System and method for consolidating data on taxes and costs into a single monthly budget score for dynamic personalized ranking of geographic locations according to user requirements

Abstract

A system and method that given a user preference will score one or more geographic locations based on the user preference of relative importance of saving money and paying for improved lifestyle. User financial information is obtained and/or estimated. Budget for one or more geographic locations is estimated based on user financial information and the cost to live at each respective location. Budget score for each geographic location is calculated based on user specified relative importance of saving money and paying for improving lifestyle, obtained and/or estimated user financial information, and estimated budget. The budget score may be used to rank one or more locations.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for determining a budget score for one or more geographic locations according to a user preference, the method comprising:
 specifying, by the user, relative importance of saving money and paying for improved lifestyle;   obtaining, from the user, user financial information;   estimating budget for one or more geographic locations based at least partially on at least one of user financial information and cost to live at a location; and   calculating a budget score for each geographic location based at least partially on the specified relative importance of saving money and paying for improving lifestyle, the obtained user financial information and the estimated budget.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein calculating the budget score includes one or more of the following advanced budget metrics: city of the user, geographic location of the user, income of the user, number of adults in the user's household, number of children in the user household, number of infants in the user household, expected children in the future of the household, home ownership status, house type, number of bedrooms in a house the user needs, number of bathrooms in a house the user needs, a house size, a house lot size, price per unit of a house, vacant real estate rate, housing costs, child care expense, heating and cooling cost of a house, sales tax, other expenses, property maintenance cost of a house, elevation of a house, proximity to golf clubs of a house, proximity to sporting arenas of a house, proximity to events of a house, proximity to children playgrounds of a house, proximity to national forests of a house, proximity to tourist attractions of a house, number of food venues within a given range of a house, migration, gasoline cost, electricity cost, water cost, propane costs, utility cost, minimum wage, healthcare cost, income taxes, property taxes, insurance premiums, and installment payments. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein calculating the budget score further comprises removing, by the user, one or more of the advanced budget metrics that are not part of the user preference. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the one or more advanced budget metrics include one or more respective sliders for the user to specify one or more of the advanced budget metrics. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , further compromising indicating when at least one of relative importance of saving money and paying for improved lifestyle and one or more of the advanced budget metrics, are not configured to provide accurate results. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein heating cost is estimated based on how many degrees a house needs to be heated to maintain a certain inside temperature and the typical utility costs. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein cooling cost is estimated based on how many degrees a house needs to be cooled to maintain a certain inside temperature and the typical utility costs. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein budget is determined as user income minus taxes minus expenses, and calculating the budget score includes:
 adjusting slider by user to specify relative importance of saving money and paying for improving lifestyle;   creating one or more interpolation functions to map:
 slider minimum to largest budget of all the geographical locations; 
 slider mid-point maps to the budget of the user's present location; and 
 slider maximum maps to a smallest budget of all the geographical locations; and 
   calculating the budget score for each geographic location based at least partially on the one or more interpolation functions.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein budget is determined as user income minus taxes minus expenses, and calculating budget score includes:
 adjusting a slider, by the user, to specify relative importance of saving money and paying for improving lifestyle;   calculating an ideal budget as minimum budget from all locations plus the slider value times (maximum budget from all the geographical locations minus minimum budget from all the geographical locations), wherein the slider value is a percent between 0% and 100%; and   calculating the budget score for each geographic location as 1 minus an absolute(operand), wherein the absolute is a function that returns an absolute value of the operands and the operand is ((ideal budget minus budget for location) divided by (maximum budget for all locations minus minimum budget for all locations)).   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the budget score is multipled by a constant value. 
     
     
         11 . A system including a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores code that is executed by the processor to cause the system to:
 receive, from a user, specified relative importance of saving money and paying for improved lifestyle;   obtain, from the user, user financial information;   estimate a budget for one or more geographic locations based at least partially on at least one of user financial information and cost to live at location; and   calculate a budget score for each geographic location based at least partially on the user specified relative importance of saving money and paying for improving lifestyle, the obtained user financial information, and the estimated budget.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein calculate budget score includes at least one of the following advanced budget metrics: city of the user, geographic location of the user, income of the user, number of adults in the user household, number of children in the user household, number of infants in the user household, expected children in the future of the household, home ownership status, house type, number of bedrooms in a house the user needs, number of bathrooms in a house the user needs, a house size, a house lot size, price per unit of a house, vacant real estate rate, housing costs, child care expense, heating and cooling cost of a house, sales tax, other expenses, property maintenance cost of a house, elevation of a house, proximity to golf clubs of a house, proximity to sporting arenas of a house, proximity to events of a house, proximity to children playgrounds of a house, proximity to national forests of a house, proximity to tourist attractions of a house, number of food venues within a given range of a house, migration, gasoline cost, electricity cost, water cost, propane costs, utility cost, minimum wage, healthcare cost, income taxes, property taxes, insurance premiums, and installment payments. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the calculate budget score further comprises the user removing one or more of the advanced budget metrics that do not apply to the user preference. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the one or more advanced budget metrics include one or more respective sliders for the user to adjust in order to set one or more of the advanced budget metrics. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 12  wherein the system is further caused to indicate when at least one of the relative importance of saving money and paying for improved lifestyle and one or more of the advanced budget metrics, are not configured to provide accurate results. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the heating cost is estimated based on how many degrees a house needs to be heated to maintain a certain inside temperature and the typical utility costs. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the cooling cost is estimated based on how many degrees a house needs to be cooled to maintain a certain inside temperature and the typical utility costs. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the budget is determined as the user's income minus taxes minus expenses, and the calculate budget score includes the system being caused to:
 receive input from the user adjusting the slider to specify relative importance of saving money and paying for improving lifestyle;   create one or more interpolation functions to map:
 slider minimum to largest budget of all the locations; 
 slider mid-point maps to the budget of the user's present location; and 
 slider maximum maps to the smallest budget of all the locations; and 
   calculate the budget score for each geographic location based at least partially on the one or more interpolation functions.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the budget is determined as user income minus taxes minus expenses, and the calculate budget score includes the system being caused to:
 receive input from the user adjusting the slider by the user to specify relative importance of saving money and paying for improving lifestyle;   calculate an ideal budget as a minimum budget from all geographical locations plus slider value times (maximum budget from all geographical locations minus minimum budget from all geographical locations) wherein the slider value is a percent between 0% and 100%; and   calculate the budget score for each geographic location as 1 minus absolute((ideal budget minus budget for location) divided by (maximum budget for all locations minus minimum budget for all locations)) wherein absolute is a function that returns the absolute value of an operand.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the budget score is multipled by a constant value.