The Library

Guides, assessments & tools for a fuller account of wealth

Plain-English guides written for people who would rather understand than be told, two-minute assessments that turn each idea into a number, and free tools for acting on what you find. Read, measure, then decide.

  • Plain English
  • Free tools
  • Private by design
  • No sign-up required

Part one

The eight dimensions

Each dimension has a guide that explains what it measures and why, and an assessment that scores you on it from 0 to 100. Read first or measure first. Both orders work.

Part two

Compare services

Side-by-side rankings of the services people use to improve each dimension, scored on published criteria with prices checked and sourced. Editorial and independent: no company pays to be listed.

Part three

Money foundations

Short primers on the numbers that come up again and again. If a term in any assessment is unfamiliar, the answer is probably here.

  1. New to Measuring Wealth? Start Here What a wealth score is, which assessment to take first, how to read your results, and a simple 30-day plan. 4 min
  2. Net Worth, Explained What you own minus what you owe, what’s typical for your age, and how it grows. 4 min
  3. Emergency Funds 101 How much to set aside, where to keep it, and how to build one from zero without feeling deprived. 3 min
  4. Savings Rate Explained The single number that most shapes your financial future, how to calculate it, and how to raise it. 3 min
  5. Wealth Glossary Net worth, APR, Roth, index funds and more: the money terms you’ll meet most, in plain English. Reference
  6. Net Worth by Age Median U.S. net worth for every age group, why the average misleads, and what counts as good for you. 4 min
  7. How Wealthy Am I? Six ways to measure it, from net worth and runway to savings rate and the wealth money can’t buy. 5 min
  8. Retirement Savings by Age How much to have saved at every age from 25 to 65, as a multiple of salary, and how to catch up. 3 min
Put it to work Net Worth Check Enter your age, income, and a rough total of what you own and owe. See whether you’re building, on track, or ahead, with plain-English next steps. ~1 min · free · calculated in your browser Check your net worth

Part four

Money decisions

Guides for the questions people actually search: how much to retire, Roth or Traditional, when to claim Social Security, rent or buy, which debt first. Each one pairs with a free calculator.

  1. The 4% Rule and FIRE, Explained Where the 4% rule came from, how the 25× rule turns it into a savings target, and what the FIRE variants and sequence risk mean for your number. 7 min
  2. Roth vs Traditional (Plus HSA Basics) How Roth and traditional 401(k)s and IRAs differ, the 2026 limits, and why a health savings account can be the most tax-efficient account of all. 7 min
  3. When to Claim Social Security How claiming at 62, 67 or 70 changes your monthly check, where the break-even falls, and what spouses and people still working should know. 7 min
  4. The Real Cost of Waiting to Invest Why a 10-year delay can cost you far more than the contributions you skip, with worked examples of starting at 25 versus 35. 6 min
  5. Rent vs Buy a Home The full cost of owning versus renting, the break-even horizon, the price-to-rent ratio and when renting comes out ahead. 6 min
  6. Debt Snowball vs Avalanche How the two payoff methods differ, a worked three-debt example, and what research says about the motivation of small wins. 5 min
  7. The 50/30/20 Rule Explained Where the 50/30/20 budget came from, what counts as needs, wants and savings, a worked example and when to adjust the split. 5 min
  8. How to Build Credit What goes into a FICO Score, the starter tools (secured cards, credit-builder loans, authorized user), and how long negative marks last. 6 min
  9. What's Your Real Hourly Wage? How to count commute time, unpaid hours, and work costs to find what your job really pays per hour, with a worked example. 6 min
Put it to work FI Number Calculator How much do you need to stop depending on a paycheck? Enter your yearly spending and savings and see your number, and roughly when you could reach it. ~1 min · free · calculated in your browser Find your FI number

Part five

Protecting what you have

Practical guides for the parts of wealth money alone can’t cover: insurance, a will, your identity, your health plan, sleep, friendship, burnout and the scams that target your family.

  1. How Much Life Insurance Do You Need? The 10–12× income rule, the DIME method with a worked example, term vs whole life, and why employer coverage is rarely enough on its own. 6 min
  2. Wills and Estate Planning Basics The core documents most adults need: a will, current beneficiary designations, a durable power of attorney and a health care proxy, plus when a trust helps. 7 min
  3. How to Protect Yourself From Identity Theft Free steps that block most identity theft: credit freezes, fraud alerts, passkeys and two-factor logins, an IRS IP PIN, and what to do if it happens. 6 min
  4. How to Report Identity Theft: Credit Bureaus, IRS, SSA and IC3 Who to tell and in what order, from the FTC to freezes at all three bureaus, the IRS, Social Security and the FBI’s IC3, with a tracker you tick off as you go. 8 min
  5. Health Insurance Basics: Deductibles, Copays and Out-of-Pocket Maximums Premiums, deductibles, copays, coinsurance and the out-of-pocket maximum, with a worked $10,000 bill, plan types and your No Surprises Act rights. 7 min
  6. How to Sleep Better How much sleep adults need, the habits with the best evidence, why caffeine lingers, and when poor sleep is worth a doctor’s visit. 6 min
  7. How to Make Friends as an Adult Why adult friendship takes time (about 50 hours for a casual friend), why it matters for health, and practical ways to build it. 6 min
  8. Recognising and Recovering From Burnout What burnout is under the WHO definition, how it differs from depression, and practical steps toward recovery. 6 min
  9. How to Create and Use a Family Safe Word From D-Day passwords to AI voice clones: how a word only your family knows stops deepfake emergency calls, plus where it helps with romance scams and where it can’t. 8 min
Measure it Security Assessment Insurance, a will, a credit freeze and an emergency fund are the quiet protections most people skip. See which of yours are in place, scored from 0 to 100. ~2 min · free · no account needed Take the Security assessment

Part six

Reading paths

The deeper essays, arranged as three short sequences. Each builds on the one before, from first principles to the working model. Start anywhere; the order is a suggestion, not a gate.

How the score works

What the numbers mean, and exactly how they’re produced.

21 min read

  1. How Wealth Scores WorkPrimer
  2. What Is a Good Wealth Score?Benchmarks
  3. How the Wealth Score Is CalculatedTechnical
  4. The Wealth Score FrameworkTechnical

Strategy & trade-offs

What to improve first, and what it costs elsewhere.

19 min read

  1. How to Increase Your Wealth ScorePlaybook
  2. You Cannot Maximize All Forms of Wealth at OnceFramework
  3. The Hidden Risk of Wealth ImbalanceFramework
  4. The Compounding Effect of Wealth Over 10 YearsLong view

Ideas & behavior

Why wealth is broader than money, and why we misjudge it.

17 min read

  1. What Is Wealth, Really?Primer
  2. From Philosophy to FrameworkEssay
  3. Why People Mismanage Their Wealth ScoreBehavioral
  4. Time Wealth: The Most Misunderstood Form of WealthDeep dive

Part seven

Free tools

Each tool answers one money or life question with your own numbers: how long your savings would last, when to claim Social Security, whether to rent or buy. Most guides above point to the ones that fit.

About a minute each · nothing you type is saved

Reading is the easy part. Measuring is where it gets useful.

Pick the dimension you’re least sure about. Two minutes, no account, and you’ll know where you stand.

Choose an assessment Start with the beginner’s guide