CNN is featuring a short survey to help you determine your level of financial health. The result is presented in a form of a grade from F to A+. My result was an A; I lost points for not having any life insurance. The survey does not ask if there are any dependents. Right now, I am the only person depending on my income for survival.

The survey questions visitors about annual income and your age in order to determine the healthy expectations for the other categories. For the highest score, your monthly housing payments should not exceed 28% of your gross income. That’s almost unheard of for many people who purchased houses in the past few years. Monthly debt payments should not exceed 36% of your gross income. CNN further suggests three months’ worth of expenses in a high-yield savings account. The editors also subscribe to the rule of thumb that suggests the percent of your portfolio invested in stocks should be 120 minus your age.

Also related to diversification, you will lose points if you have more than 10% invested in your employer’s stock. For life insurance, a category where I failed according to CNN’s algorithm, you should have enough coverage to provide a replacement for your income for at least 5 years, 10 years if you have multiple dependents. The survey asks about your contributions to and balance of your retirement account. If the combination of the two, while taking your age into account, results in a favorable outcome as judged by CNN, you will pass this question.

Here are my results.

Take the survey here and share your results!

I’m pointing out a recent article featuring advice from Walter Updegrave, a senior editor of Money Magazine. Recently, he was asked to quantify the percentage of income that any individual should save in order for this particular action to be considered “financially responsible.” Normally, the advice I’ve seen suggests a rate somewhere between 10% and 20% of income, so I was expecting Updegrave’s advice to head in that direction.

Rather than providing a hard percentage, Updegrave took a more nuanced approach.

Well, as much as I’d like to be able to tell you to save 10%, 15% or whatever and you’ll be fine, it’s impossible for me to do that without knowing a whole lot more about you. The percentage of income that’s appropriate for you will depend on your income, age, the amount of money you’ve already saved, your employment prospects and, most important, how much you’re willing to forego immediate gratification for current and future financial security.

It is good to see writers admitting that personal finance advice is not one-size-fits-all rather than going for the knowledge-nugget. Knowledge-nuggets are like those chicken nuggets at that fast-food restaurant with the yellow double arch-shaped letter. They’re tasty, but not very healthy, and you get sick of them after about 25.

Every individual is surrounded by a unique situation, and that should be reflected in personal finance advice.

Tips on the other hand can be general enough to apply to a large swath of individuals. Updegrave answers the reader’s question as best as possible without knowing anything about the individual, but then leads into a few savings tips that are applicable to just about everyone: Start building an emergency fund (and here are 50 tips for building one), be serious about investing for retirement, and find additional ways to save such as automating your savings.

If nothing else, saving 10% of your income is a good start if you’re not saving anything, and saving 20% of your income is a good next step if you’re saving 10%.

3 steps to financial security: Save, save, save, Walter Updegrave, Money Magazine, April 30, 2009

What Percentage of Income Should Be Saved to Be Financially Responsible?

The following timeline and details will be updated as the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights and related bills progress through Congress, and if they pass, as they make their way to the President to be signed into law. Visit this article often for the latest information and to read the current versions of the bills as they are amended, voted upon, and revised.

Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Reverse Timeline

April 30, 2009: The House of Representatives passes the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights (H.R.627) with a bipartisan vote of 357 to 70.
February 11, 2009: The Credit Card Act of 2009 (S.414) is introduced in the Senate
January 22, 2009: H.R.627 is introduced in the House.
January 14, 2009: The Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights (S.235) is introduced in the Senate.

Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Details

As of April 30, 2009, the House of Representatives has passed a bill commonly called the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2009. This bill goes a long way to end some deceprive practices used by credit card companies to lure and trap consumers into expensive debt. While many of the problems resulting from these practices can be avoided by using credit wisely or not at all and adjusting your expectations to assume that the companies only care about their bottom line, not their customers, not all the blame can be placed on the consumer.

Thus, the government is stepping in with this effort to protect credit card users from practices such as abrupt rate increases, retroactive rate increases, and double-cycle billing, a situation in which customers are charged interest even after the last monthly bill to include charges for spending is fully paid off.

Here are some interesting points included in the House version of the bill.

• Credit card issuers will be required to maintain low introductory rates for at least six months.
• Issuers must warn consumers if they are spending close to their credit limit, allowing them to avoid a penalty.
• Issuers cannot charge customers a fee for paying their bill over the phone or online.

The law will go into effect one year after it is signed by the President or July 2010, which ever comes first.

The Senate is considering its own Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights, as well as a Credit Card Act that will toughen the restrictions on credit card issuers further.

A similar bill passed the house last year but did not get much further. This year, chances of success are much higher.

Read the current version of the House’s Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights, H.R.627 (April 27, 2009)

Read the current version of the Senate’s Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights, S.235 (January 14, 2009)

Also, read the current version of the Senate’s Credit Card Act of 2009, S.414 (February 11, 2009)

U.S. House acts to protect credit card users, Reuters, April 30, 2009

The Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2009