ast week readers were presented with a Financial Literacy Quiz with an added inducement of a prize, a book on money and investing. All questions were taken from articles written over the summer on all financial matters that relate to achieving financial success. I originally conceived the idea of trying this experiment after extensive reading on the issues of financial literacy and the conclusion of many studies that stated statistically, "an individual's level of financial success is directly related to his/her level of financial literacy."

Guess what the participation rate for the financial literacy quiz was? I put this question to one of my editors today. Her answer: 300 responses. Regrettably, the tally is significantly different.

As of this article deadline, Wednesday September 20, 2006, three, count them, 3 fearless individuals waded through those questions and sent in their answers. No matter what their scores turn out to be (but I bet they do well) , these contest participants will receive a copy of this internationally acclaimed book and my profound respect.

What do these low results mean for the rest of the reader population? I need your feed back as it could be any number of single issues, or a combination thereof. Let's try this group on for size.

1. My articles have become (and I have become) boring, so there was just no interest on your part.

2. You just did not want to take the time required out of your busy schedule to try.

3. The prize was not worthy of the effort expended.

4. You are happy with your entire financial life and investment experiences, so it was not necessary.

5. The topics presented are not relevant to your current lifestyle.

6. You felt too embarrassed to try, because failing makes you feel uncomfortable.

7. It didn't look like the least bit of fun ? the prize should have been a large bottle of wine.

8. You'd rather pay someone to figure this all out for you!

9. You didn't need to take the quiz because you are financially literate!

And there you have it. I'm looking forward to being enlightened. It is always constructive to shake things up a bit, try new ideas, and assess the results. I will have to try harder to entertain while imparting additional nuggets of financial knowledge that this article audience will find useful and not just ornamental.

Another thought on having to deal with personal finances. After 20 years of caring for, and working with clients, here is what I have observed.

We make financial choices that tend to be the same as our peer groups because there is comfort in crowds, even when investments lose money.

This is also so because there is anxiety and uncertainty in going it alone.

We second guess ourselves all the time.

We know we miss opportunities, but because we work too hard and too many hours, we often save money just hoping it ends up in the right place

Trusting advisor relationships have become more crucial than ever

A friend and colleague who I respect and admire had a very different client care philosophy than I did. He always used to say to me, "Don't give the client a choice, tell them what they need and then implement it for them!" I would resist, stating that, "Clients want to have choices, they want to be involved in the investing process, they want to feel that they are respected for their ideas and are contributing to the overall investment philosophy." I felt emphatically, that ultimately my clients needed to make their own decisions. But given the demands of today's economic society, I am beginning to think that his way may not be so far fetched.

Financial literacy is an issue today. I will continue to promote learning about finances to anyone that is interested in advancing their financial education.

In a well written publication from the UK more than seven years ago by Sir Claus Moser's Report Improving Literacy and Numeracy: A Fresh Start published by the Department for Education and Employment in February 1999) describes the very low levels of literacy and numeracy in the United Kingdom.

The conclusion

The UK statistics were alarming then, hopefully they have improved since. One in five UK adults in 1999 had a lower level of literacy than is expected of an 11 year old. One in three UK adults could not calculate the area of a room that is 21 by 14 feet even with the aide of a calculator.

The failure rate seems far worse in Britain than in other comparable countries. On the basis of a common set of questions, 23% of adults in the UK have low literacy and low numeracy skills. The equivalent figure in Germany, for example, was 7% and in Canada 17%. Indeed, virtually every developed country had, at the time of the Moser Report a lower innumeracy and illiteracy figure than the UK.

According to the report, consumers are:

more likely to buy the right product, giving them greater benefits than would otherwise be the case;

less likely to be scammed because they can compare appropriate products and salesmen which are not right for them;

likely to have a better lifestyle.

less likely to have arrears on their rent or mortgage, and more likely to have the right savings and retirement products and to have the right mechanisms for paying their bills on time.

How do you know if you are financially literate?

If you have the ability to understand :

basic number computations including compound interest

your employee benefit package including your medical insurance and disability options

choices between types of mortgage and payment options

choices between various annuity options in pension choices

optimum investment allocations for your lifestyle stages

the differences between savings and leveraging against interest rates

interest rates and payment options on credit card debt

how to finance and save for a child's schooling and university education

the difference between term life insurance, whole life insurance and group life benefits

how executing a will affects the disposition of your estate

how the titling of your assets passes control to others

why investing in capital markets can diversify your portfolio and other asset holdings