Purposeful FIRE
Is it your money, or your money anxiety?
Take the free 20-question Money Anxiety Check-In and find out which of four patterns is actually driving your financial stress, then get three tools built for your specific pattern.
If you've ever checked your bank account three times in one day, felt a wave of guilt over a small purchase you could easily afford, or hit a savings milestone and felt… nothing, this is for you.
Here's what fifteen-plus years of clinical practice has taught me: money anxiety is not a math problem. Some of the most anxious people I've worked with have the highest savings rates. If security were a number, they'd feel safe by now. Money anxiety is a threat-detection problem, your nervous system has learned to treat money as a source of danger, and no balance sheet alone will switch that alarm off.
Dr. Yoendry Torres, Psy.D., is a psychologist who writes about the side of money nobody's spreadsheet can fix. I'm a psychologist, but I'm not your psychologist: this page is education, not therapy, and not financial advice.
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If security were a number, you'd feel safe by now.
~ Dr. Yoendry Torres, Psy.D.
You're not alone in this:
- 83% of U.S. adults report financial stress, strain, or uncertainty. Only 16% feel financially fulfilled. (Edward Jones/Gallup, 2026)
- Among the financially stressed, 52% say money “often” or “always” controls their lives. Among the financially fulfilled, just 2% say the same. (Edward Jones/Gallup, 2026)
- Roughly 4 in 10 millennials and Gen Z adults report a distorted perception of their own finances, feeling broke while objectively stable. (Intuit Credit Karma, 2024)
What's inside
- 20 statements across four patterns: Vigilance & Checking, Avoidance, Scarcity & Catastrophizing, and Money & Self-Worth
- A score for each pattern, not just one number, so you see which pattern is actually driving your stress
- Three tools matched to your results: the Scheduled Money Date, the Catastrophe Interview, and the Values Audit
- A plain-English guide to what your score actually means, no jargon and no diagnosis, just what the pattern usually means and what to do about it
- About 10 minutes, most of it just reading and circling numbers
Who this is for
Anyone whose bank balance looks fine on paper but doesn't feel fine day to day. Especially useful if you've hit a savings milestone, or you're close to your FIRE number, and you're still checking your accounts more than you'd like to admit.
Who wrote this
Dr. Yoendry Torres, Psy.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist and founder of PurposefulFire. I'm a psychologist, but I'm not your psychologist: this page is education, not therapy, and not financial advice.
Stats to know
Roughly 4 in 10 millennials and Gen Z adults report a distorted perception of their own finances.
83% of U.S. adults, roughly 216 million people, report financial stress, strain, or uncertainty. Only 16% feel financially fulfilled.
Among the financially stressed, 52% say money "often" or "always" controls their lives. Among the financially fulfilled, just 2% say the same.
© 2026 Purposeful FIRE LLC. Dr. Yoendry Torres, Psy.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist. This guide is an educational self-reflection aid, not a clinical instrument, not psychotherapy, and not financial, legal, or investment advice. Completing it does not create a psychologist-patient relationship.
