1. When your last credit card statement landed in your inbox (real or virtual) you…

• A) Trick question! Your credit card payments are on auto-pay and that baby is paid in full. You only check your account for errors or fraudulent charges. Doesn’t everyone?

• B) Deleted it without looking back (or threw it in the recycling bin)

• C) Did nothing. It’s still sitting there gathering real or imaginary dust, but you will open it. You just need to work up your courage. 

2. You’re getting really serious with your boo. They tell you they want to have “the talk.” You know — the money talk. What do you do? 

• A) You very maturely distract them with your wiley ways. Maybe they’ll forget they even brought it up? 

• B) Yes!! You’re all in and ready to show them all of your accounts. You double check your Credit Karma password so you can be sure to share your most up to date credit score too. 

• C) You reluctantly agree, but you’re strategic. You share some of your financial baggage, but not that one credit card you’ve been wishing would just disappear (à la Amber’s makeup credit card debt in Love is Blind)

3. Your mom just asked you about your retirement accounts. You…

• A) Tell her all about your accounts. Yes, accounts. You have one pre-tax and one post-tax and know exactly what you’re invested in. 

• B) You immediately google “What is a retirement account and how do I get one?” 

• C) You remind her that you’re an adult and have it all figured out. You secretly hope that that thing you opened ages ago is still working. 

4. Your car just broke down. What do you do?

• A) Ugh. You’ll have to make some adjustments in your spending, but you know you can handle it. You may have to put some of the expense on your credit card to start. 

• B) You got this! You’ve been adding to your savings account every month for this eventuality. 

• C) Freak out! If your next Coinstar run doesn’t cover this then you’re on your way to having the calf definition of a professional soccer player because you’re about to be walking everywhere. 

5. It’s been a rough day and all you want to do is treat yourself. What do you do?

• A) Check your budget and your wish list first. You’ve been wanting that same pair of shoes for ages and you know you can swing it this month. Buy! 

• B) Hop online and find all…the...SALES! (You get a dress! You get a pair of shoes! You get a swimsuit!) This is the point of a credit card, right? You’ll deal with the consequences later. 

• C) Splurge a little, but hold back on that swimsuit you really want because you’re nervous that you already overspent. You’ll wear the dress with a side of regret instead. 

SCORING: 1. a-2, b-0, c-1; 2. A-0, b-2, c-1; 3. A-2, b-0, c-1; 4. A-1, b-2, c-0; 5. A-2, b-0, c-1

Titanic Steamy (7-10 points)

You and your money know each other well. You’re besties and you totally wouldn’t leave them to drown when there is clearly room on the raft for you both. 

Hot & Cold (4-6 points)

There are good days and there are bad ones, but you’re definitely not ready to put a ring on it. 

What relationship? (0-3 points)

You and your money have been on the outs for a loooong time, maybe forever. It is time for a shot of serious love stat. 

Regardless of your Money Relationship Status (MRS), you probably have some room for improvement. The real question isn’t if we could use some help (we all can), but what kind of help makes the most sense. 

If your MRS is Titanic level, you probably just need some tweaking or help with very specific issues. 

Verdi’s recommendation: Start with research on your own! Want extra help? Find a financial coach who will work with you one-on-one on the specific questions you have (psst...I do this).

If your MRS is Hot & Cold, you probably need help in several areas, but not on everything. Yay! Depending on what you want help with you may want a group coaching option, but if your focus is more limited you may want one-on-one help. 

If your MRS is non-existent you’re ready to inject some love! If you like groups and aren’t too scared of discussing money with others, the Verdi Money Club (or other group coaching) may be a great solution. If the idea of discussing money with others makes you want to puke, go the one-on-one coaching route. 

XOXO

I’ve been thinking a lot about values over the past few weeks. I think it is because the current political climate has been getting under my skin. It feels simultaneously so important and completely unimportant. And, to top it off, I don’t feel particularly inclined to get more involved than I already am (note: I always vote, even in tiny local elections, I often give to campaigns that I feel strongly about, and I regularly call my representatives to give my input on upcoming votes). 

I’m sure I could make a difference in the current political climate if I chose to put more of my energy and money in that sphere, but I don’t feel called to go there. And, if I’m honest, it looks so messy and exhausting that I really would need to feel called in order to get myself involved. 

Instead, I feel like I can make a difference on the same issues I’d focus on in politics outside of that arena. I talk all the time about voting with your wallet as a way to support the organizations and movements you believe in, but I think I need to expand my definition in order to feel like I’m giving my values the focus they deserve.

So, what am I doing? 

First off, the values I am focusing on are: 

1) Environmental sustainability

2) Gender equality

3) Supporting small businesses 

I’m tackling each one a little differently and, for now, starting relatively small so I don’t set myself up for failure. I’ve broken them down below:

• Environmental sustainability

  • I’m reducing my reliance on online shopping and therefore reducing the waste that comes into my house. This means shopping local whenever I can. 

  • I’m working towards reducing waste in my household products. That means that as cleaning products run out I am finding alternative replacements that are better for the environment (Dropps laundry pods, DIY toilet bowl cleaner and replacing a swiffer with a mop).

• Gender equality

  • This is basically the reason I started Verdi! I’m encouraging my clients to focus more on long-term money habits that will improve their own financial standing. I believe that working with more and more people means that eventually these individual improvements will help society as a whole. 

• Supporting local businesses

  • I gave up Amazon Prime a few months ago, which is great for stopping random purchases and for pushing me to shop at smaller companies (and ones with better worker’s rights track records)

  • I accept that I sometimes need to shop online, but I try my hardest to shop local whenever I can. Sometimes that means getting a gift from a local boutique and shipping it myself. That often means that gifts don’t make it quite on time, since for the life of me I cannot make it to UPS with any regularity, but I’ve decided I’m okay with that trade off.

I’d love to hear your voting with your wallet plans! What are you focusing on? What questions do you have?

XOXO