Test Your Financial IQ

Filed in archive General on August 15, 2006

Newsweek's got a financial quiz on their site that you may be interested in. It tests your knowledge of credit card, mortgage, and other financial products, to see if you know myth versus reality.

I only got a 59% on it, but I was unhappy with at least two of the questions. I should have passed is what I'm trying to tell you.

First off, the very first question about household credit card debt--I think they're using a sensationaltic number that has no real basis in fact. It's been refuted in many different places, but the same stat keeps getting used over and over.

Second, and this is a quibble--I don't think checking out your credit report is very important unless you're getting denied for credit or you're not getting the lowest rats advertised on a loan. If you're making your payments and your loans go through smoothly and at the best rates, why spend the time poring through a boring credit report? If you're not getting the rates or are getting turned down, that's a different story, especially if you know you've been good.