Nine quick questions, one per section of the free money checklist. Answer honestly. Your biggest wince is your starting line, and I will give you the exact first step.
Takes about a minute. No email required to see your result.
If the wince was about a trip you already said yes to, the girls trip splitter works out your actual half in about thirty seconds. It runs on real numbers from four trips I actually took.
And if the trip is with somebody whose money habits you have never actually discussed, the trip compatibility check gives you both seven questions and the exact words to say wherever you disagree. Two minutes, one phone.
And the long version of this checklist lives on the free money checklist page.
See all 9 sections
- Know your numbers
- Build your cushion
- Handle taxes like a business owner
- Separate business and personal
- Check your credit
- Take care of future you
- Tame the shopping habit
- Protect yourself
- Schedule a money date
I’m your big sis, not your financial advisor or accountant.
All nine questions, one per money habit
The Wince Quiz asks nine questions, one for each section of the free money checklist, with three answers each. The first answer scores 1, the middle scores 3 and the last scores 5, the one that makes you wince. Your result is the section where you scored highest, plus one first step to fix it.
- Know your numbers. Quick: what is the minimum it costs you to live each month?
- I know the number cold (scores 1)
- I could guess within a few hundred (scores 3)
- Honestly? No idea. Ouch. (scores 5)
- Build your cushion. If every client payment stopped today, how long could you cover life?
- Three to six months, easy (scores 1)
- A month or two, max (scores 3)
- I’d be in trouble by next rent (scores 5)
- Handle taxes like a business owner. Quarterly estimated taxes. How is that going?
- Separate account, auto-transfer every payment (scores 1)
- I save sometimes. April is stressful (scores 3)
- I pretend they don’t exist until they do (scores 5)
- Separate business and personal. Right now, your business and personal money are:
- Separate accounts, I pay myself regularly (scores 1)
- Mostly separate, with blurry edges (scores 3)
- One big pot. It all just flows (scores 5)
- Check your credit. When did you last pull your credit reports?
- Within the last few months (scores 1)
- Sometime last year, maybe (scores 3)
- Never, or I don’t want to know (scores 5)
- Take care of future you. Your retirement setup as your own boss:
- SEP IRA or Solo 401(k), auto-contributing (scores 1)
- I have an IRA I think about sometimes (scores 3)
- Future me is on her own, apparently (scores 5)
- Tame the shopping habit. Be honest about the store emails and saved cards.
- Unsubscribed, cards deleted, 48-hour rule (scores 1)
- I try, but the one-click gets me (scores 3)
- My inbox is a mall and my cards are memorized (scores 5)
- Protect yourself. If you couldn’t work for two months, what covers you?
- Insurance plus written client agreements (scores 1)
- Health insurance, but that’s about it (scores 3)
- Vibes. Just vibes. (scores 5)
- Schedule a money date. Your monthly money date:
- On the calendar, repeating, snacks involved (scores 1)
- I check in when I remember (scores 3)
- We are not currently seeing each other (scores 5)
How your result works
One section scored 5: that’s your biggest wince, with why it matters and your first step.
Two or more scored 5: you get one place to start, and the others are listed as what comes next.
Nothing scored 5: you get your softest spot, the highest 3.
Everything scored 1: nothing to fix. Or you were being kind to yourself, so take it again honestly.
The first step for each section
- Know your numbers: write down your monthly survival budget.
- Build your cushion: open a separate savings account with an automatic transfer.
- Taxes: open a tax savings account and move money into it with every payment.
- Business and personal: open a business checking account and set a regular pay day for yourself.
- Credit: pull your reports at AnnualCreditReport.com and dispute any errors.
- Future you: look into a SEP IRA, Solo 401(k) or IRA, and automate a contribution.
- Shopping: unsubscribe from five store emails, delete one saved card, and use a 48-hour rule.
- Protect yourself: check your health insurance and put a written client agreement in place.
- Money date: add a repeating monthly event to your calendar.