Short answer: The ten "Money and chores" questions (Q11 to Q20) ask how much of your daily admin runs on a system. The more tracking, filing and planning in an answer, the more points it earns. That makes this category easy to read, and also easy to misread, because having a system and having money are not the same thing.
I'm Muhammad Husnain Zahid. Answer the ten questions above first. A minute is enough. Below I go through what the points reward, where the ladder leans on tools and spreadsheets, and why I think a high number here needs care. All ten questions are also on the full question list.
One ladder, ten times
Every question here describes the same four steps. Step one is someone who has not met the task yet: "What receipt" (9), "What's that" for travel insurance (11), "A what" for a forgotten subscription (10). Step two is someone who knows about it and has not got round to it. Step three is someone who handles it calmly. Step four is someone who has turned it into a routine.
The four steps average about 10, 22, 35 and 52 points. Picking at random gives about 30. All first options would give 10, all last options 52, which makes this one of the narrower categories: the average gap between the first and last option is 41 points, compared with 48 in Friday nights.
Where each step lives, in real points
| Question | Step one | Step three | Step four |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q11, payday | Ask an adult for sweets money (9) | Pay something, save something, enjoy the rest (34) | Into three accounts before you noticed (50) |
| Q12, washing-up | Someone else's job (10) | Do it before sitting down (33) | There is a rota, and it works (48) |
| Q15, something breaks | Find someone bigger than me (10) | Fix it or know who to call (36) | Already had the part in a drawer (58) |
| Q17, travel insurance | What's that (11) | Sorted weeks ago (36) | Compared four policies on a spreadsheet (50) |
| Q18, receipts | What receipt (9) | Kept for a week (33) | Filed, in case of a return or tax question (52) |
The other five questions follow the same pattern. Q16, finding money on the pavement, is the odd one out, and I come back to it below.
The spreadsheet problem
Two of the ten top options name a spreadsheet: comparing four insurance policies on one (Q17, 50) and tracking every renewal in one (Q19, 49). Three top options use the word "already": the part in the drawer (Q15, 58), the renewals tracked (Q19) and the bonus "already allocated before it landed" (Q20, 51).
So four of the ten top answers describe a tool or a head start. Someone who is very organised in their head, on paper or on a phone with no spreadsheet will still reach the top option, but they have to stretch the wording to do it. The points come from my picture of an adult who has done all of this for years, and the wording ended up leaning on tools.
Money versus no money
Five of the ten questions are about money in some way: payday (Q11), found money (Q16), insurance (Q17), a renewing subscription (Q19), a bonus or birthday cash (Q20). The top options in those assume you have something to organise. Three accounts, a compared policy, a bonus already allocated: these are the habits of someone with money to spare.
A person with very little money can be extremely careful with it, down to the last coin, and still land on the third option in Q11 and Q20 because the fourth describes a different kind of life. That is a flaw in how I wrote the options. The quiz reads "has a system" as "older", and some people have a tight budget because of their situation, not their age.
The one question about honesty
Q16 asks what you do when you find money on the pavement. The options run: finders keepers (10), pocket it and don't think twice (20), look around for whoever dropped it (35), hand it in at the nearest shop (54). It is the only question in the category that is about right and wrong rather than organisation.
I think it is the most interesting one, because children can give the 54 answer too. Plenty of eight-year-olds would hand it in. So here the quiz scores a moral habit as age, and I would not defend that. If I did the category again I would probably move this question out.
The complaint question
Q13 has a jump I find odd. Calling and staying calm to get a fair outcome is 37. Quoting the exact clause of the returns policy is 56, a 19-point step for being more precise about the rules. Both are good ways to get a refund. I put the second at the top because to me it describes someone who has done this many times. It could also describe someone who enjoys a fight.
That is a place where the points are a guess about a personality, not a measurement of one.
Where the money points come from
I wrote some of the questions, took some from searching what people share on social media, and asked friends and people around me about the rest. For the points, I looked at how children, adults and older people around me handle money and chores, and placed the four answers along that line. A child asks an adult for sweets, an adult juggles, an older person has a routine. Nobody has tested these against real ages.
Reading your money number
- Under 20: you mostly picked step one and two. Admin is something you meet when it hits you.
- 20 to 40: you handle things calmly most of the time, with a few gaps. This is where most people end up.
- Above 40: you mostly picked the systems. Open the list of your answers and look at which questions lifted it. If it was Q12 and Q15 (a rota, a part in a drawer), that is about running a home. If it was Q17 and Q19 (spreadsheets), it may just mean you like tools.
Why ten answers is a weak signal
This category is a tenth of the full test. Going from the first to the last option on all ten moves the full result by about four points. A person who is well organised with money and chaotic about everything else will land in the middle of the full test, and that is a more honest picture than this one number.
You can also try these ten questions on two different days. Your answers are saved only in your browser. If you answer right after paying a bill, you may score higher than on a day when you have forgotten three. For the full picture, take the full test. The scoring is worked through in How a Mental Age Score Is Really Worked Out.
What this does not tell you
It is not financial advice, and it does not measure how responsible or generous you are. The quiz is meant for fun and self-reflection, and it has not been validated scientifically. If money worries are weighing on you, a trusted person or a free advice service in your country is a better place to start than a quiz, and the help resources page lists free, confidential support.
Sources and further reading
- How the whole number is built: the age guide and How a Mental Age Score Is Really Worked Out.
- Every question and answer option: the full question list.
Frequently asked questions
Is a high score here a sign that I am good with money?
No. The quiz scores having a system, and it assumes you have money to organise. A person on a tight budget can be very careful and still score in the middle.
Why does Q16, about finding money, feel different from the rest?
It is the only question about honesty and not organisation. Children can give the top answer too, so I think it is the weakest fit for this category.
Do the spreadsheet answers matter?
Two of the ten top options mention a spreadsheet. If you are organised without one, you will probably still reach the top option, but you have to stretch the wording.
Is this financial advice?
No. It is a short quiz for fun and self-reflection and it has not been scientifically validated.