Financial IQ Test Australia 2026: Measure Your Financial

Lusardi-Mitchell created the global standard. In Australia: 21% of adults can answer all three Big Three questions correctly according to OECD/INFE data — better than US (30%) ranking but room to grow.

Why financial IQ matters

People with high financial IQ: - 3.2x more likely to have emergency fund - 4.7x more wealth by 50 - 68% less debt overload - 2.4x better investment decisions

The 10 essential concepts (Australian context)

1. Compound interest
2. Inflation
3. Diversification
4. RBA cash rate
5. Super, salary sacrifice, SMSF
6. Debt overload (DSR)
7. ETFs (VAS, VGS, VDHG)
8. Credit reporting (Equifax, Illion)
9. Credit cards minimum payment trap
10. Rule of 25

The 3 zones

Basic IQ (52%) | Intermediate IQ (27%) | Advanced IQ (21%)

Compound interest

Australian example: AUD 10,000 at 7% for 30 years: - Simple interest: AUD 31,000 - Compound interest: AUD 76,123

Difference: AUD 45,123. Time beats amount.

How to raise your IQ in 90 days

Month 1: Foundations

• Read "The Barefoot Investor" by Scott Pape
• Subscribe Equity Mates podcast
• Strong Money Australia blog

Month 2: Application

• Calculate DSR
• Calculate FI number
• Audit subscription leaks

Month 3: Deepening

• Open ETF brokerage (CommSec, Pearler, Stake)
• Understand Super salary sacrifice
• Read Aussie Firebug

Resources

• ASIC MoneySmart
• ATO super calculator
• RBA education

Based on Lusardi-Mitchell + OECD/INFE Australia data.