My FICO logo $$$$$$$$$$$ 9876 5432 1234 5678 CREDIT CARD KELLY SMITH 11/26 My FICO logo
SCORE
Skip Navigation
  • Why FICO
  • How It Works
  • Pricing
  • Education
  • Community
  • Support
  • Member Dashboard
  • Log In Log Out
  • Start Plan
 
  • Why FICO
  • How It Works
  • Pricing
  •  
  • Education
    • Credit Education
    • Credit Scores
    • What Is a FICO Score?
    • FICO Scores vs Credit Scores
    • FICO Scores Versions
    • New FICO Scores
    • How Scores Are Calculated
    • Payment History
    • Amount of Debt
    • Length of Credit History
    • Credit Mix
    • New Credit
    • How to Improve Your Score
    • How to Build Credit
    • Credit Reports
    • What's in Your Report
    • Credit Bureaus
    • Inquiries
    • Errors on Your Report?
    • Blog
    • Calculators
    • Loan Savings
    • Vehicle Payments
    • How Much Can I Borrow?
    • Should I Consolidate My Credit Cards?
    • Know Your Rights
    • Identity Theft
    • FAQ
    • Glossary
  • Community
  • Support
  • Member Dashboard
  • Log In Log Out
  • Our Products
    • Ongoing Credit Monitoring Track your FICO® Score & identity
    • One-time Credit Reports Be prepared for important transactions
  • How Can We Help
    • Monitor Credit & Identity
    • Mortgages
    • Credit Cards
    • Auto Loans
  • Credit Education
  • Community
  • Support
  • Our Products
    • Ongoing Credit Monitoring Track your FICO® Score & identity
    • One-time Credit Reports Be prepared for important transactions
  • Credit Education
  • Credit Scores
    • What Is a FICO Score?
    • FICO Scores vs Credit Scores
    • FICO Score Versions
    • New FICO Scores
    • How Scores Are Calculated
    • Payment History
    • Amount of Debt
    • Length of Credit History
    • Credit Mix
    • New Credit
    • How to Improve Your Score
    • How to Build Credit
  • Credit Reports
    • What's in Your Report
    • Credit Bureaus
    • Inquiries
    • Errors on Your Report?
  • Blog
  • Calculators
    • Loan Savings
    • Vehicle Payments
    • How Much Can I Borrow?
    • Should I Consolidate My Credit Cards?
  • Know Your Rights
  • Identity Theft
  • FAQ
  • Glossary
View all Personal Finance articles

April is National Financial Literacy Month. How Financially Literate are You?

April 05, 2018, by Rob Kaufman

National Financial Literacy Month was introduced in an effort to highlight the importance of financial literacy and help teach Americans how to establish and maintain healthy financial habits. It's a great way for people to begin their path to financial wellness and create successful strategies to enhance their overall financial position.

How Financially Literate is America?

That's a loaded question. And it's a question that won't be answered in this article because any answer could be unfair to both the financially literate and the not-so-financially-literate. What is an important point to raise is the following: according to a CNBC article, the majority of Americans feel good about their financial health. However, these feelings don't appear to be on par with their financial literacy.

The results of a recent financial literacy quiz conducted by Financial Engines had only 6% of respondents passing. What does this mean? Well, it could mean that people might feel as though they're making smart financial choices, but in reality, they could be making some unintentional - and costly - mistakes.

The 4 Hardest Questions

Out of the 11 questions on the Financial Engines literacy quiz, there were 4 questions which were most often answered incorrectly. Take a look and see if you can get them right.

  1. How much will the typical married couple retiring at age 65 spend on out-of-pocket costs for health care throughout retirement (in today's dollars)?

A. $50,000

B. $100,000

C. $157,000

D. $200,000

E. $266,000

F. $330,000

We'll leave some space here so you won't see the answer yet. Know, however, that only 6.9%of respondents correctly guessed the answer.

The correct answer is E. $266,000.

  1. If you purchase a bond and interest rates rise, what will happen to the price of the bond?

A. Rise

B. Stay the same

C. Fall

Only 19.9% of respondents guess correctly.

Since bond prices and interest rates have an inverse relationship, when interest rates rise, bond prices drop and vice versa. So the correct answer is C: Fall

  1. A typical 65-year-old man can expect to live, on average, for how many more years?

A. About 10 more years

B. About 15 more years

C. About 20 more years

D. About 25 more years

E. About 30 more years

Only 28% of respondents correctly guessed the answer to this one.

According to the Social Security Administration, men can expect to live to about 84 years old. The correct answer is C: About 20 more years.

  1. What is the average annual rate of inflation for college tuition around the country?

A. 2 percent

B. 5 percent

C. 8 percent

D. 11 percent

Only 28.4% of respondents got this one right. The correct answer is C: 8 percent.

So... how did you do? Remember, that's only 4 (the toughest 4) questions out of 11. If you want to take the entire quiz, sit back, take a few breaths and focus. If you're unhappy with your results, take advantage of all the ways to learn about finances during National Financial Literacy Month. Knowledge is power... especially when it comes to money!

MyFICO forums are one of the best places to learn about finances - the "dos, the don'ts and the should I's?".  Check it out anytime, day or night. Also, review our Financial Literacy Blog Series from last year.

Rob Kaufman

Rob is a writer... of blogs, books and business. His financial investment experience combined with a long background in marketing credit protection services provides a source of information that helps fill the gaps on one's journey toward financial well-being. His goal is simple: The more people he can help, the better.

Estimate your FICO Score range

Answer 10 easy questions to get a free estimate of your FICO Score range

740 - 790
Estimate for Free

Instant Access to Your FICO® Score

90% of Top Lenders Use FICO® Scores. Do you know yours?

Get Access Now!

Page footer

Products

  • Home
  • Why FICO
  • How It Works
  • Pricing

Learn

  • Education
  • Community
  • Support
  • Blog

Company

  • About Us
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Affiliate Program
  • Accessibility

Get Our App

  • Download iOS app on the App Store
  • fil_get
    Get Android app on the Google Play Store

Follow Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Credit Education

  • Credit scores
  • What is a FICO Score?
  • FICO Score versions
  • How scores are calculated
  • Payment history
  • Amount of debt
  • Length of credit history
  • Credit mix
  • New credit
  • Credit reports
  • What's in your report
  • Bureaus
  • Inquiries
  • Errors on your report?
  • Calculators
  • Know your rights
  • Identity theft
  • FAQ
  • Glossary

Copyright ©2001- Fair Isaac Corporation. All rights reserved.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

All FICO® Score products made available on myFICO.com include a FICO® Score 8, and may include additional FICO® Score versions. Your lender or insurer may use a different FICO® Score than the versions you receive from myFICO, or another type of credit score altogether. Learn more

FICO, myFICO, Score Watch, The score lenders use, and The Score That Matters are trademarks or registered trademarks of Fair Isaac Corporation. Equifax Credit Report is a trademark of Equifax, Inc. and its affiliated companies. Many factors affect your FICO Scores and the interest rates you may receive. Fair Isaac is not a credit repair organization as defined under federal or state law, including the Credit Repair Organizations Act. Fair Isaac does not provide "credit repair" services or advice or assistance regarding "rebuilding" or "improving" your credit record, credit history or credit rating. FTC's website on credit.

PRIVACY NOTICE: When you visit this website we collect your browsing activities on our site and use that information to analyze and research improvements to the website, and to our products and services. When you register for our products and services, we also collect certain personal information from you for identification purposes, such as your name, address, email address, telephone number, social security number, IP address, and date of birth. Further information is available in our FICO Data Privacy Policy. For visitors with visual disabilities, access to this website, including our FICO Data Privacy Policy, is available through assistive technologies, such as BrowseAloud, JAWS, VoiceOver, Narrator, ChromeVox, and Window-Eyes. More details on software and accessibility are available at WebAIM.org.