So, what's up? How's it goin'? Things good? We'll see. It's time for a quick little test. It's not one of the test that are in Cosmo magazine, but a test none the less. We are going to see how your money life is going. Years ago I would evaluate your money life by looking at how much money you have, but let's be real here, many people that have a great deal of money — have a great deal of money stress.

I help people manage their cash flow. In our first meeting I usually take people through this very simple quiz. If they score well, then they might not need me. If they score poorly, then they need me much more than they truly understand.  Here's the quiz:

Score yourself 1-10. 1 being bad and 10 being good. If you are married make sure that your spouse takes the quiz as well. Make sure that they take the quiz separately. Feel free to print it out. Don't cheat off of your neighbors test. Anyone caught cheating will receive a 0 on the test and fail the semester.

1. How would you rate your communication in regards to money with your significant other (if there is a lot of stress that is bad)?
1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

2. How would you rate your level of financial awareness? (knowing your monthly income, expenses, debt and assets)
1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

3. Do you hold each other accountable to your goals? (using money wisely and together. Answer on the low end if one person does a lot of spending without consulting the other person)
1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

If you score 25-30 then you are doing great. Keep up the good work
If you score 18-24 then you need to address the issues now, before they get worse.
If you score 17 or below then you take immediate action. Money problems don't fix themselves, you need to act.

We use these same questions to measure progress. Every quarter we re-test. Ideally the score goes up and financial goals start getting accomplished. Email me if you have any questions pete@petetheplanner.com.