10 basic questions absolutely anyone should be able to answer about their money

By: Derek Olsen of Rockstar Finance

It’s your money. Can you answer the ten easiest money questions ever?

2. How much money do you have?

3. How much do you earn each month?

4. How much debt do you have?

5. How much money do you spend each month?

6. How much do you spend each month on debt payments only?

7. How much money are you saving each month?

8. How much is in your emergency fund?

9. What is your net worth?

10. What’s your plan?

Bonus question to make up for question 1: How many months until you are debt free?

How did you do?

I was talking with The Wife today about how so many people are so bad with money and how so many finance books and websites are waaaaaaaaay to complex for the average person.

I said something brilliant like, “Maybe instead of getting more complex we need to dumb it down even more.”

If so many people are making money mistakes we don’t need more complex money teaching, we need less complex money teachings!

Talking about reverse mutual funds and backdoor interest retreats isn’t helping. We need the basics!

We need to dumb it down and keep dumbing it down until we fix the problem. (We also need a different phrase to use, like “smart down?” Nah, that doesn’t sound right either.)

If you can nail the basics month after month, the complex stuff will take care of itself.

If you can’t nail the basics, the complex stuff won’t matter anyway, because you will never get there.

If you can’t answer these ten money questions, your homework for today is to be able to answer them and be in bed by 10:30 … like a boss!

Read the original article on Rockstar Finance.

About the author, Scott Wellens

Scott Wellens, CFP® is an investment advisor and founder of Fortress Planning Group. After earning his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Scott quickly ascended to become a Vice President of North American Sales at a major regional provider of telecommunications infrastructure. While financially successful in this role, Scott searched for ways to pursue his passion related to financial literacy and providing financial freedom for both his own family and others. During his search, Scott became curious about the significant gap he found in the financial services sector: he was unable to find a comprehensive financial planner that maintained a family stewardship lens without being attached to financial products. Scott decided to fill that gap by creating his own planning firm that maintains a strong passion for comprehensive, unbiased wealth planning that is genuinely client-centered.

Scott resides in Menomonee Falls, WI with his family. He is the father of three active and independent daughters who keep him on his toes. Scott is an active community member, serving on the Hamilton Education Foundation Board, serves as a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace facilitator and leads the All Pro Dad’s group at their local elementary school. Scott enjoys spending his free time visiting state parks with his family, reading, and watching the Milwaukee Bucks and the Green Bay Packers win ball games.

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