How to Use a Series 7 Cheat Sheet Without Failing the Exam

You're sitting in a cramped testing center cubicle. The air is slightly too cold, and the hum of the ventilation is the only thing you can hear besides your own heartbeat. You have 225 minutes to prove you aren't a liability to the financial industry. This is the FINRA General Securities Representative Qualification Examination. Most people just call it the Series 7. If you don't have a mental series 7 cheat sheet ready to dump onto that scratch paper the second the timer starts, you’re basically walking into a buzzsaw.

It's a brutal exam. Honestly, the 72% passing score feels much higher when you’re staring at a question about the tax implications of an Intrastate Offering under Rule 147. You’ve likely spent weeks drowning in Knopman Marks or Kaplan textbooks. You’ve highlighted so much yellow that the pages look like a legal pad. But here’s the thing: the Series 7 isn't just a test of what you know. It is a test of how you manage your anxiety and your memory under pressure.

I’ve seen brilliant people—math whizzes and Ivy League grads—tank this exam because they tried to "reason" through every question from scratch. That's a mistake. You need a pre-memorized dump sheet. You need a set of visual cues that tell you exactly what to do when a question mentions "debit spreads" or "non-qualified annuities."

📖 Related: How to Convert Money RM to USD Without Getting Ripped Off by Bank Fees

The Dump Sheet Strategy: Your First 10 Minutes

The moment the proctor says you can begin, don't look at the first question. Seriously. Just don't. If you look at question one and it’s a convoluted mess about a 1035 exchange, you might panic. Instead, take your dry-erase marker and recreate your series 7 cheat sheet on that laminated scratch paper. This is your "brain dump."

Most successful candidates focus on the heavy hitters. You’re going to see a lot of options. You’re going to see a lot of municipal bonds. You’re going to see a ton of suitability. If you have your "Options Matrix" or the "SLoBS over BLiSS" chart written down, you won't have to think. You just look at your notes.

The SLoBS/BLiSS acronym is legendary for a reason. It stands for:

• Sell Limits and Buy Stops (SLoBS) are placed above the current market price.
• Buy Limits and Sell Stops (BLiSS) are placed below the current market price.

When the market starts moving and a question asks which orders are adjusted for a dividend, you just look at your sheet. BLiSS orders are reduced. SLoBS are not. It’s binary. It’s simple. It saves you three minutes of second-guessing yourself.

Cracking the Options Code

Options are usually the "make or break" section of the Series 7. They are roughly 25% of the exam, but they feel like 90% because they are so technical. If you don't have a visual for these, you're toast.

Forget trying to visualize the trade in your head. Use the T-chart method. On the left side, put your "Money Out" (what you paid for the premium). On the right side, put your "Money In" (what you received).

• Max Gain for a Long Call? Unlimited.
• Max Loss for a Short Put? Strike price minus premium.
• Breakeven for a Spread? Use the CAL (Call Add Lower) or PSH (Put Subtract Higher) rule.

Basically, if you have a Call spread, you take the lower strike price and Add the net premium. If it’s a Put spread, you take the Higher strike and Subtract the net premium. Write that on your series 7 cheat sheet. Write it big. Put a box around it. When the question asks for the breakeven on a "Bear Put Spread," you don't need to be a genius. You just need to follow your own instructions.

Bond Seesaws and Tax Math

Bonds are the other pillar of the 7. If interest rates go up, bond prices go down. We all know this. But what happens to the Yield to Maturity (YTM) versus the Yield to Call (YTC) when a bond is trading at a discount?

Draw a seesaw. This is the most famous part of any series 7 cheat sheet. Put the Par value (1000) in the middle. If the price goes down (discount), the yields go up like a lever. Nominal yield is at the bottom, then Current Yield, then YTM, and YTC is at the very top. If it's a premium bond, the whole thing flips. This visual prevents you from mixing up which yield is the highest in a premium versus a discount scenario. It’s a literal life-saver when your brain is fried at question 110.

💡 You might also like: Current Tariff on China: What Most People Get Wrong About the 2026 Trade War

Then there is the tax math. You'll definitely get a question about Tax-Equivalent Yield.
$$TEY = \frac{Municipal\ Yield}{100% - Tax\ Bracket}$$
Don't try to derive this formula during the exam. Have it written down. If a muni pays 4% and the client is in a 30% bracket, you’re doing $4 / 0.70$. That's approximately 5.7%. If a corporate bond offers 5.5%, the muni is the better deal. It’s purely mechanical.

Suitability: The "Grey Area" That Isn't

Suitability is the biggest section (Function 3), making up about 91 questions. This is where FINRA tries to trick you with "best" or "most appropriate."

There isn't a formula for suitability, but there is a logic. You need a "Suitability Matrix" on your series 7 cheat sheet that links goals to products:

1. Safety/Liquidity? T-Bills or Money Markets.
2. Income? Preferred stock, Utility stocks, or Corporate bonds.
3. Tax-Free Income? Municipal bonds (only if they are in a high tax bracket).
4. Growth? Common stock (specifically "Blue Chip" or "Growth" funds).
5. Speculation? Options, DPPs, or High-yield bonds.

If the client is 70 years old and needs income, and the answer choice is a "Small Cap Growth Fund," it’s wrong. It doesn't matter how good the fund is. It’s wrong for that person.

The Forgotten Rules of Communications and SIPC

You’ll get hit with questions about what counts as "Retail Communication" versus "Correspondence."

• Retail Communication: More than 25 retail investors within a 30-day period. Requires principal approval.
• Correspondence: 25 or fewer retail investors. Only requires "review," not necessarily "pre-approval."

Write these numbers down: 25, 30, 90.

• 90 days is the "Frozen Account" period if someone doesn't pay for their trades.
• 30 days is the wash sale rule period.
• 25 days is the prospectus delivery requirement for IPOs on an exchange.

These are the "trivia" facts that people forget. If you have a little corner of your sheet dedicated to "Numbers to Remember," you won't have to guess if it was 20 days or 30 days for a cooling-off period. (It’s 20, by the way).

Dealing with the "Click-Through" Fatigue

The Series 7 is long. It's a marathon. Around question 85, you are going to feel a slump. This is where your series 7 cheat sheet acts as a psychological anchor. When you feel your focus slipping, look down at your notes. Remind yourself that you have the tools.

Wait. One thing people get wrong constantly: the difference between a "Regulated Investment Company" (RIC) and a standard corporation regarding taxes. Under Subchapter M, if a fund passes through 90% of its net investment income to shareholders, it only pays taxes on the 10% it keeps. If they pass through 89%, they pay taxes on 100%. That's a huge "gotcha" question. Put "90%" on your sheet.

Also, watch out for the "Except" questions. FINRA loves these. "All of the following are true EXCEPT..." These are designed to trip up fast readers. When you see one, slow down. Verify each of the three correct statements on your scratch paper before picking the one that’s false.

Practical Steps to Build Your Own Cheat Sheet

Don't just download someone else's PDF and call it a day. That won't work. Your brain remembers what you create, not what you read.

💡 You might also like: MXN to USD Exchange Rate April 2025: What Most People Get Wrong

• Audit your practice exams. Look at the last three practice tests you took. Which formulas did you have to look up? Which concepts made you pause for more than 30 seconds? Those are the things that belong on your dump sheet.
• The 10-Minute Drill. Practice writing out your entire sheet from memory every morning for a week before the test. Time yourself. If it takes 15 minutes, it's too long. Streamline it. Use symbols instead of words.
• Simulate the environment. Use a dry-erase board or a laminated sheet of paper. Don't use a pencil and notebook. You won't have those in the testing center, and the "feel" of the marker matters.
• Prioritize the "Heavy Four." Your sheet should be 40% Options, 30% Debt (Muni/Corporate), 20% Suitability/Tax, and 10% Rules/Dates.

The Series 7 isn't an IQ test. It’s a specialized knowledge test that rewards preparation and systematic thinking. Use your series 7 cheat sheet to offload the technical stress so your brain can stay sharp for the tricky wording of the questions themselves. Once you finish writing your dump sheet at the start of the exam, take one deep breath. You’ve already done the hardest part of the memory work. Now, it’s just about executing the plan.

Check your "Wash Sale" dates one last time. Ensure you know the difference between a "Standard" and "Negotiated" underwriting. Verify that you remember that "Accrued Interest" on munis is calculated on a 360-day year, while Treasuries use "Actual" days. If these facts are on your paper, they aren't cluttering your head. Good luck. You've got this.

Next Steps for Your Series 7 Preparation:

1. Draft your first dump sheet version tonight based on your weakest scoring areas in your recent practice quizzes.
2. Focus on the "Options Bird" or "T-Charts" specifically, as these are the most common points of failure for candidates.
3. Cross-reference your cheat sheet with the FINRA Content Outline to ensure you haven't missed a high-weighting section like Function 3 (Providing Customers with Information about Investments).