Decision-making tutorials
Compare options, check references, and work through important purchases with a clear process. Learn what to ask, what to record, and how to evaluate the trade-offs.
Explore 9 free tutorialsA few good places to start
Three free lessons from across the workshop. No purchase needed.
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9 tutorials to explore
All tutorials are listed below. Enable JavaScript to search and filter the library.
Make a decision
Compare your options, ask better questions, and work through the trade-offs.
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Social Security Break-Even Age, Explained
What break-even means, how to work it out from two claiming ages by hand, why COLA moves it, and why it's the wrong question for a married couple.
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Avalanche vs. Snowball, With Real Numbers
The same four debts, the same $300 a month extra, run three ways — minimums only, highest-rate-first, and smallest-balance-first — so the trade-off is a number, not a guess.
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How Much Extra Payments Save on a Car Loan
One car loan, run four ways — no extra, +$50/month, +$100/month, +$200/month — plus a one-time lump sum and a 13th payment spread across the year, so you can see exactly what each shape of extra payment buys you in months and interest.
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What to Ask for After a Home Inspection
What to ask for after a home inspection: set your dollar thresholds before you read the report's tone, price every finding, flag what changes your financing, choose repair vs credit item by item, and net the total against the cash you actually have left to close.
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What to Check When Buying a Used Car
The walk-around, the cold start, the test drive and the paperwork that has to agree — in order, with what counts as a fail at every step.
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How to Vet a Nanny or Care Provider
How to check out a nanny, babysitter, or senior caregiver before you trust them with someone — who to call, the six questions to ask every reference, and what to verify at the source.
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Questions to Ask a Contractor's References
The three references you're handed are curated by definition. The fix isn't better questions — it's the same six questions, worded identically, asked of every reference, so three separate calls become one comparison.
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When Both Options Look Good
Your top two scored almost the same. That is a finding, not a failure — here is how to tell a real tie from a close call, and the four moves that break one honestly.
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What to Check in a Venue Contract
A step-by-step review of a wedding or event venue contract before you sign it — the service charge, the food-and-beverage minimum, the cancellation ladder, the weather backup, and the promises the document never mentions.
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Try a broader term, such as “home” or “pricing”, or clear your filters to explore the library.
One small change.
A different bid.
A markup and a margin aren’t the same thing. Change the cost or gross margin to see what happens to the price.
Illustrative numbers in USD. Gross margin is the share of the price left after direct costs, to cover overhead and profit.
Learn how to build the whole bid$7,000.00 ÷ (1 − 30%)
Enter a cost from 0 to 1 billion and a margin from 0 to 99%.
This shows a $7,000 cost at a 30% gross margin. Enable JavaScript to try different numbers.
Start with a free tool
A small, useful first step. No email or signup needed.
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Free Contractor Reference-Check Questions
A 24-question contractor reference check to run on their past clients before you hire them — free, no signup.
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Free Lease Red-Flags Checklist
Thirty things to check before you sign a residential lease — free, no signup.
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Free Frame the Decision Mini-Guide
Three things to do before you compare anything: widen a yes-or-no, force the option nobody listed, and price the unwind — free, no signup.
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Put this method to work
Optional paid downloads to help you apply what you learn. All tutorials above are free to read—no purchase required.
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Social Security Claiming-Age Calculator
Social Security claiming-age calculator for couples in Excel & Google Sheets: all 81 claiming-age pairs, spousal and survivor benefits, 49 death-age scenarios.
Excel / Google Sheets
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Loan Payoff Calculator - Extra Payments
Loan payoff calculator for Excel & Google Sheets: extra payments on up to 8 auto, student or personal loans, three payoff orders and pay-or-save after tax.
Excel / Google Sheets
View paid template -
Inspection Repair-Negotiation Sheet
Turn a home-inspection report into a costed, prioritized repair ask — every finding priced from a built-in library and netted against your cash to close.
Excel / Google Sheets
View paid template