LifeSmarts Questions - Personal Finance, Consumer Rights, Technology, Health & Safety, Environment

The amount of credit you are authorized to use by a creditor is known as your:

Credit limit

A person or company hired by a creditor to collect the balance due on overdue accounts is called a:

Debt collector; collection agency

The money you have to spend or save as you wish, after taxes and other deductions have been withheld from your gross pay, is called:

Disposable income

The current market value of a house, minus the outstanding mortgage balance owed on that house, is better known as:

Equity

This group can represent workers at the bargaining table with employers:

Union

Money paid on a loan, for the privilege of credit, is the:

Interest

A business owned by a group of stockholders is called a:

Corporation

A percentage of money paid to a promoter when an invention sells is known as:

Royalties

Which country’s currency is the Yen?

Japan

A deduction on your pay stub to FICA means you are paying:

Social Security

If your credit card is lost or stolen, under federal law you are only responsible for charges up to:

$50

Property offered by a consumer to secure a loan is known as:

Collateral

The regular payments you make to own an insurance policy are known as:

Premiums

If a credit card holder has not made payments according to the terms of the cardholder agreement, the person is said to be in:

Default

Cash put in the care of a third party is said to be held in:

Escrow

With this method of payment, your salary goes from your employer to your bank and you never touch your paycheck.

Direct deposit

You co-sign a loan for your friend. If your friend cannot pay off the loan, what happens?

You are responsible for paying off the loan

A not-for-profit financial institution owned by its members is called a:

Credit union

You create this document in order to specify how your assets should be divided up after your death.

Will

You read this document before deciding whether or not to invest in a certain mutual fund.

Prospectus

You complete this form so that your employer withholds the correct amount of tax from your future paychecks.

W-4

Financial assistance for college expenses that does not need to be repaid is called a:

Grant

Saving some portion of your pay before paying fixed and flexible expenses is known as:

PYF; Pay Yourself First

Public services such as parks and police officers are generally funded by:

Taxes

Swiping this takes money directly from your personal bank account.

Debit card

By law, most people must file their personal income taxes by what date in the following year?

April 15

A contract with a company for insurance is called a?

Policy

A professionally-managed investment that pools the money of many investors to trade in investments is known as what kind of fund?

Mutual fund

To purchase an item from an online auction site, what must you do?

Place a bid; place the highest bid

The acronym NYSE is used to describe this:

New York Stock Exchange

In the US, what level of government has the power to print money?

Federal

At what temperature Fahrenheit does water freeze?

32 degrees

This federal agency goes by the acronym FDIC:

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

The US Armed Forces include five branches. Name two of them:

Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard

What federal agency offers detailed guidelines to help companies write clear and legal warranties?

FTC; Federal Trade Commission

Trademark protection lasts how long?

Forever

You see a news report that ABC Company is “reorganizing.” What does this mean?

Filing for bankruptcy

The act of creating a false document or writing a false signature for an illegal benefit is what crime?

Forgery

A business that has complete control of the market for a product or service is called a:

Monopoly

Under the metric system, meters refer to distance and grams refer to:

Weight

Stealing merchandise from a store is known as:

Shoplifting

Each automobile has a unique VIN. VIN is an acronym for:

Vehicle Identification Number

Who sets the return policies offered by stores?

The stores; the owners

A lawsuit begun by one or more persons on behalf of a larger group of similarly affected people is called a:

Class action

Turmoil in the Mideast causes an oil shortage. What will this do to prices for gasoline in the US?

Prices will go up

You need to buy a new refrigerator, but first you look at several alternatives to make sure you get the best price. What is this process called?

Comparison shopping

When one product is advertised with the intent to sell the consumer a more expensive model, this is called:

Bait and switch

To whom do wholesalers sell goods?

Retailers

What is prepaid plastic to spend at a specified store called?

Gift card

This rule allows you to cancel some types of purchases during a 3-day period.

Cooling Off Rule

You can check this agency, called the BBB, for a business’ consumer complaint record:

Better Business Bureau

Which federal agency is charged with coming to the public’s aid in times of disaster?

FEMA; Federal Emergency Management Agency

If the average price of goods and services is increasing, this is known as:

Inflation

What is the symbol, carried by most packaged items for sale, that can be scanned at the cash register?

UPC; Universal Product Code; bar code

A person who purchases or uses a product or service is called a what?

Consumer; customer

The communication of product information to the consumer, in order to increase buying demand, is commonly called:

Advertising

A tariff is imposed on what type of good?

Imported goods

After the US census is taken, some states must redraw their legislative district boundaries to reflect population shifts. What is this called?

Redistricting

Retailers collect sales taxes and pass it on to this entity:

State government

A measure of a nation’s productivity and economic progress is the GDP. What does GDP stand for?

Gross Domestic Product