use Share Results, the link only includes your score and zone.
How is my personal score calculated?
Each answer maps to a distress score. The quiz reads five dimensions of household financial stress: Debt Stress, Buffer Depletion, Financial Conditions, Labor Market, and Cost Pressure. Buffer Depletion is split across the savings and retirement questions; the other dimensions each use one question.
What do the zones mean?
The five zones describe your personal exposure score on this quiz's own 0-100 scale: Healthy (under 46), Normal (46-55), Elevated (55-71), Serious (71-86), and Crisis (86 and above). A higher score means more dimensions of financial stress are active in your situation. The national American Distress Index reports on a separate five-band scale.
Is this financial advice?
No. This is an educational tool that organizes your answers into five areas of household financial pressure. It is not a substitute for professional financial counseling. If you are in distress, call a HUD-approved housing counselor at 1-800-569-4287 (foreclosure prevention counseling is free).
How is my quiz score different from the American Distress Index?
They are separate measures. Your quiz score is a weighted summary of your answers on this tool's own 0-100 scale. The American Distress Index currently reads 47.0 and summarizes national indicators against their own history. The composite itself sits higher than 44% of all published quarters since 2005.