{ "assessmentTests": { "personal_finance_literacy": { "subscales": { "budgeting_basics": "Budgeting Basics", "saving_and_investing_basics": "Saving & Investing", "job_benefits_literacy": "Job Benefits" }, "name": "Personal Finance Literacy Test", "desc": "Budgeting, saving and investing, and the benefits that come with a job — 24 questions written for middle school.", "recommendation": "Where to build your money skills next", "questions": [ { "question": "A budget is a plan for your money. What are the two things every budget compares?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "The money you have and the money your friends have" }, { "icon": "", "label": "The price of a thing and how much you want it" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Your bank's fees and the hours the branch is open" }, { "icon": "", "label": "The money coming in and the money going out" } ] }, { "question": "You are sorting your spending into needs and wants. Which one belongs in the needs column?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "The bus fare that gets you to school every morning" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Concert tickets for a band you have loved for years" }, { "icon": "", "label": "A gaming subscription your whole friend group has" }, { "icon": "", "label": "New sneakers in this season's colour, not last year's" } ] }, { "question": "Sam earns $60 a month at a weekend job. The spending he has planned for the month adds up to $75. What is his budget telling him?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "The budget balances, because the two numbers are fairly close" }, { "icon": "", "label": "He will have about $15 left over at the end of the month" }, { "icon": "", "label": "He is planning to spend $15 more than he earns, so something has to change" }, { "icon": "", "label": "He should ignore the plan, because $15 is a small amount of money" } ] }, { "question": "Why do people write down everything they spend for a month before they build a budget?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "Because a budget only has to account for the purchases that cost more than fifty dollars" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Because the bank asks you for a written list of your spending before it will open an account" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Because writing a purchase down lets you return the item for free" }, { "icon": "", "label": "So the budget is built on what they really spend, not what they think they spend" } ] }, { "question": "People say you should \"pay yourself first.\" What does that actually mean?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "Buy yourself something that you really want before you pay any of your bills that month" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Ask to be paid in cash so the money never reaches your bank account" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Move money into savings as soon as you are paid, before you start spending" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Spend whatever happens to be left at the end of the month on yourself" } ] }, { "question": "A fixed expense costs the same amount every month. Which of these is a fixed expense?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "A streaming plan billed at $12 on the same day each month" }, { "icon": "", "label": "The money that goes on snacks after school, which changes from week to week" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Birthday presents for all of the friends you want to celebrate this year" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Gas for the family car, which depends on how far you drive" } ] }, { "question": "Your first paycheck says you earned $200, but only $172 lands in your account. What is the most likely reason?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "Your employer made a mistake that you need to report right away" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Taxes and other deductions were taken out before you were paid" }, { "icon": "", "label": "The bank charges $28 every time it accepts a paycheck for you" }, { "icon": "", "label": "The missing $28 gets added on automatically next month instead" } ] }, { "question": "It is the 20th of the month and you have already spent $38 of the $40 you set aside for going out. What is the sensible move?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "Ignore the budget for the rest of the month and start again fresh in the new month" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Stop going out until the month ends, or move money over from another part of the budget" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Ask for a bigger budget from whoever gives you money before you spend any more" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Spend the last $2 today so that none of the money goes to waste" } ] }, { "question": "You want a $180 bike and you plan to buy it in 6 months. How much do you need to save each month?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "$18" }, { "icon": "", "label": "$30" }, { "icon": "", "label": "$60" }, { "icon": "", "label": "$108" } ] }, { "question": "You put $100 into a savings account that pays 3% interest a year and you leave it alone. Roughly how much is in the account after one year?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "$130" }, { "icon": "", "label": "$300" }, { "icon": "", "label": "$100" }, { "icon": "", "label": "$103" } ] }, { "question": "What does compound interest mean?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "The bank charges you an extra fee at the moment when you decide to take your money out" }, { "icon": "", "label": "You earn interest on your original money and on the interest it has already earned" }, { "icon": "", "label": "You earn interest only during the very first year, and after that the account stops paying" }, { "icon": "", "label": "The interest rate you are paid doubles at the end of every year" } ] }, { "question": "What is the main difference between putting money in a savings account and investing it in the stock market?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "Investing is sure to make money, while a savings account sometimes loses it" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Investing can grow more over many years, but its value can also fall" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Savings accounts are only for adults and investing is open to everyone" }, { "icon": "", "label": "There is no real difference, because both of them pay the same fixed amount" } ] }, { "question": "Why do investors usually spread their money across many different companies instead of buying just one?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "Because owning shares in only one single company is against the law in most countries" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Because each company they own will pay them a separate salary" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Because owning more companies gives you a higher guaranteed return" }, { "icon": "", "label": "So that one company doing badly cannot wipe out everything they have" } ] }, { "question": "Ana is 14 and starts putting a small amount away every month. Why does starting this early help so much?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "Banks pay teenagers a much higher interest rate than they pay adults" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Money saved before you turn 18 is treated as tax free by the bank" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Starting early means she can stop saving completely once she turns 20" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Her money has more years to grow, so the interest it earns starts earning too" } ] }, { "question": "Advisers usually say to build a small emergency fund before you start investing. Why is that?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "Investments can fall in value at exactly the moment you need the cash urgently" }, { "icon": "", "label": "You are not legally allowed to invest anything at all until you have savings in the bank" }, { "icon": "", "label": "An emergency fund gives you a much better return than the investments you could buy" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Investing anything at all requires a minimum of ten thousand dollars" } ] }, { "question": "What do people mean when they call an investment \"risky\"?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "It is only sold to people who already have a lot of money to spend" }, { "icon": "", "label": "It is against the rules for anyone under the age of eighteen to buy one" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Its value can go up or down, so you might end up with less than you put in" }, { "icon": "", "label": "The person selling it is probably trying to trick you out of the money you have saved" } ] }, { "question": "When people say a job has good benefits, what do they mean?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "Things the employer provides on top of wages, like health cover or a retirement plan" }, { "icon": "", "label": "How much the person happens to enjoy the work they do there and the people they do it with" }, { "icon": "", "label": "The number of days off somebody takes without telling anyone" }, { "icon": "", "label": "The bonus that gets handed out for arriving at work early" } ] }, { "question": "What does health insurance from an employer do for a worker?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "It keeps paying the worker's wages while they are away on holiday" }, { "icon": "", "label": "It helps pay for doctor visits, medicine and hospital care, so the worker pays far less" }, { "icon": "", "label": "It is a loan the worker has to pay back at the end of each year" }, { "icon": "", "label": "It means the worker can stop going to see a doctor at all" } ] }, { "question": "Many employers offer life insurance as a benefit. What does life insurance do?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "It pays money to the worker's family if the worker dies" }, { "icon": "", "label": "It guarantees that the worker can keep the same job for life" }, { "icon": "", "label": "It covers the cost of repairing the worker's car after a crash" }, { "icon": "", "label": "It pays for the medical check-up the worker has every year" } ] }, { "question": "A retirement plan at work — in the United States it is often called a 401(k), after the section of tax law that created it — lets you do what?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "Borrow any amount of money at all from your employer at any time, with no conditions attached" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Stop working at absolutely any age you like and still be paid in full by the government every month" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Set aside part of each paycheck for later in life, often with your employer adding money too" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Skip paying anything toward health insurance for as long as you are young" } ] }, { "question": "An employer offers to pay for a course that teaches you a new skill you can use at work. Why does that count as a job benefit?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "It means you do not have to come in to work on any of the course days" }, { "icon": "", "label": "It takes the place of your paycheck for the month the course runs" }, { "icon": "", "label": "It raises what you are able to do and what you can earn later, and you pay no tuition" }, { "icon": "", "label": "It is only worth taking the course if you are already planning to leave the company for another job" } ] }, { "question": "Some employers offer tuition assistance. What is it?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "The employer lends you the money and you repay it with interest inside a year" }, { "icon": "", "label": "The employer chooses which college you are allowed to apply to and attend" }, { "icon": "", "label": "The employer pays part or all of the cost of your college courses" }, { "icon": "", "label": "The employer covers your rent for the whole time that you are studying" } ] }, { "question": "Two people start out on the same pay. One of them works for an employer that trains its staff and promotes from within. Why is she likely to earn more five years later?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "Employers are required by law to raise pay once an employee has been there five years" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Her pay went up because staff who stay the longest are the ones paid the most" }, { "icon": "", "label": "The other person chose the wrong career and has no way to catch up" }, { "icon": "", "label": "The training gave her skills the employer needs, so she moved into better-paid work" } ] }, { "question": "Job A pays $36,000 a year and offers no benefits. Job B pays $34,000 a year and includes health insurance the worker would otherwise buy for $4,000. Which job leaves the worker better off?", "options": [ { "icon": "", "label": "Job B, because the insurance is worth more than the $2,000 gap in pay" }, { "icon": "", "label": "Job A, because the salary on the offer letter is the bigger number" }, { "icon": "", "label": "They come out exactly equal, because benefits are not really money" }, { "icon": "", "label": "There is no honest way to compare two jobs that are paid differently" } ] } ], "results": { "beginner": { "name": "Getting Started", "desc": "You are at the beginning of this. Some of the words — budget, interest, benefits — are familiar, but they are still separate ideas rather than one connected picture of how money moves through a person's life. That is exactly where most people start, and none of it is hard once you have seen it once.", "recommendation": "Start with one month of your own numbers. Write down every dollar that comes in and every dollar that goes out, then sort the spending into needs and wants. Everything else on this test is built on top of that one habit." }, "intermediate": { "name": "Building Confidence", "desc": "You have the core of it. You can tell a need from a want, you know a budget has to balance, and you know a job pays you in more ways than the number on the offer letter. The gaps that are left tend to be the parts nobody explains out loud — how interest compounds, or what an employer's benefits are actually worth in dollars.", "recommendation": "Pick the area where you scored lowest and go one level deeper on it. If it was saving and investing, work out what $20 a month becomes after ten years. If it was job benefits, add up what one real job posting's benefits would be worth on top of its salary." }, "advanced": { "name": "Strong Footing", "desc": "You are ahead of most people your age, and ahead of plenty of adults. You can read a paycheck and understand why the take-home number is smaller, you know why spreading investments out matters, and you can see past a salary to what a job is really paying you.", "recommendation": "Turn what you know into a decision. Compare two real job postings on total pay rather than salary, or set a savings goal with a date on it and work backwards to the monthly amount. Knowing the concepts and using them are two different skills." }, "expert": { "name": "Money Fluent", "desc": "You understand personal finance as one system rather than a list of tips. Budgeting, saving, investing and benefits all connect for you: you can see why an emergency fund comes before investing, why time is the thing that makes saving work, and why a lower salary with good benefits can be the better offer.", "recommendation": "The next step is not more definitions — it is scale and detail. Look at how taxes change what you keep, how an employer match multiplies what you save, and how the same choices play out over a whole career rather than a single year." } }, "retakePrompt": { "lastResult": "Your last result: {result}", "evolvedHint": "Money skills grow with a first job, a first paycheck and a first real budget — see where you stand now.", "retakeButton": "Retake the test" }, "optionOrderVersion": "88aa9634d591b8df" } }, "testNames": { "personal-finance-literacy": "Personal Finance Literacy Test" } }