Personal Finance Quiz

Imagine this: Our friends William, Anika, and Aria are playing a game of 'Car Financing Monopoly'. Magda joins them and decides to buy a car using an auto loan. Can you help them figure out which of the following statements about Magda's situation is accurate?

• Her principal is the cost of the car, minus any down payment she makes

• Her interest rate is the total cost she'll pay after making all of her principal and interest payments

• Choosing a shorter term means it will take her longer to repay the loan

• It's likely that her monthly payment will be between 4-5% of the cost of the car

Mason, Jackson, and Benjamin are having a fun discussion about budgeting. Mason, who is new to budgeting, gets an interesting piece of advice from Benjamin. Benjamin tells him that he should 'pay himself first.' What does Benjamin mean by that?

• Mason should keep all his savings in a checking account

• Mason should automate monthly transfers to his savings account

• Mason should take more risk in his investments to get higher returns

• Mason should pay only the minimum due on his credit card bills

Imagine Abigail just finished a job interview. Why would it be important for her to send a personalized thank you note afterwards?

• It shows that she wants the job even if she doesn't really like the company

• She can apologize for any mistakes she made in the interview

• It gives her the opportunity to leave a good impression by expanding on an answer she gave or a topic she discussed with Rohan, the interviewer

• It allows her to boast about her accomplishments to Lily, the HR manager, one last time

Ava, Isla, and William are planning their college budgets. They're trying to figure out how to calculate the net price of their chosen colleges. They are sitting in their dorm room, looking at the college's cost of attendance on their laptops. What do they need to subtract from this to find the net price?

• The Student Aid Index

• Their application fees

• Their personal expenses

• Their grants and scholarships

Anika, Priya, and Samuel are discussing about secured credit cards. They all agree on certain characteristics of a secured credit card EXCEPT one. Which one is it?

• Your credit limit is dependent on the amount of your security deposit

• They lower the risk of banks when issuing credit to users with no credit history

• They help you build a credit history and improve your credit score

• They don't have a spending limit, so you have to be very mindful of how much you buy with them

Imagine Nora, Grace, and Aiden are at the mall. Nora buys three new lipsticks from a store. Which payment method would reduce the amount of money in her checking account?

• She pays with a prepaid card she loaded earlier in the month

• She uses her credit card and says, 'Credit' when the cashier asks, 'Credit or debit?'

• She uses her debit card and says, 'Credit' when the cashier asks, 'Credit or debit?'

• She pays with cash she had in her purse

Imagine this scenario: Daniel, Ethan, and Michael are roommates. They pay a monthly premium of $15 for their renters insurance, and their deductible is $500. In the month of April, a mischievous monkey breaks into their apartment and causes a ruckus, resulting in $2200 worth of their possessions being stolen or destroyed. How much will the roommates pay and how much will the insurance pay to replace their items?

• The roommates pay $0 // insurance company pays $2200

• The roommates pay $15 // insurance company pays $2200

• The roommates pay $500 // insurance company pays $2200

• The roommates pay $500 // insurance company pays $1700

Imagine Harper, Kai, and Evelyn are having a discussion about student loans. They come across the term 'FAFSA'. Which definition do you think they would agree best describes the FAFSA?

• The amount of money the federal government offers you in student loans

• The paperwork your bank has you complete in order to take out a personal student loan

• The paperwork you complete in order to have part of or all of your student loan debt forgiven

• The application you submit in order to determine eligibility for federal student aid

Imagine David, Ava, and Arjun are having a friendly competition. They each put $1000 into their respective savings accounts, which earn a 1% annual compound interest. After 10 years, who among them would have the closest estimate of the amount in their account? Remember, we're ignoring the impact of inflation here.

• David, who thinks it's exactly $1100

• Ava, who believes it's slightly more than $1100

• Arjun, who is sure it's $2000

• Or, all of them are wrong and it's exactly $11,000

Imagine Michael, Daniel, and Charlotte are discussing their credit reports. They all agree that certain things can be found in a credit report. However, they disagree on one thing. Which of the following do you think they would NOT find in their credit reports?

• Michael thinks it's the credit payment history

• Daniel argues it's the checking account balance history

• Charlotte believes it's the average age of the credit accounts

• Or is it the total number of active credit accounts?