Personal Finance Review

Which of the following will result in your paying the LARGEST amount of interest to the credit card company?

• Paying 20% of your credit card balance every month

• Making the minimum payment every month

• Paying off your balance every month

• Saying "credit" every time the cashier asks "Debit or Credit?"

How can you improve your credit score?

• Pay all of your bills on time

• Spend more money on each of your credit cards

• Apply for 3 new credit cards in two months

• When merchants ask, "Credit or debit?" always choose credit

In order to qualify for financial aid, prospective college students must file their _____________.

• Financial aid letter

• FAFSA

• PSAT, SAT, or ACT scores

• Parent's credit score

Which of the following is a method of gaining access to the money in your checking account?

• Buy a prepaid card using cash

• Deposit a paycheck from your job

• Swipe your debit card at a store and sign the electronic machine or paper receipt

• Take money from the ATM using your credit card

Carmen has just graduated from college and receives a bunch of paperwork from her new employer's Human Resources department. Which of the following should be her first step in making sure she's paying the correct amount of taxes?

• Complete a 1040 form

• Buy a copy of TurboTax and file her taxes

• Complete an I-9 form

• Complete a W-4 form

Each of the following is a benefit of online and mobile banking EXCEPT...

• You can check your balances before you make a purchase

• You can transfer money electronically between accounts

• You can overdraw your account without penalty

• You can keep an ongoing record of your deposits and withdrawals

Which of the following is TRUE about having a good credit score?

• You're automatically eligible to have any remaining student loan balance forgiven by the Federal government.

• Universities will be more likely to accept you when making admissions decisions.

• Lenders are more likely to extend credit to you at lower interest rates.

• You get a $100-$500 check in the mail from the Federal government as a reward.

Sylvester is taking out a loan and is confused by the vocabulary. Which of the following explanations might help him?

• TERM is the length of the loan, and INTEREST RATE is how much total money he will pay

• PRINCIPAL is how much he owes per month, and TERM is how much he owes overall

• INTEREST RATE is how much the lender charges per year for the loan, and PRINCIPAL is the initial amount Sylvester takes out

• MONTHLY PAYMENT is how much interest costs him each month, and TERM is the name of his lender

Which statement best describes the difference between a debit and credit card?

• Debit cards have low interest rates while credit cards have high interest rates

• Debit cards spend money from your own checking account while credit cards take out a loan from the credit company

• Debit cards are better to use in stores while credit cards are better for shopping online

• Debit cards allow you to view all your transactions online while credit cards only show your available credit limit

Which person from this list is saving rather than investing?

• Yvonne, who puts $750 per month into her savings account earning 1% interest

• Danielle, who contributes 2% of her pay to her company's 401(k) plan

• Daryl, who uses his $5000 end-of-year bonus to buy Treasury bonds

• Alexis, who buys $100 worth of shares in an S&P 500 index fund every month