54% of Aussies passed this quiz – Can you?

Bryce: [00:00:31] It is time to test our financial literacy with a game of Equity Mates HotSeat. Welcome back to Get Started Investing, a podcast where we attempt to answer the most common money and investing questions coming from you, the equity mates community, to help us all become better investors. Now, if you're joining us for the very first time, a massive welcome. We strongly recommend that you scroll up and start at episode one. Now, while we are licensed, we are not aware of your financial circumstances. So any information on this show is for education and entertainment purposes. Any advice is general advice only. But with that said, let's crack on. My name is Bryce and as always, I'm joined by my equity buddy, Ren. How are you? 

Alec: [00:01:09] I'm very good, Bryce. As you said, we are putting our knowledge to the test. More specifically, we are putting the Equity Mates team's knowledge to the test with the Equity Mates HotSeat, all inspired by Canstar who have the Test My Money IQ Financial Literacy Quiz. We came across it online and we were surprised. Just 54% of Australians passed it. 

Bryce: [00:01:37] Yeah, it's a 21 question quiz that covers all areas of financial literacy and yeah, 54% of Aussies passed it. We wanted to put our team to the test to see how they went against the majority of Aussies who have taken it. Now if you want to join in or if you want to take this in your own time, we will include a link to the test in our show notes or you can head to testmymoneyiq.canstar.com.au. 

Alec: [00:02:08] Just google. It's not that many money quizzes out there. One thing that we couldn't figure out is what kind of passes here. The big bold 54% of Aussies pass this quiz. 

Bryce: [00:02:19] Are surely 50%. 

Alec: [00:02:20] 50%. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

Bryce: [00:02:22] So you'd want 11 out of 21.

Alec: [00:02:26] Yeah. That's the first, that's the first question. So they also give a generational breakdown. Gen Z 30% pass the quiz Millennials 47%, then Gen X 60 Boomers 72%, silent generation 58%. So millennials and Gen Z, less than half of the people that took it passed it. Yeah. So if you're listening along at home, we're about to throw to our game of equity mate hot seat copyright attendant. So if you can beat the majority of Australians that didn't pass it. 

Bryce: [00:03:05] That's it. Well, let's get stuck in. 

Alec: [00:03:11] All right, everyone, welcome to Equity Markets HotSeats, the new game show on to get started investing. We have Bryce. Good. Thanks for being here. My co-host. 

Bryce: [00:03:24] Yes. Eddie. 

Alec: [00:03:26] Who's Eddie? 

Bryce: [00:03:26] McGuire? We're both Eddie. 

Alec: [00:03:31] Now, this episode has been inspired by a restaurant. 

Alf: [00:03:35] You know, Eddy Grant. Didn't you?. You give me Grant, then your vibes right now. 

Alec: [00:03:40] Did he cut his mic? 

Bryce: [00:03:40] All right. Well, Alf introduced himself.

Alec: [00:03:45] Hold on. This episode has been inspired by a recent success in the Leske family that Harriet Bryce's wife, went on millionaire hot seat and was successful. Yes. And so we have decided to appropriate the format and bring it to equity mates. We have the Canstar Test My Money IQ Quiz. 54% of Australians have passed this quiz and we're going to say if the equity mates team can go, alright, let's introduce the contestants. We put their names in a random list generator to decide the order. Simon, you're up first. Welcome. 

Simon: [00:04:25] Good to be here. Hello. 

Alec: [00:04:27] Emily. 

Emily: [00:04:28] Hello. 

Alec: [00:04:29] Sascha. All the way from Melbourne. 

Sascha: [00:04:32] Hi. 

Alec: [00:04:33] James. In a studio that is somehow nicer than ours. And then finally, Alf Eddie. 

Alf: [00:04:42] Great to be here. Gran Daniel's number one fan here. 

Alec: [00:04:48] So the rules of the quiz are as follows. We have 21 questions. We're going to go around the team. If they get it right. They're still in the game. If they get it wrong, they're out. Last person standing wins. And we're going to ask you guys to talk us through your thinking as well as we try and work out these questions and try and as a team, do better than the 46% of Australians that didn't pass this quiz for us. Bryce, do you want to keep us up? 

Bryce: [00:05:19] Yeah, let's do it. Simon, you're a homeowner, so this one might fit right into your wheelhouse. Question One. Re-draw and offset are exactly the same thing. A True. B False. C, I don't know. 

Simon: [00:05:35] Re-draw And offset exactly the same thing. Okay, so I read you and offset exactly the same thing. 

Bryce: [00:05:46] You have a mortgage account. Do you have any? 

Simon: [00:05:48] Yeah, I have an offset. So offset is useful because obviously, as the name suggests, if you've got cash in, it deducts that from your total remaining debt that you're paying interest on, but you can access that instantly any time. Redraw I do have as well. Redraw I believe you may need to give you need to get approval I think to access it but to troublesome. I'm stumped by this one but I'm going to go with they're not the same thing. 

Alec: [00:06:25] You're going false. 

Simon: [00:06:26] And then false. 

Alec: [00:06:28] Is correct. 

Bryce: [00:06:29] The answer is correct. Yes. To be more specific, offset accounts of the everyday transactions accounts, as you said, that you can offset your interest, but redraw just gives you access to the extra payments that you've made on top of your mortgage.

Alec: [00:06:42] We forgot to introduce one key rule at the start, but just so everyone's aware, we do have some of the helping features that millionaire hot seat use. Everyone gets one 5050. You can use it any time and you can also phone a friend. But Bryce has stipulated that the only friend you can call is your mum. 

Bryce: [00:07:05] Yes. Or Rowe? 

Alec: [00:07:07] Or Rowe. Okay. If people aren't familiar with Rowe the he's in the get started investing back catalogue. But that was question one. Bryce hit us with question two. 

Bryce: [00:07:16] Who's who's up. 

Emily: [00:07:18] Me.

Bryce: [00:07:18] Em, okay, I can show you this question if you want to say it as well. Jane's mortgage repayment is 1500 per month. Which of the below repayment strategies would give Jane the biggest savings? So just paying 1500 per month. B splitting her repayment into two and paying 750 per fortnight. C Multiplying her monthly repayment by 12, then dividing by 26 and paying 692 per fortnight? Or I don't know. 

Emily: [00:07:53] Okay, Yeah. Numbers are really, really challenging not to say them. I mean look, paying fortnightly is meant to be given that there are 52 weeks across the year that outweighs the number of months. So I would look at either. Paying B or C off. And given that 750 is higher than 692, I'm going to lock in. B grant. 

Alec: [00:08:19] You've absolutely nailed it, correct. And just for people who weren't 100% sure what you meant there Em, you mean that there are 12 months in the year. Yes, and there are 20. So even if you double that, that's 24, but there are 26 fortnights in a year. 

Emily: [00:08:37] Yes. That is maths. I was thinking, you.

Alec: [00:08:40] Nice, nice. All right. So I'm in an Em, Tick, tick. Next up, we've got Sascha. 

Bryce: [00:08:46] All right. If a credit card offers an interest free period of 55 days, that generally means that you don't pay interest on purchases until 55 days after you buy the item. A True. B, false. C, I don't know. [00:09:02][16.3]

Sascha: [00:09:05] I think that. Oh, false, because it's 55 days after your first statements. That you received for that credit card. So if I bought something on the 1st of June, but my credit card statement comes in on the 20th of June, I would have 55 days from when that bill is due. So I'm going to say false. 

Alec: [00:09:29] You're absolutely right. It is False. Yeah.

Sascha: [00:09:31] You bring up A very good, stern face. So I was really concerned. 

Alec: [00:09:37] Yeah, well, trying to show Eddie McGuire that we could take over when he retires. All right, Next up, we've got James. 

Bryce: [00:09:45] Question number four. Chloe has an outstanding credit card debt of $3,000, charging 18% per annum in interest. Her minimum monthly repayments are set at 2% of the closing balance. If she only made the minimum repayments, would she pay off in one year? B pay it off in five years. C pay it off in 25 years. D I don't know.

James: [00:10:17] Okay. Well, obviously not going to do the math, but I'm going to guess that the minimum repayment would take 25 years to pay off. C. 

Alec: [00:10:28] He's absolutely nailed on that one. That one is a real process of elimination. Like it's not going to be one. It's not going to be five. 

Bryce: [00:10:36] He's done it. 

James: [00:10:36] I think my straight finance uni course for that is a bit of a credit card statement in that. 

Alec: [00:10:42] So let's just sum up where we are. All four of the teams so far, four out of four Alf, are you feeling the pressure? 

Alf: [00:10:48] Let's rock it. I'm ready to rock and roll here. Let's go. 

Alec: [00:10:53] Question number five. 

Bryce: [00:10:54] When working out the sum insured for your house, you should base it on A the amount you paid for the profit property, B the amount it would cost to rebuild your home. C the amount you would get if you sold your home or D. I don't know. 

Alf: [00:11:10] Alright, I'm going to rule out D. All right. Can you repeat the question? 

Bryce: [00:11:19] When working out the sum insured for your house, you would base it on what you paid for it, what it would cost to rebuild, or the amount you would get if you sold.

Alf: [00:11:32] Sum insured, what you paid for it, what it would cost to rebuild it, or what you would sell it for. And okay, I guess you're insuring it at a point in time so that if you were if you were going to insure it when you bought it. I'm going to go with B, rebuild it.

Alec: [00:11:57] He's nailed it. 

Bryce: [00:11:58] Nice. Correct.

Alf: [00:11:59] And You guys thought I was worried about that. Let's go now. 

Alec: [00:12:06] And for people wondering why that's the amount. It's because that's the point of injury insurance. 

Bryce: [00:12:16] All right, let's keep moving. Question six. Question six. If you were, you may have to pay, you may have to pay in excess. If you have to make a claim on your car insurance policy, in which of the following instances might an excess apply? A if you have an accident, that's your fault, B. If you have an accident, that someone else's fault, but you don't have their details. C if your car is stolen D. All of the above or E. I don't know. 

Alec: [00:12:54] I'm just going to interrupt here and say we don't have to keep reading out I don't know. 

Simon: [00:13:00] So if you have an accident, it's your fault. Definitely. So A's in. If you have an accident, it's someone else's fault. We don't have that. Details is an interesting one because you think legally they'll be able to be tracked down by the registration. But if there's nothing on camera, you don't have any of that. I think that's going to be you going to be out of pocket for that as well. And if you have it stolen, Can you still pay for the access? That's the one I'm unsure of the most, but I'm going to go with all free, which was option D. 

Bryce: [00:13:32] D All of the above. 

Simon: [00:13:34] All of the Above. 

Alec: [00:13:34] This guy knows this and. 

Bryce: [00:13:35] He's got it. All right, we're on track. Em, number seven. Piper is borrowing money to buy a car. She has the option of taking out a car loan with a balloon payment. What does this mean? A The repayments will be lower, but she will have to pay a lump sum, including interest at the end or the repayments will be lower, but she will have to pay a large upfront deposit.

Emily: [00:14:05] Aha. I've never heard of a balloon payment before. 

Alec: [00:14:08] But that's certainly to do with inflation.

Emily: [00:14:12] I'm picturing, like blowing up a balloon. And so it's like small and then it gets big. So that's my deduction. So it's a big lump sum at the end. Is that A? 

Alec: [00:14:23] You've absolutely nailed It. Well done. Yeah. Balloon payments. I think made famous in the 2008 global financial crisis. A lot of American mortgages had balloon payments. 

Bryce: [00:14:36] Nice.

Alec: [00:14:36] Does this call. 

Bryce: [00:14:37] Equity Mates Team Going strong in question number eight through to Sascha. Buy now pay later. Services are often advertised as interest free, but they may charge fees. Which of the following can apply? A an establishment fee? B Monthly account Keeping fee C Payment Processing Fee D Late fee. E All of the above. F I don't know. 

Sascha: [00:15:07] Okay. Well, I'm going to take my little moment to be smug on my soapbox since I have never used to buy now and pay later. So that is why I don't know what it is. I've never actually encountered this, but on the basis that I don't trust them and that's why I've never used them. I'm going to say all of the above. They're going to slug you with as many fees as possible right. 

Alec: [00:15:30] Now that Sasha. That is correct. And that is why we don't use buy now, pay later. We're eight out of eight. So far. 

Bryce: [00:15:37] Let's keep going. 

Alec: [00:15:37] Feeling pretty good. Next question goes to James. 

Bryce: [00:15:40] James, number nine, Finn was three weeks late in making a payment on his credit card. Can the credit card provider mark it as a late on his credit report? A No, because late repayments are only recorded on mortgages. No. B no. Because he caught up with C no because it was less than 60 days late or D. Yes, because it was more than 14 days late. If you would like me to repeat them, I can. 

James: [00:16:11] Hmm. Tough one. Um. I don't really know, to be honest. Credit ratings aren't my area of expertise, but I'm going to say that I feel like 30 days is a bit tough, So I'm going to say that the answer is no, it won't, because it has to be at least 60 days late. 

Bryce: [00:16:31] I don't know the answer to this, but I would be guessing yes, because it's more than 14 days.

Alec: [00:16:36] That felt like an unnecessary flex for Bryce. But unfortunately, James, Bryce was right and you were not. If your payment is more than 14 days late, it can be marked as late on your credit report. And to be fair, I didn't know this before I did the quiz earlier as well. 

Emily: [00:16:57] James unlucky. Two difficult questions.

Alec: [00:17:01] Yeah. 

Emily: [00:17:01] Yeah, I would have got that wrong. 

James: [00:17:02] Well Bryce is the CEO and I'm just here now. [00:17:05][2.6]

Bryce: [00:17:05] All right. So James, unfortunately you've been relegated. If someone is stuck though, they can turn to you and ask for your assistance for their month. Let's keep moving ten. We're back to Simon.

Alec: [00:17:19] No, no we are back to Alf.

Bryce: [00:17:20] We're back to Alf. Paige has money in a savings account paying 3% per interest and inflation is 6% a year per annum and inflation is 6% a year after one year with the money in the account allowing her to buy more than today, the same as today? Less than today.

Simon: [00:17:44] Can you repeat the question, please?

Bryce: [00:17:46] No. 

Simon: [00:17:46] I got thrown off by, C, interest.

Alec: [00:17:49] Yeah, that's for a savings account paying 3% per annum interest and an interest. So what's been going on here And. Inflation is at 6% a year. 

Simon: [00:18:03] I mean effectively the value of a savings is worth 3% less or thereabouts. So the value she what it is, what are the options. Oh then. 

Bryce: [00:18:15] More than Today or less than today she can buy. 

Alec: [00:18:17] You can buy more than today, the same as today or less Than today. 

Simon: [00:18:20] Effectively less. 

Alec: [00:18:22] That is correct. 

Simon: [00:18:23] thank you.

Bryce: [00:18:24] We are going to take a very quick break. It is heating up. We hope you're going well. How did you go against those two questions that James got? Couple of hard ones there, unfortunately for him. But look, we're going to be right back to find out who wins. And if you want to play along, as we said, the game will be in the show notes. We'll be right back after this. Tyrese has $500 to invest in a company. Brokerage fees are $20 per trade. 

Simon: [00:18:56] Expensive? 

Alec: [00:18:57] It is expensive. 

Bryce: [00:18:58] How much would her investment have to increase for her to break even after she sells 4% or $20, 8% or $40, 10% or $50? 

Simon: [00:19:13] So she is going to pay brokerage on both ends, buy and sell. 

Bryce: [00:19:17] After she sells? Yes. 

Simon: [00:19:20] So she pays 20 bucks to buy, 20 bucks to sell. So she's going to need to invest. What's the options again?

Bryce: [00:19:27] 4% or $20? 8% or $40? 10% or $50. 

Simon: [00:19:35] So she's asking for 10% because she's going to get over it. 

Bryce: [00:19:41] Break even to break. 

Simon: [00:19:42] To break even. Yeah, because she's going to need to pay 40 bucks brokerage. 20 bucks is going to come off of the stock. So she's going to have a $40 investment for that to then go up to another 20, 40 bucks. You have to cut 40 bucks, which is going to be on 40. For was the 40 bucks. 40 bucks offering.

Bryce: [00:20:10] 8%.

Simon: [00:20:10] 8% or $40. In a long winded answer. 

Bryce: [00:20:15] That was confusing to

Alec: [00:20:19] Anyone for that matter.

Bryce: [00:20:20] But the answer is correct. 

Alec: [00:20:22] You go to the right answer. For 80, then up 8%. Then another. 20. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Bryce: [00:20:29] She spends $40 in brokerage. In other words. Yeah, that is a lot. It's the moral of the story. 

Alec: [00:20:34] 20 bucks in brokerage. Alf is actually editing a video of the cheapest brokerage in Australia at the moment. So head over to our Instagram and we'll probably be out. 

Alf: [00:20:43] Look, 8/% on your investment. That's it. That's good. We're lacking in any sort of let's, let's call it a year. I mean, Simon prefers the short term trading windows. He's a bit of a. Sorry, I'm going to move on. I'm going off. All right. I'm sorry. Equity Mates. I've gone off on a bit of a tangent. Now let's go back to the quiz. Over to you, Bryce. 

Bryce: [00:21:05] Thank you. Thank you. Where you are now, we've got Em. If an investment has returned 10% over the past 12 months, is that a guarantee that it will do well in the future? Yes. No.

Emily: [00:21:20] There's a lot of disclaimers in your podcasts about this. It is not an indication that it will do well in the future.

Bryce: [00:21:27] Nice. Fast performance is no indication of future performance. 

Alec: [00:21:30] I've just got to say, listen to that question and I think about the question that we threw to James. 

Bryce: [00:21:36] James is shaking his head. 

Emily: [00:21:38] I'll take it. 

Bryce: [00:21:40] Right now we're throwing to Sascha. Question 13 The super guarantee is the minimum percentage of earnings. An employee sorry, an employer needs to pay into an employee's super fund. How much is that currently? Is it 9.5%? 10%, 10.5% or 11%? 

Sascha: [00:22:03] I believe it's 10.5%.

Alec: [00:22:06] You believe, correct, Sascha? Well done. 

Sascha: [00:22:09] Yes. Good. Okay.

Bryce: [00:22:11] For a bonus point, what's it going to get to? 

Simon: [00:22:15] 12

Sascha: [00:22:15] 12

Bryce: [00:22:16] Correct. Bonus point

Simon: [00:22:18] I got it first. 

Alec: [00:22:24] Simon, As a bonus, you now get an extra lifeline. You can also call either Bryce or my mum as your final friend. 

Alec: [00:22:30] All right. 

Bryce: [00:22:31] Simon, let's go to number 14. The tax free threshold in Australia. 

Alec: [00:22:35] Is no, do some cutting Alf. I know you want to do it. 

Bryce: [00:22:41] Alf, Sorry. The tax Free.

Alf: [00:22:42] I know, I know. I keep going off on tangents to keep it off. Chris, come on mate. 

Bryce: [00:22:48] Alf. The tax free threshold in Australia is $18,200. What does that mean? 

Alf: [00:22:57] Okay, so it means income earned up to that point you pay zero tax on. 

Bryce: [00:23:03] Correct.

Alec: [00:23:04] Nice. We didn't even need to give you the options. 

Bryce: [00:23:06] Yeah.

Alf: [00:23:07] Thanks very much.

Bryce: [00:23:11] Simon.

Alec: [00:23:12] All right, 21. This is crunch time for you guys. So far. There's four of you in the running for the grand prize and six questions remaining. 

Bryce: [00:23:21] All right. 15. Paul gets a call from his Internet service provider saying that customer records were wiped due to a technical error and they need him to provide a few personal details. Should Paul A give them the information they've requested, B ask a few more questions to try to confirm the call is legitimate. C not provide any details and call the organisation in question directly to check. 

Simon: [00:23:48] C.

Alec: [00:23:49] I mean, come on, that's easy. Next question. 

Bryce: [00:23:53] Straight Across to Em. Carl is shopping around for a new energy plan and notices one provider is offering 22% off the reference default price. [00:24:02][8.9]

Emily: [00:24:03] Good deal. 

Bryce: [00:24:04] This is the biggest discount he has seen advertised. Does this automatically make it the cheapest option? Yes or no?

Emily: [00:24:11] It could be too good to be true. I would keep shopping around, so I'm going to say no, it's not going to be the cheapest. [00:24:17][6.2]

Alec: [00:24:19] you're absolutely right. And for people shopping around for energy bills at the moment, the two reasons why that is the case, even if it is the biggest discount one, the reference default price is based on a scenario that may not reflect your household's energy usage. And secondly, there are generally conditions attached to that, i.e. assuming that you pay on time and stuff like that. 

Bryce: [00:24:40] Nice. Good little tidbit there from Ren. 

Alec: [00:24:44] That's a good time to learn.

Bryce: [00:24:47] Sascha Number 17. Isabel only turns on the dishwasher in the middle of the night. Because she. Thinks it would save her money on electricity. Is that true? Yes. If she's on a single rate tariff. Yes. If she is on a time of use tariff. No.

Sascha: [00:25:09] Well, I just checked my electricity bill because I was looking at my carbon footprint and I know I'm on a off peak and peak electricity structure with my bill. I don't know why Isabel is deciding to interrupt her sleeping patterns to wake up and do her dishwasher. Seems a bit weird, but I'm not convinced about that. I know the answer to this. I want to take a stab in the dark and be prepared to join James in the outer sanctum. And I'm going to say B, the time of use tariff does apply.

Alec: [00:25:46] You are correct. It's the right type of use. Rights would generally be cheaper between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., but the off peak times can vary between states and territories. So yeah, if you want to save some electricity. 

Bryce: [00:26:03] Set the timer on the dishwasher. 

Alec: [00:26:05] Well. I mean, just go to bed after 10:00. 

Bryce: [00:26:09] Yeah. Set the timer.

Alec: [00:26:11] I guess your dishwasher has a timer.

Bryce: [00:26:12] Didn't have a dishwasher. 

Alec: [00:26:12] Oh, yeah. 

Bryce: [00:26:14] All right. Number 18, we are back to Simon.

Simon: [00:26:19] Oh, my goodness gracious me.

Emily: [00:26:21] Let's just cut him out. 

Bryce: [00:26:24] Alf, 18. Let's go. Come on. Susan and her partner are shopping around for an NBN plan. Yeah, they noticed the plans are called NBN 25, NBN 50, NBN 100, etc.. To be clear, that's not the name of the planets NBN 100, etc.. 

Alec: [00:26:40] Bryce, out of the gate.

Alf: [00:26:42] Sorry, who is going on the tangents now? 

Bryce: [00:26:44] So what do I do. These numbers mean? 

Alec: [00:26:48] It's overpaid because. 

Alec: [00:26:52] Okay. Well, I can tell you. Yeah. Tell us with the caveat. I'm sure I get it. So I'm pretty sure it's the speed. It's like the expected speeds. 25 megabytes per second, I think, is the unit they use. Yeah. And you pay more for faster speeds, obviously. Yeah. 

Alec: [00:27:09] I mean, that's not specific enough here. So why don't you. 

Bryce: [00:27:13] I think he used the word expected, which is where we need to get to. I think the breakdown is at the theoretical peak download or the peak download you are guaranteed. 

Alec: [00:27:22] Or the peak at the theoretical peak upload or the peak upload speed that you guaranteed. And then the final option is the amount of data included in the plan. But I think.

Alf: [00:27:32] It's not data. Theoretical peak.

Bryce: [00:27:37] Download or upload. 

Alf: [00:27:39] Download. Correct.

Alec: [00:27:40] He's nailed it. 

Bryce: [00:27:41] Alrighty. We only have three to go across to Simon. Jared wants to upgrade a new smartphone but isn't sure if he should buy it outright, outright and choose a SIM separately or get the phone on a plan with a major telco. Generally, is he likely to have to pay more for the phone if he opts to combine it with a plan, yes or no? 

Simon: [00:28:08] Well, from my personal experience, buying the handset and getting your own SIM definitely has saved me money. So I'm going to say that you would pay more if you go have a contract where you're buying a plan and a phone. 

Bryce: [00:28:22] To be. 

Alec: [00:28:24] For the answer. 

Alec: [00:28:25] So yeah, so. 

Simon: [00:28:26] What is the options again? 

Emily: [00:28:27] Can I take it over. 

Alec: [00:28:28] sure. 

Bryce: [00:28:29] If you get it wrong, you're out. 

Emily: [00:28:30] Yeah, but I think it was the wording of the question. Yes, correct. And it was the mobile itself, because generally the package together is more expensive because you're usually purchased the mobile first. But the question was a bit of the listening exercise. 

Bryce: [00:28:46] So what's the answer I have? Answer? It was generally is he likely to have to pay. Is he likely to have to pay more for the phone? 

Simon: [00:28:55] Pay more for the phone? 

Bryce: [00:28:56] Yeah. Simon, what are you answering?

Alec: [00:28:58] No, got.

Simon: [00:29:00] To give me the question. Again. 

Bryce: [00:29:01] You said yes. You're out. Your answer and the answer I would say is no. 

Alec: [00:29:06] So Em nailed it that generally the question was generally, is he likely to have to pay more for the phone? And according to Canstar, at least you'll usually pay the same amount for a new phone if you purchased it outright, as you would for the same phone on a plan from a major telco. Buying your phone on a plan simply means you'll spread the full cost over 12, 24 or 36 months.

Simon: [00:29:27] Didn't even know telcos offer phones on a plan without service.

Bryce: [00:29:31] And it comes with the service. But you don't pay more for the phone over the life of the plan.

Simon: [00:29:36] But are you going to pay more for the overall package? 

Bryce: [00:29:38] That wasn't the question because a lot of people's misconception is, oh, it's better to buy it outright because you're paying more for the physical phone at the end of the life of the plan. You're not. They're just saying the phone, if you're to buy it outright, 800 bucks, we're going to divide that by three years. That's what you're going to pay. Then you pay 50 bucks a month for it. So, yeah, the absolute number is more. But for the physical phone, you're not paying any.

Simon: [00:30:02] Interesting. 

Bryce: [00:30:02] Yeah. 

Emily: [00:30:03] So, guys, I'm here to win and. 

Alec: [00:30:07] Love this Em. 

Emily: [00:30:08] and if there are two questions left, I might pass because I've just answered that one hoping that one of the others pass. So I take out the 21st question. 

Alec: [00:30:20] Do you think we change the whole rules by. 

Bryce: [00:30:24] Passing because we're doing one on one?

Alec: [00:30:27] Why don't we just say the last two questions for the first buzzer. 

Sascha: [00:30:33] All right. Oh, nah.

Alec: [00:30:34] I'm actually still here and. Throwing down the gauntlet. She says she wants to win. So two more.

Bryce: [00:30:39] Two more questions to go. We've got Alf and Sascha still in play. redemption. Round two. James and Simon on the last question. 

Alec: [00:30:47] No, just make a buzzing sound and if it's too loud or will just edit it.

Bryce: [00:30:53] Question 21 Donna is.

Alec: [00:30:54] Looking at a question.

Alf: [00:30:55] Quick, quick question. If you buzz in, can you call Rowe? 

Bryce: [00:31:00] Oh, yes, if you want to. 20 Donna is looking for a new SIM only mobile plan offering about 20 gigabytes of data a month, but she occasionally uses more than that in a month. Which of the below hypothetical plans would give her the best value but help her avoid Bill shock I a $30 prepaid plan with 20 gigs of data over a 30 day expiry period b a monthly $30 postpaid plan with 20 gigs of data with no excess data charges or d a monthly $40 postpaid plan with 25 c of data just to be safe. 

Alec: [00:31:50] Sascha's buzzer. 

Sascha: [00:31:52] I'm going to say a, because even if she occasionally uses over 20 gig, the phone will give her a warning that she needs to top up and then she'll be able to find like a top up in smaller increments and won't have Bill shock the other two. If she goes significantly over and misses a warning like those fees could be really significant. 

Alec: [00:32:17] Sascha I'm going to say you're wrong. And the reason why you're wrong is because you've just introduced a completely new feature for one of them, which is the warning that you're going over to Donna's. But all three of those could have warnings that you going over your data limits. 

Sascha: [00:32:33] Well, true, but that is how I manage my phone usage. 

Alec: [00:32:36] Okay, So.

Sascha: [00:32:38] I've. Felt like I was buying into that Donna's patterns there.

Alec: [00:32:42] All right. I'm going to. We've got two contestants. Let's give them a chance to answer it. Do you want to repeat it? 

Alf: [00:32:49] Yes, please. 

Bryce: [00:32:50] Donna is looking for a new SIM only mobile plan, offering about 20 gigs of data a month because she occasionally uses more than that in a month. Which of the below hypothetical plans would give her the best value but help her avoid bill shock? Excluding the one that Sasha just said. Because we know that's wrong. The first is a monthly $30 postpaid plan with 20 gigs of data with no excess starter charges or a monthly $40 post. 

Alf: [00:33:18] It's got to be that one, right B? 

Bryce: [00:33:19] He's looking in B. 

Alec: [00:33:22] And he's Correct. 

Bryce: [00:33:23] And he's correct. Okay, so he's still got Alf and Em in with one question to go. BUZZER in Buzzing in for glory. Question 21 out of 21 When shopping for groceries, what's the most effective way to make sure you are getting the best price? A Buy the biggest item or quantity because it usually is because it's usually better value. B buy the smallest item or quantity because it's cheaper so you aren't spending as much. C Buy the products that has the lowest unit price. 

Emily: [00:33:55] Buzz, that one.

Alec: [00:33:57] And just putting in just to close in say, the fall, just to. Close it out. So people are listening if they want to play along given the fourth. 

Bryce: [00:34:03] The fourth is to buy the item that's special if applicable. 

Alec: [00:34:07] So you've gone with four. He's gone. 

Emily: [00:34:10] I'm keeping my answer. 

Bryce: [00:34:12] So you've gone by the products that have the lowest unit price. Can you give us an example of what that would be like?

Emily: [00:34:18] I like that. But I know you're buying your milk and it's so many litres to the scent and you would look regardless of what the actual package of the milk was, whether you would buy like a one litre or like a 500 mils later. I don't drink cow milk, so I Don't really know. 

Bryce: [00:34:34] Yes. So you're comparing it to $0.06 per litre. 

Alf: [00:34:39] Wait, so what we C again. 

Bryce: [00:34:42] Buy The products that have the lowest unit price. 

Alec: [00:34:44] Unit price. Yeah. But what if you want to say like. Okay. Okay. Sorry. Oh, yeah. Per gram. Yeah. I thought I understood that as like cost per unit as in like. 

Bryce: [00:34:55] I know. Yeah. Like one unit. 

Alec: [00:34:57] Of a bottle of milk.

Bryce: [00:34:58] One one.

Alec: [00:34:59] SKU. Yeah. All back and so. 

Bryce: [00:35:01] And it's gone for by the products that has the lowest unit price. Ren drum roll please. 

Alec: [00:35:07] Em is correct. 

Bryce: [00:35:07] And is correct. So congratulations to the Equity Mates Team. We have finished the quiz with a 21 out of 20 out of 19.

Alec: [00:35:16] Well, actually to Em save Simon.

Bryce: [00:35:18] 20 out of 21. Guys, how do you think? What do you think of that? That was the Canstar financial literacy quiz test my money IQ 54% of Aussies passed the quiz. 

Alf: [00:35:32] It was a bit trickier than expected. I got to say. There are a few brain busters in there. I think it helps looking at the numbers in some of the questions, but I'm interested to actually know how genuine they are when compared to the team. 

Alec: [00:35:43] I got 20 out of 21 and the one that I got wrong so stupid was the mortgage repayments one, the one that Em got right. 26 fortnights 

Bryce: [00:35:55] Nice. 

Alec: [00:35:56] Well not well applied because I got wrong. 

Alec: [00:35:58] All right.

Alec: [00:35:59] What did you get?

Bryce: [00:36:00] I didn't do it. I just got. 100% that. I Was editing on the flyer.

Simon: [00:36:08] I think some of them were more tricky than expected. Some of them were very obvious. Still not happy about that mobile trick question. 

Emily: [00:36:16] I could tell Simon.

Bryce: [00:36:19] Anyway, we will provide the link to the quiz in the show notes. So if you want to have a crack yourself, even though we've literally just done it with all the answers. You can you can you can do it with your. Friends, perhaps on the weekend. We'll put the link in the show notes. We're in. Great to see that our team did well. Definitely past 20 out of 21. 

Alec: [00:36:41] Yeah, that was great. Simon is still spewing that. He got stumped by that trick question. But I think that was a great little snapshot of some of the key areas of financial literacy, some that we probably don't speak a lot about comparing NBN and mobile phone plans. The difference between an offset and a redraw account is because we just don't own a house. No. Yeah. But if anyone has any other money, quizzes out there will drag the team back in and make them compete again. If you want to keep learning. If you're new to your investing journey or you just want a refresher on the basics, don't forget to subscribe to our Get Started Investing email.

Bryce: [00:37:18] Yes, head to the link in the show notes. Very simple. Sign up and we'll send you one email each week that'll keep you going on your investing journey. So make sure you stay connected with the community with the Get Started Investing newsletter, but Ren we'll leave it there and pick it up next week. 

Alec: [00:37:32] Sounds good.