How Strong Is Your Financial Knowledge? Take Our Quiz

Connie Chang and Juli Fraga published a 10-question quiz in The New York Times on Jan. 30, 2026, titled "How Strong Is Your Financial Knowledge? Take Our Quiz," testing readers on credit cards, buying a home, saving for college or retirement and other wallet-related topics. The piece says making healthy financial decisions, such as saving for retirement, paying down credit card debt and refinancing your mortgage, can set you up for long-term financial success.

It also warns that if you don’t know the difference between an I.R.A. and an A.P.R., or a 529 and a U.G.M.A., deciding what steps to take can feel overwhelming and what you don’t know can cost you. The quiz is meant to feel challenging and is designed to test financial knowledge and help readers make smarter money decisions in the year ahead.

Sample questions include budget planning and the 50-30-20 rule, how many subscriptions the average person has, the best time to start saving for a child’s college education, the meaning of the "30 percent rule" for housing costs and who is best positioned during a period of high inflation.

Other items ask whether you should refinance a mortgage only when interest rates fall by more than 1 percentage point; pose a credit-card-debt problem of $5,000 at a 24 percent A.P.R.

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