Personal Finance 101: Get Control

Build "My first 90 days": one page, or one note in your phone, that pulls your Moves together. It holds your money snapshot and well-being score, next month's written budget built from your lowest month, your Winter Fund target and the split deposit that feeds it, where your starter cushion stands against $1,000, and your short-week plan. Check it against this list:

• My snapshot shows what I own, what I owe, and my take-home and spending for a busy month and my slowest month.
• Next month's budget is written before the month starts, built from my lowest recent month, with giving, saving and the Four Walls first.
• My Winter Fund has a target and its own account, and once my starter cushion reaches $1,000, an automatic split or transfer feeds it every payday.
• I know how far my starter cushion is from $1,000 and the date I expect to get there.
• If I'm paid on a 1099 or in cash, a tax set-aside goes to its own account the day the money lands. If I'm on a W-2, I've run the Withholding Estimator.
• My short-week plan is in my phone: the Four Walls list, a hardship number for every other bill, 211, the NFCC and my before-you-borrow list.

On day 90, redo the snapshot and the 5-question scale and compare.

The $1,000 starter cushion is a rule of thumb from Dave Ramsey's Baby Step 1 (The 7 Baby Steps). Figures checked October 11, 2026.