1. Fold a sheet of paper into thirds. At the top of the three columns, write, in turn: "Great Spending," "Mixed," and "Poor Spending." Draw a horizontal line through the middle of the page.
2. On the top half of the sheet, quickly write down as many examples as you can remember in each category.
3. After briefly musing on the examples in each category, on the bottom half write down your hypotheses about what factors contributed to your having great, mixed or poor experiences with spending.

(Suggestion: Try this exercise with a spouse or friends and compare notes).