Financial Condition & Enrollment

CFS refers to Crown (formerly Crown Financial) for budget expense percentage recommendations. The CFS "Financial Condition Indicator" (found on the FACT Report) can help you understand a family’s finances by providing a numeric rating of a family’s current financial condition. This rating is determined by adding together the critical ratios of credit card debt, housing expense, auto expense, utilities, and giving.

Credit cards. As of 2014, there were are over 600,000,000 credit cards issued in the US. The average family has 3.5 cards. The average grant applicant spends 12% of their income on CC payments. It is recommended that 5% of a family’s budget be used for short-term debt payments. Read more about credit card debt statistics in the US.

Housing. As of 2019, the average household income in the US is just shy of $60,000. Because budget recommendations for housing expenses hover around 31% of a family’s net income, this means an average family can afford a home with about a $145,000 mortgage. The typical CFS applicant has a mortgage balance of $154,000 with payments at 33% of their income.

Auto. The average loan amount for a new car was $31,099 in 2017, averaging a $515 monthly payment. Crown recommends auto payments not exceed 10% of a family's household budget. The US average is 14%. Grant applicants are at 13%. 

Utilities. Crown recommends 4% (incl. cable and phone). Average grant applicant: 9%.

Giving. Crown recommends 10% of a family’s gross income. Typical grant applicant: about 5%. Our thresholds are slightly different than Crown’s because the “net income” Crown uses already withholds 10% for giving. Try your own finances and see how you rate.