The SortMe Cashflow Health Score: what it is and how it's calculated

Most NZ households know their credit score matters when they apply for a mortgage — but the number that actually runs their life is the one they look at once a month and interpret from vibes. Apps tell you how much you spent. Banks tell you what your balance is. Neither tells you whether the cashflow position underneath is healthy or quietly fraying.In this episode, SortMe Resident Money Writer Hugo Jonston breaks down the Cashflow Health Score: a single 0–100 number that combines whether you're living within your means with how big your cash cushion actually is — and why those are the only two things that need to be in the headline. SortMe Founder & CEO Carl Thompson puts it bluntly: "Your credit score tells a bank whether you're safe to lend to. In no way does it represent how good you are with your money. Your Cashflow Health Score tells you what shape your household cashflow is actually in. A much more meaningful metric to focus on."In this episode:Why a single number — and why these two questions (living within your means, and how long you'd last if income stopped) capture almost everything that mattersThe Spending sub-score (60% weight): how the surplus ratio maps to the 0–100 scale, why spending exactly what you earn lands around a 30, and why saving roughly $1 in every $5 caps you at 100The Buffer sub-score (40% weight): how cash on hand divided by monthly expenses maps to the score — no buffer scores 0, one month scores 40, three months 80, six months 100The low-buffer penalty — why a household with less than one month of cash gets the combined score multiplied by 0.5×–1×, and why this is the fastest lever for most peopleWhat counts as a "cash account" — and why KiwiSaver, credit limits, offset facilities, and IRD balances are deliberately excluded from the buffer halfWhy the score is forward-looking and annualised — a planned $5,000 holiday in March drags today's score down, because that's what you're actually committed to spendingThe five bands (Excellent 86–100 down to Poor 0–30) and why you can't reach the top band on a great surplus ratio aloneFour things the score is not — not a credit score, not a complete financial health rating, not a judgement, and not static (it recomputes on every page load)The two honest levers for improving it: lift the surplus ratio (spend less or earn more) and grow the cash buffer (one-month, three-month, six-month breakpoints)Read the full article: sortme.com/post/cashflow-health-score-nz