Your Banking and Credit Related Finances - A Quiz

David Sklar & Associates – Toronto Consumer Proposal and Bankruptcy Trustees,
Share the Lessons of Successful Debt Management

Many people simply do not want to take the time to find out where they stand in terms of their banking and credit related finances. We know it is scary, but the sooner you face up to your finances, the sooner you and your family can start on the road to financial security.

Warning: This is one of those ‘grown up’ things we all try to avoid, but we know are in our own best interest.

The goal of this ‘quiz’ is to increase your knowledge of your own banking and credit related finances. In most cases, completing this quiz will not be a fast, or easy process – but once it is done you will have a better understanding of where you and your family stand financially.

This quiz focuses on several important aspects of banking and credit finances, however it does not included questions on RRSPs, RIFFs, investments etc. If you want to add these and other details to you answers, feel free to do so.

No one else is going to be looking at the results of this quiz – you are doing it solely for yourself and your family. To use this quiz to its best advantage – we recommend that you take the time to find complete and accurate answers to all the questions that apply to you.

Note: It might not seem important to document whether you are earning 1.03% or 1.04% in interest, but being exact about your finances is the smart thing to do.

Quiz - Your Banking and Credit Related Finances

1. How many checking accounts do you have? If one or more:
   1. How much is in each of you checking accounts?
   2. If you are earning interest in your checking accounts – what is the rate?
   3. What do you use your checking accounts for?
   4. Do you have debit card access to your checking accounts?
   5. What banking fees apply to your checking accounts?
   6. If you have overdraft protection on you checking accounts:
   1. What is the current amount of overdraft you have in your checking accounts?
   2. What rates of interest apply to each of your overdrafts?
   3. What is the maximum you can have in overdraft?
   4. How many times in the last 24 months have you been in overdraft?
   7. If you have automatic withdrawals on any of your checking accounts:
   1. Who are the withdrawals for?
   2. How much are the withdrawals for?
   3. When are the withdrawals made?
   
   
2. How many savings accounts do you have? If one or more:
1. How much is in each of your savings accounts?
2. What are each of your savings accounts designed to be used for?
3. What current rates of interest are you earning on your savings accounts?
4. Do you have debit card access to your savings accounts?
5. What banking fees apply to your savings accounts?


3. Do you have one or more TFSAs (Tax Free Savings Accounts)? If so:
1. How much is in each of your TFSAs?
2. What format are each of your TFSAs in – ie Savings, GIC, etc?
3. What interest rate are you earning for each of your TFSAs?


4. Do you have an emergency fund? If so:
1. How much money is in your emergency fund?
2. Where do you keep your emergency fund? If in a bank:
1. How much interest are you earning on your emergency fund?
3. Is it sufficient to keep your household running for three months?
4. What criteria have you set to determine if a situation is an emergency?


5. If you have a home with a mortgage:
1. How much is your mortgage for?
2. How much is your current mortgage payment?
3. How frequent is your mortgage payment (ie monthly, bi-weekly, etc)?
4. What is the current rate of interest you are paying?
5. Is your mortgage fixed or variable?
6. How long is the current term of your mortgage?
7. How many years is your mortgage amortized over?
8. When is your current mortgage up for renewal?
9. What options does your mortgage have for making accelerated payments?


6. If you have one or more auto loans:
1. How much to you owe on each auto loan?
2. What is the interest rate on each of the loans?
3. How long is the term of each of the loans?
4. When will each of the loans be paid off?
5. What options do your auto loans have for accelerated payment?


7. What is your current credit rating?


8. How many credit cards do you have?
1. How much do you currently owe on each of your credit cards?
2. What is the interest rate for each of your credit cards?
3. What is the maximum credit available for each of your credit cards?
4. If there are annual fees for your credit cards – how much are they?
5. Are there additional fees for going over your credit limit?
6. Are there any other additional fees on your credit cards?
7. Do you normally pay off your credit cards before any interest is charged?


9. If you have any loans besides mortgage, auto, and credit cards:
1. What are each of the loans for?
2. What is the interest rate on each of the loans?
3. How long is the term of each loan?
4. When will each of the loans be paid off?

This is, of course, just a quiz and by no means a complete picture of your finances. If you have taken the time to answer each question completely – Congratulations! You most likely learned a few things you did not know before, and you may have identified areas where you can make improvements.

Identifying and taking responsibility for your own finances can be the beginning of an exciting journey of self-discovery and self-reliance. It will also be a lot of hard work – but no one else can do it for you.

Note: if after taking this quiz (or even after just reading it over), you decide to put yourself on a budget – you might want to visit our Budget Basics Series.