It seems that everyone is either a spender or a saver. The following quiz will help you decide which side you’re on. There are no right or wrong answers, but your responses should help you better understand your financial inclinations.
- The first thing that you think of when you hear the word “bond” is:
□ 007
□ An investment that pays interest
- When you’re handed a restaurant check, you:
□ Double check the addition
□ Wonder if you’ve got enough credit left on the credit card to pay it.
- If you go shopping with ten items on your shopping list, you’re more likely to come home with:
□ 8 items
□ 18 items
- A car has 60,000 miles on it. You think it should be:
□ Sold
□ Bought
- You’ve just received a raise at work. The first thing that comes to mind is:
□ Tiffany shopping
□ Tiffany stock
- Which of these expressions brings you more joy?
□ “Dow up 3% last week.”
□ “3% off online purchases this week only.”
- Which of these statements do you agree with?
□ It only costs a nickel more to go first class.
□ Anything that’s first class is a colossal waste of money.
- At the first anniversary of your last home purchase, you said:
□ I’m very happy here.
□ I’d sure be happier with a bigger house.
- Whenever you buy something on sale, you conclude that you have:
□ Saved money
□ Spent money
10. The surest way to get rich is to:
□ Spend less than you earn
□ Hang around rich people and do what they do
Smart Money Tips
- Increase your contributions to your retirement savings plans at work. Now that fall is not too far off, you can pay a bit more attention to your money. One smart thing to consider is to increase your contributions to your workplace retirement savings plan. The surest way to bolster your retirement nest egg is to make regular contributions and increase your contributions regularly. So if you can spare the change, boost your 401(k), 403(b), or other workplace plan contribution. Even a small increase is a step in the right direction – improving your financial future and at the same time reducing your income tax bill this year.
- Put your young scholar’s 529 plan on automatic. State-sponsored 529 plans are the best way to save for college, but you have to be careful how the money is invested, particularly as your children approach college age. The best way to invest the money along the way is to choose the “age-based” or “enrollment date” 529-plan investment alternative which is offered by all 529 plans. These options will automatically but gradually change the investment mix as the pupil nears college age. The younger the child is, the higher the percentage of money in the plan that will be invested in stock. As the abecedarian nears college age, the percentage devoted to stock will gradually be reduced, which makes a lot of sense because the last thing you want is to lose a lot of money from a stock market implosion just before tuition bills arrive.
Food for Thought
Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where your backbone ought to be.
-Clementine Paddleford
Money Can Be Funny
His money is twice tainted: taint yours and taint mine.
-Mark Twain
Word of the Week
sesquipedalian – Excessively long words or speeches
Origin: Latin for “a foot and a half long.”
Her sesquipedalian vocabulary isn’t winning her any admirers outside academia.