The Volokh Conspiracy

While riding the Metro the other day I saw an ad for the website econ4u.org, which provides information on personal financial literacy.

The form of the ad is what caught my eye--it had a quiz and this was the question:

If faced with an unexpected cash need, which of these options will typically cost the most?

Bounce a check Get a short-term payday loan Initiate a wire transfer Pay credit card late fee

Please select an answer.

Those who take the quiz the answer correct 27% of the time. Regular readers here probably know the answer:

(show)

Here's the explanation:

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The most expensive of these options is usually a bounced check. While a typical short-term payday loan or Western Union wire transfer for $100 costs around $15, and a credit card late fee is generally around $29, the fees and penalties for a bounced check often exceed $50.
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The site is sponsored by The Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy, which I don't know anything about. But the site looks like it has some useful personal finance information.

	[Todd Zywicki, March 13, 2009 at 10:46am] Trackbacks Econ4u.org: While riding the Metro the other day I saw an ad for the website econ4u.org, which provides information on personal financial literacy. The form of the ad is what caught my eye--it had a quiz and this was the question: If faced with an unexpected cash need, which of these options will typically cost the most? Bounce a check Get a short-term payday loan Initiate a wire transfer Pay credit card late fee Please select an answer. Those who take the quiz the answer correct 27% of the time. Regular readers here probably know the answer: (show) Bounce a check (hide) . Here's the explanation: (show) The most expensive of these options is usually a bounced check. While a typical short-term payday loan or Western Union wire transfer for $100 costs around $15, and a credit card late fee is generally around $29, the fees and penalties for a bounced check often exceed $50. (hide) (hide) The site is sponsored by The Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy, which I don't know anything about. But the site looks like it has some useful personal finance information.