Why let banks have all the fun? Run the numbers on your own personal finances, suggests a certified financial planner in the Dallas Morning News, and see whether or not you’re prepared for disruptions like a layoff or sudden interest rate increase.

Lynn Lawrance of the Financial Network Investment Corp. in Dallas told the paper that answering the following questions will help you get a feel for where you stand financially:

• Divide your current gross annual salary by $10,000—the result is how many months, on average, it will take you to find a job with an equivalent income should you lose your current one.
• Now divide your emergency savings by your monthly expenses to see how many months you can pay for everything. Do you have enough months covered?

That’s just a quick summary of the stress test, however. You can complete the whole thing at the Dallas Morning News website, and even get a final score between 0 and 100 that will help you get a clearer picture of how worried/smug you should be.

“Face the numbers with personal financial “stress test”” [Dallas Morning News]
(Photo: stuartpilbrow)

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