Good luck!

The Basics:

This should be the easy stuff. Everybody knows all about it. Right? Then give it a shot. These are simple definition questions. And remember there may be more than one correct answer for some of them. But be careful. Don’t be tripped up by seemingly right answers that have nothing to do with money and finances. They're wrong. That's just a word of advice. After all, we want you to succeed.

1.) What is money?
a.) Paper or coin currency that is exchanged in an open marketplace.
b.) Anything a group of people accept in exchange for goods or services.
c.) The way people receive credit for goods or services.
d.) Something you spend.

2.) What is interest?
a.) A fee charged on the money you’ve earned by the Federal government.
b.) Money that is paid to a customer by a bank for keeping the customer's money.
c.) Money that is charged to a customer when a bank lends money to the customer.
d.) What you show when you’re attracted to someone of the opposite sex.

3.) What is a deposit?
a.) Something you apply to a bank for when purchasing a home or a car.
b.) The money you receive when a CD matures.
c.) After eating caramel, the sticky stuff on your teeth
d.) The act of putting money into a bank.

4.)What is a withdrawal?
a.) How people from Texas speak
b.) An extra cost added on to an original cost
c.) The act of removing money from an account in a bank.
d.) The action a bank takes when you’ve written a check for a greater amount than what you have in your account.

5.)What is a check?
a.) Money spent to begin a business
b.) A written order to a bank to pay a specified amount of money to someone else.
c.) A move in hockey which can result in a penalty.
d.) A certificate representing a stock purchase.

6.)What is compound interest?
a.) Increasing interest through the day-by-day highs and lows in interest rates.
b.) When you are dating two people during the same time period.
c.) A program that automatically adds and subtracts interest from your account depending on how long your money has been there.
d.) Interest computed on the accumulated unpaid interest as well as on the original principal.

7.) What is a tip?
a.) An amount of money you give someone who has served you in some way.
b.) Advice given or received, usually at a race track or other sporting activity.
c.) A way to acknowledge good service without having to spend money.
d.) money received from investments such as savings accounts and bonds.

8.) What are taxes?
a.) Money we must give the government.
b.) The amount of money used to help state and local governments offset shortages.
c.) The money we must give the government so that it can pay for things like schools, sidewalks, firemen and policemen.
d.) A long form you’re parents agonize over every year so they won’t go to jail.

9.) What is a stock?
a.) Something you add to soup for flavor.
b.) A certificate that gives you the right to buy and sell part of a company.
c.) A piece of paper that has a monetary value.
d.) A small piece of a company that can be purchased.

10.) What is the Dow Jones?
a.) A stock market index where stocks are bought and sold.
b.) The famous train engineer killed in that legendary fiery crash.
c.) One of America's leading magazines on stock market investments.
d.) A commodities trading index.

The answers are 1.) a,b,c,d 2.) b,c 3.) d 4.) c 5.) b 6.) d 7.) a, 8.) a,b,c,d 9.) b,c,d, 10.) a

Okay, here is your first scoring zone:

If you scored:
8-10 Congratulations! You have a good grasp of basic money skills!
6-7 Although you have some knowledge of money and how it works, you need to brush up on your basic skills.
4-5-- You have a limited knowledge. You need to have some serious money-skills lessons.
1-3-- You probably should not be allowed to have a credit card
less than 1
-- Do not sign ANY contract that involves money. You may not be able to tell the difference between a quarter and a dollar bill.

Middle School:

Okay. You survived round one. Not as easy as you thought, was it? Well now it’s on to round two. We call this the acronym portion of our contest. This should be a breeze.

1.)What is a CD?
a.) Currency Deposit
b.) Credit Dividend
c.) A Compact Disc (A tiny silver disc that plays music)
d.) Certificate of Deposit

2.)What does FDIC mean?
a.) Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
b.) First Deposit Insurance Company
c.) Federal Development Investment Center
d.) Fiduciary Deposit Investment Corporation

3.) What does the FDIC do?
a.) Insure automobiles 20 years or older.
b.) Insure all deposits up to $100,000 that are placed in a bank
c.) Insure all deposits up to $50,000 that are placed in a bank
d.) Insure all deposits up to $25,000 that are placed in a bank.

4.) What is an IRA?
a.) An Individual Retirement Account
b.) An Internal Revenue Audit
c.) The Irish Republican Army (Radical, Terrorists)
d.) An Independent Rate Adjustment

The answers are 1)d 2)a 3)b 4)a

Scoring Zone Number 2

If you scored:
4 - Nice Job! You know your Acronyms as well as your financial lingo.
3 - You are on the right path, but could use some brushing up.
2 - Whoops! Looks like you have some learning to do!
1 - Before you make any money decisions, consult an expert

The Honors Program:

Getting a little tougher? Or are you breezing right through? Now’s the time to prove your financial worth (as least as far as knowledge goes). This next section will truly separate money smarts from money don’ts.

1.) You and your friends just had dinner at your favorite pizzeria. They left you with the bill. That bill will cost you $22.00. You decide to leave a 15% tip. How much should you leave?
a.) $1.10
b.) $2.20
c.) $3.30
d.) $4.40

2.) Congratulations! You just landed your first job. They're going to pay you $30,000 a year. After paying the 20% for federal taxes and an additional 4% for state taxes, how much would you take home?
a.) $20,750
b.) $22,800
c.) $25,500
d.) $28,500

3.) You're in a music store. You just bought a new CD. It cost $16.39. You hand the cashier a twenty. How much change should you get back?
a.) $2.50
b.) $2.85
c.) $3.10
d.) $3.61

4.) You've just deposited $50.00 in a savings account with a six and one-quarter percent annual interest rate. How much money will you have in the account after 2 years?
a.) $53.56
b.) $55.40
c.) $56.25
d.) $56.45

The answers are 1)c 2)b 3)d 4)d

Scoring Zone Number 3

If you scored:
4 - Nice Job! Your basic math skills are solid!
3 - Not bad, but you could use some brushing up on your math.
2 - Whoops! Looks like you have some learning to do!
1 - You may want to re-balance your checkbook and have your taxes done by an accountant!

BONUS!

And last but not least -- The official "Facts of Money" bonus question. Not for the faint of heart or the faint of brain.

If you were to take a job babysitting every day for a month, would it be better to be paid $250 for the month, $20 a day, or choose an alternative payment schedule of a penny the first day, two cents the second day, four cents the next day, eight cents the next day and doubling each successive day?
a.) $250 for the month
b.) $20 per day
c.) try the alternative method

And the answer is:

1.) c; if you receive a penny the first day and have your salary doubled each successive day, you will earn a total of $163.83 in two weeks, and $10,737,418.23 in 30 days or $21,474,836.47 in 31 days.

There. That wasn't so bad now. Was it? Take a deep breath. Relax. Add your total score for all sections together, and check out the scorecard below to determine how you did. Are you a money person? Or just along for the ride? We’ll help you find out.

We hope you’ve enjoyed finding out more about the facts of money. And good luck in your quest for true financial literacy. We hope to see you there. For more information on this quiz, and financial literacy in general call Kid$ense at 1-877-543-8316.

Final Scoring Zone