Chapter 1
Improving Your Financial Literacy
In This Chapter
Looking at what your parents and others taught you about money
Questioning reliability and objectivity
Overcoming real and imagined barriers to financial success
A recent Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy (CEEL) financial literacy survey showed that Americans lack basic math and personal finance skills. The national survey, conducted just before the holiday shopping season, found that an overwhelming number of Americans are unable to answer basic financial literacy questions. For example, the survey results revealed the following:
Sixty-five percent answered incorrectly when asked how many reindeer would remain if Santa had to lay off 25 percent of his eight reindeer because of the bad economy.
Seventy-five percent of people thought that it would take 15 years or less to pay off $5,000 in Christmas presents if they made the minimum payment on their credit card. In reality, it would take 46 years to pay off ...
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