Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Financial Literacy

One of my favorite people to read is Will Deener in the Dallas Morning News business section. This week he had an article about financial literacy. He reports that a five question quiz administered by FINRA Investor Education Foundation proved to be very disappointing. The FINRA - Financial Industry Regulatory Authority - regulates the securities industry.

Nationally, only 38 percent of the respondents passed the test. That means 62 percent answered three questions or less correctly. Remember it was a five question exam.

Just a quick example of the questions. "Suppose you have $100 in a savings account earning 2 percent interest per year. After five years, how much would you have?" The answer choices were: more than $102; exactly $102; or less than $102. I agree with Mr. Deener’s comment, "Please God, never allow me to be locked in the same room with the persons who answered less than $102."

Trust me, the other questions were no more difficult than this one. And again, I agree with Mr. Deener, when he comments about the 62 percent failure rate, "that should frighten us all."

I took the exam and yes, I answered all correctly.

I also know to get out of the rain to avoid getting wet.

PMO
©2013

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