Some people think they know everything about money while others completely underestimate their expertise. Have you ever wondered how you measure up when it comes to financial understanding? Take this five-question test to rate your financial literacy, and then compare your results with the rest of the world.

 

The following questions come from the S&P Ratings Services Global Financial Literacy Survey. Take your best shot at them and then scroll down for the answers and global results.

 

Questions

1. Suppose you have some money. Is it safer to put your money into one business or investment, or to put your money into multiple businesses or investments?

A- One

B- Multiple

C- Don’t Know

 

2. Suppose over the next 10 years the prices of the things you buy double. If your income ALSO doubles, will you be able to buy less than you can buy today, the same as you can buy today, OR more than you can buy today?

A- Less

B- The Same

C- More

D- Don’t Know

 

3. Suppose you need to borrow 100 dollars. Which is the lower amount to pay back: 105 dollars or 100 dollars plus three percent?

A- 105

B- 100 + 3%

C- Don’t Know

 

4. Suppose you put money in the bank for two years and the bank agrees to add 15 percent per year to your account. Will the bank add MORE money to your account the second year than it did the first year, or will it add the SAME amount of money both years?

A- More

B- The Same

C- Don’t Know

 

5. Suppose you had 100 dollars in a savings account and the bank adds 10 percent per year to the account. How much money would you have in the account after five years if you did not remove any money from the account: more than 150 dollars, exactly 150 dollars, or less than 150 dollars?

A- More Than 150

B- Exactly 150

C- Less Than 150

D- Don’t Know

 

This survey is one of the most extensive measurements of global financial literacy to date. The survey was based on interviews with more than 150,000 adults across 148 countries. Of the 148 countries targeted for data collection in 2014, 144 countries successfully collected data and met quality standards.

 

ANSWERS

1. B- Multiple

This question is about risk diversification, and 69% of US adults answered correctly.

 

2. B- The Same

This question is about inflation, and 63% of US adults answered correctly.

 

3. B- 100 + 3%

This question is about interest, and 52% of US adults answered this question correctly.

 

4. A- More

5. A- More Than 150

The last two questions are about compound interest, and 61% of US adults answered this section correctly.

 

 

Are You Financially Literate?

If you answered correctly for at least three of the four subject areas, you can count yourself among the 57% of US adults and 33% of adults worldwide who are considered financially literate.

 

Interesting Statistics From The Study:

• The USA ranks about the same as Belgium, Switzerland, New Zealand and Singapore.

 

• Americans with less education and lower incomes have lower financial literacy levels than their counterparts in other wealthy nations.

 

• College educated adults in the US rank 28 percentage points higher in financial literacy than those with only a high school education.

 

• Interest is the least understood concept in the US, and of adults who own a credit card, 43% answered it incorrectly.

 

• Only 58% of adults who save at a financial institution answered the interest topic correctly.

 

• There is a 10 percentage point financial literacy gap between men and women in the US, which is twice as large as the global gender gap.

 

• Of the 62% of US women who have a credit card, only half of them answered the interest topic correctly.

 

• The financial literacy gap based on income is 17 percentage points in the US, compared to 9 percentage points globally.

 

• Almost 10% of US adults have borrowed money to pay for school fees in the last year, but only half of them correctly answered the interest topic.

 

• In the US, about a third of adults finance their houses, but only 62% of them answered the interest topic correctly.

 

If a particular country interests you, you can follow this link to see the results of the survey for every individual country. (I won’t keep you in suspense, the Canadians did better than us.)

 

 

 

Now tell me in the comments:

What was your score? Which topics did you get right? What experience or education (or lack thereof) do you think has contributed to your financial knowledge? What do you think of the statistics just listed?