Lifestyle

How to Measure Financial Well-Being (and Why It’s Worth It)

Published

6 years ago

August 7, 2020

One of the most challenging aspects of managing money is figuring out where you stand financially. After all, there’s nobody looking over your shoulder telling you whether the decisions you make are right or wrong. It helps to first have a framework for measuring your financial well-being — sort of like a report card.

The point of measuring your financial well-being against benchmarks is to help you get a sense of where you stand — and what actions you could take to bring yourself closer to your goals.

Here’s more on how to evaluate your financial standing and why it’s worth it to do so periodically.

Try the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Well-Being Scale

The CFPB has actually developed a scale to help consumers assess their financial situations. Users answer sets of questions to determine where they fall on the scale, then add up the point values of their responses to get an overall “financial well-being score.” Users can then compare their scores to U.S. averages, as well as access resources on common topics — like tracking expenses, dealing with debt, saving and investing.

From these questions we begin to see some of the categories that define financial well-being, like:

The ability to cover a large unanticipated expense without going into debt.
Having money left over at the end of the month.
The degree to which finances control your life and choices.
Having room in your budget to cover variable expenses (like gifts for special occasions).
Staying on top of bills and financial decisions rather than falling behind.
Planning for the future, as well as managing money in the present.

If you’re short on time, you can fill out an abbreviated version of this scale to get a general feel for where you stand. If you’d like to take a more in-depth look, there’s a standard version with more questions.

According to the CFPB, financial well-being encompasses:

Net Worth: A Broad Look at Financial Well-Being

Perhaps the quickest and most straightforward way to evaluate financial well-being at a glance is calculating your net worth.

1. Tally up the value of your assets — like savings accounts, investments, vehicles, etc.

2. Tally up the total amount of your liabilities — like credit cards, mortgages, other loans, etc.

3. Subtract the liabilities from the assets.

These days, you can even plug these values into a simple net worth calculator rather than doing the math by hand.

Improving Your Financial Well-Being

It can be quite frustrating to find your financial well-being currently falls short of where you’d like it to be. However, getting an honest feel for where you stand today is the first step toward attaining your ideal financial future; it will help you set realistic goals and measure your progress.

Here’s an example: Many people exist in debt denial. They know they owe money, but avoid sitting down and looking at exactly how much — let alone planning how to repay it. Assessing their financial well-being could be the push they need to finally take an honest look at their budget and debts. After figuring out where they stand, someone in this situation may decide to speak with a credit counselor who then helps them get enrolled in debt relief management. Under a debt management plan (DMP), the person is able to consolidate their debts through the agency and pay what they owe over the course of three to five years at reduced interest.

According to Michigan State University, there are four general behaviors which support financial well-being:

Living within your means by actively managing your money.
Conducting research and gaining knowledge about financial decisions.
Setting realistic goals and planning for the future.
Following through on all three aforementioned behaviors over time.

Measuring financial well-being means checking in across various aspects of money management, which is why it’s a good practice for anyone and everyone. Only by understanding where you stand today can you set goals and make effective decisions for tomorrow.

Lifestyle

When Seasons Shift: Dr. Leeshe Grimes on Grief, Loneliness, and Finding Light Again

Published

13 hours ago

February 22, 2026

Michelle Langton

Some emotional storms arrive without warning. A sudden change in weather, a holiday approaching, or even a bright sunny day can stir feelings that don’t match the world outside. For many people, the hardest seasons are not defined by temperature; they are defined by what’s happening inside, where grief and loneliness often move quietly.

This is the emotional terrain where Dr. Leeshe Grimes has spent her career doing some of her most meaningful work. As a psychotherapist, registered play therapist, retired U.S. Army combat veteran, and founder of Elevated Minds in the DMV area, she understands how deeply seasonal shifts and unresolved grief can affect people. Her upcoming books explore this very space, guiding readers through the emotional weight that can appear during different times of the year.

What sets Dr. Grimes apart is her ability to see clearly what many people overlook. Seasonal depression, for example, is usually tied to winter months. But she often sees it appear during warm, bright seasons, the times when the world seems happiest. For someone already grieving or feeling disconnected, watching others travel, celebrate, or gather can create its own kind of heaviness. Sunshine doesn’t always lift the mood; sometimes it highlights what feels missing.

The same misunderstanding surrounds grief. Society often treats it as a short-term experience with predictable phases and a clean ending. But in her practice, Dr. Grimes sees how grief keeps evolving. It doesn’t disappear on a timeline. It weaves itself into routines, memories, and milestones. People learn to carry it differently, but they rarely leave it behind completely. And that’s not failure, it’s human.

Her approach to mental health centers on truth rather than pressure. She encourages clients to acknowledge the emotions they try to hide: sadness that lingers longer than expected, moments of joy that feel out of place, and the waves of loneliness that return even when life seems stable. Instead of pushing for quick recovery, she focuses on helping people understand how emotions shift and how to care for themselves through those changes.

Much of her insight comes from her military years, where she witnessed the emotional toll of loss, transition, and constant survival. She saw how people continued functioning while carrying pain that had nowhere to go. That experience shaped her belief that healing requires space, space to feel, to speak, and to move through emotions without judgment.

In her clinical work today at Elevated Minds, she encourages people to build small, steady habits that anchor them during difficult seasons. Journaling helps them recognize patterns and name what feels heavy. Community support breaks the cycle of isolation. Therapy creates a place where emotions don’t have to be minimized or explained away. And intentional routines, daily sunlight, mindful breaks, and calm evenings help rebuild emotional balance.

Her upcoming books expand on these ideas, offering practical guidance for navigating both grief and seasonal depression. She focuses on helping readers understand that healing is not about escaping pain. It’s about learning how to live with it in a healthier way, honoring memories, acknowledging loneliness, and still allowing room for moments of light.

What makes Dr. Leeshe Grimes a compelling voice in mental health is her ability to bring language to experiences that many struggle to explain. She reminds people that emotional seasons don’t always match the weather and that there is no single path through grief. But within those shifts, she believes there is always a way forward.

The seasons will continue to change. And with the right tools, compassion, and support, people can change with them, finding steadiness, softness, and light again, one step at a time.