- 01 · Ask
Type what's got you confused
A charge, a contract line, a payout that came in short. Type it or paste the words. No uploads, no bank login.
- 02 · Get it explained
Get it explained
Plain language, the math laid out with the inputs showing. Tap any card to see it up close. Reviewed by Censi.
- 03 · Mission
Move the numbers yourself
Five-minute interactive missions. Slide the inputs, watch what changes, then a quick check to see what stuck.
- 04 · Quest
Then do one real thing
Every mission ends in a small real-world quest, like putting your quarterly tax dates on your calendar. Do it, your sprout grows.
The money stuff nobody taught us. Explained.
Type the charge, the payout or the tax thing. Censi breaks it down in plain language and puts the math on screen, so you know what's actually yours.
App preview: answers come from our reviewed templates for now, open conversation is coming later. Stays in your browser. Education only.
Who it's for
Made for how you get paid.
Nobody takes taxes out of your pay. The money shows up in waves, not every other Friday. And odds are you're the first in your family figuring this out. That's who we built Censi for. Pick your lane and every example matches your money.
- Freelance
- Creator
- Gig
- Artist
- Side hustle
- Paycheck + side hustle
Education only: we explain how money works, you make the call.
Where your $1,000 goes
$1,000
A $1,000 gig payout just hit. Keep scrolling to see how much is yours.
- SuppliesBusiness costs come off the top.−$100
- Self-employment tax15.3% on 92.35% of profit. Nobody took it out.−$127
- Income tax set-aside12% example rate, saved for later.−$108
- Yours$665
Nobody told us this part. Censi shows it before you spend it.
First mission drops soonExample numbers from the same calculator as Mission 1. Education only, not tax advice.
How it works
Ask it. See it. Do one thing about it.
Type what's confusing you, watch it get broken down with the math showing, practice it in a five-minute mission, then go do it for real. No bank login, nothing to upload.
- 01 · Ask
Type what's got you confused
A charge, a contract line, a payout that came in short. Type it or paste the words. No uploads, no bank login.
- 02 · Get it explained
Get it explained
Plain language, the math laid out with the inputs showing. Tap any card to see it up close. Reviewed by Censi.
- 03 · Mission
Move the numbers yourself
Five-minute interactive missions. Slide the inputs, watch what changes, then a quick check to see what stuck.
- 04 · Quest
Then do one real thing
Every mission ends in a small real-world quest, like putting your quarterly tax dates on your calendar. Do it, your sprout grows.
App preview. Censi is in early access: three missions are live today, and the full app, lanes and streaks are rolling out as we build.
Start here · free
The stuff nobody explained to us.
Three five-minute missions on where hustle money quietly leaks: the tax bill hiding in your payout, card interest that never ends, and fast cash that isn't free. Move the numbers, check what stuck, then go do one thing for real.
~5 min each · interactive · education only · nothing to connectFirst mission drops soon
Your path
Season 1Hustle moneyThree missions, about six minutes each. Start anywhere.
- Mission 1Hustle money
Your Revenue Isn't Your Pay
Gig, drop and brand-deal money lands whole, and two tax bills are already waiting in it. See what's actually yours before you spend it.
Ends with one real moveStart hereLook at your last 1099 payment and work out what to set aside before you spend it.
- Mission 2Card money
Why the Minimum Payment Keeps You Broke
Move the payment, watch the interest. See how an APR turns a balance into a subscription you never signed up for.
Ends with one real moveOpen your card app and find your APR and this month's interest charge.
Unlocks after Mission 1Jump ahead - Mission 3Business money
Fast Cash Isn't Free
That pre-approved advance in your sales dashboard gets paid back out of every sale. See how long it takes, and why paying early doesn't shrink the fee.
Ends with one real moveOpen a real or sample payout-advance offer and find the fee and the holdback.
Unlocks after Mission 1Jump ahead - More missions
Coming soon
Taxes on a drop, splits on a feature, what a sponsorship contract actually says. Founding members vote on what we build next.
Why trust it
Real math. No strings.
Reviewed by Censi
Every answer is built only from pieces we've reviewed and checked before it reaches you.
Inputs shown
Every figure comes from a calculator we built and tested, with the numbers we put in printed right next to it.
Nothing to connect
Type your numbers or use ours. No bank linking, no uploads, no statements.
We never touch your money
No accounts, no trades, no products we're paid to push. We explain how money works; you make the call.
Lingo, decoded
Gross
Everything that came in, before anything comes out.
Net
What's left after it does.
1099
Pay with no taxes taken out yet. That part's on you.
APR
What a year of borrowing costs, as a percent.
Every mission decodes the words on your statements, contracts and forms. In plain English.
Explain This
Stuck on one specific thing? Send it.
The charge, the clause, the line on the form. It comes back in plain language with the math laid out and one move to make. Reviewed by Censi.
Early access: answers are reviewed by Censi, free, one question at a time. Instant answers in the app come later.
Three answers, the way they come back:
You asked
My mobile detailing business brought in $4,000 last month. My homie says I really only made like $2,600. Is he lying?
Numbers shared: $4,000 in sales, about $400 on supplies and gas
He's close. Out of $4,000 in, about $2,659.34 is actually yours once self-employment tax and an income tax set-aside come out.
Revenue isn't pay
Revenue is what customers paid you. Pay is what's left after the costs of doing the work and the tax on it.
On a W-2 job your employer covers half of Social Security and Medicare and pulls your half out before you ever see the check. Running your own business you're both sides, so it's 15.3% on most of your profit (the IRS counts 92.35% of it), and nobody withholds it for you.
Income tax comes on top of that. We used a 12% set-aside as a placeholder; your real rate depends on your whole year.
Where the $4,000 went
Brought in$4,000
Work costs (supplies, gas)$400
Self-employment tax$508.66
Income tax set-aside (12%)$432
Actually yours$2,659.34
About 66 cents of every dollar that comes in is yours. Tax starts from profit ($3,600), not from sales.
Quest · Find your real number
Takes five minutes. Keep it on your phone; we don't need to see it.
- Add up what came in last month and what the work cost you.
- Look up this year's estimated tax due dates on IRS.gov (search Form 1040-ES).
- Put the next due date in your calendar.
Your situation is yours
A CPA or enrolled agent can tell you what you actually owe and which costs count. Bring them these numbers.
How we did the math: Treats this month as a typical slice of the year. Federal only; no state tax, credits, QBI or half-SE-tax deduction. Income tax line is a savings placeholder, not a bill.
✓ Reviewed by Censi · Example · Education only
This is education, not personalized financial, tax or legal advice. You make the call; for your exact situation, a licensed pro can confirm.
When
Live Oct 12. Built with you after that.
- Oct 12
Early access opens
Three missions live, Explain This taking questions, founding spots open.
- Every question
Reviewed by Censi
Send the charge or the clause. It comes back explained, math showing.
- After month one
Founders pick Season 2
Founding members vote on which money leaks we tackle next.
- Later
The full app Later
Ask anything, your lane, your path and streak in one place.
Founding members
Back the money app we wish we had.
$39 once covers your first year: every mission we drop, your questions answered first, and a vote on what we explain next. Not a subscription, and fully refundable.
$39 for your first year
- Every mission we drop during your first year
- Priority on Explain This: send us a money question and get it broken down, reviewed by Censi. Ask us anything money
- A vote on which missions we build next
- Founding member credit, permanently
One-time charge, not a subscription. Full refund within 30 days, no questions. If we don't keep building after our first test run, you're refunded automatically. Sold by Sharif Samad McBride LLC. Education only, not financial, tax or legal advice. Terms
Stay in the loop
Get the next mission when it drops.
Two quick questions: how you get paid and what's got you confused. We build the next missions around your answers.
Real questions
Who is Censi for?
Anyone whose money doesn't come as a steady paycheck: freelancers, creators, gig workers, artists and side hustlers, mostly in their 20s and early 30s. If nobody ever walked you through 1099 taxes, card interest or payout advances, it's for you.
Is this financial advice?
No. Censi is education. We explain how money works so you can make your own calls. We don't give personalized investment, tax or legal advice, we never hold your money, and we never make trades.
Do I have to link my bank or upload anything?
No, and there's nowhere to. Type your numbers or use ours — no bank linking, no uploads, no CSVs, no statements or screenshots required. Missions run on example numbers or numbers you move with a slider, it stays in your browser, and nothing you type is used to give you advice.
Where does AI come in?
Censi uses AI to talk you through a question and pick the right screen, but it can only build from pieces we've reviewed, and every number comes from calculators we built and tested, never a chatbot guessing. Every Explain This answer is reviewed by Censi before it reaches you.
How long does an answer take?
In the app, your screen builds in seconds. During early access, Explain This answers are reviewed by Censi before they reach you, founding members first. If a question needs someone licensed, we say so and point you to the kind of professional who can look at your actual situation.
Is this a game?
The missions are interactive, and finishing one logs a little progress: how many you've covered and how many days in a row you've shown up, kept in your browser with no account. That's the extent of it. No leaderboards, nothing is taken away if you skip a day, you can jump ahead to any mission whenever you want, and progress only ever comes from understanding something — never from trading, opening accounts or applying for credit.
What happens after I pay $39?
It's a one-time charge for your first year, not a subscription, and nothing renews automatically. Change your mind within 30 days and we refund you in full, no questions. And if we decide not to keep building Censi after our first test run, everyone gets refunded automatically by November 15, 2026. You don't have to ask.
Got a money question right now?
Ask us anything money. We break it down, reviewed by Censi. Education, not advice.