courses › Finance & Money

Card interest, savings goals, emergency funds, employer matches, and which debt to pay first.

Pen and paper is fine · no calculator needed why?

Learn first (about 3 minutes)

Opens at level 24.

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Builds on: Money Basics (not open yet)

skills · practice stats

From rounds of this course only: box, review and trial answers are left out. Once a skill has 40 tries, it compares your first 20 tries with your last 20.

• Credit card interest this month par 18 s not tried yet

  worked example

  Assume a credit card charges an 18% annual rate, applied each month as one-twelfth of that rate on the balance. This month's balance is $3,800. What is this month's interest?

  Answer: $57.00

  1. Monthly rate = 18% ÷ 12 = 1.5%.
  2. $3,800 × 0.015 = $57.

• Months to a savings goal par 16 s not tried yet

  worked example

  You have $4,800 saved and want $6,000. You add $300 at the end of each month (ignore interest). After how many months do you first have at least $6,000?

  Answer: 4

  1. Gap = $6,000 − $4,800 = $1,200.
  2. $1,200 ÷ $300 = 4, so it takes 4 whole months.

• Emergency fund months par 11 s not tried yet

  worked example

  You have $19,700 saved and spend $9,200 a month. How many full months of expenses does it cover?

  Answer: 2

  1. $19,700 ÷ $9,200 ≈ 2.14, which covers 2 full months.

• Employer match par 22 s not tried yet

  worked example

  Your salary is $59,000. Assume your employer adds $1 for every dollar you contribute, on contributions up to 3% of salary. You contribute 1% of your salary. How much does the employer add per year?

  Answer: $590.00

  1. Your 1% is within the 3% cap, so all of it is matched: $59,000 × 0.01 = $590.
  2. Dollar for dollar, the employer adds $590 a year.

• Which debt first? par 17 s not tried yet

  worked example

  You pay the minimum on every debt and have $750 extra each month. The rates are fixed annual rates. To pay the least total interest, which debt should get the extra payment first?

  1. Student loan at 8% ($29,000)
  2. Credit card at 27% ($4,000)
  3. Car loan at 6% ($24,000)
  4. Store card at 20% ($3,000)

  Answer: Credit card at 27% ($4,000)

  1. An extra dollar saves the most interest where the rate is highest: the credit card at 27%.
  2. Paying off the smallest balance first can feel good, but it costs more.

rest ladder

Win 3 of your last 4 rounds and the course rests. A win is 90% right, within 2× the round's par. Pass the review when it comes back and the next rest is longer.

1. 1 day
2. 3 days
3. 7 days
4. 14 days
5. 30 days
6. 60 days
7. mastered · every 90 days

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