Have you ever played the icebreaker game, “Two Truths, One Lie?” 

As far as icebreakers go, this is a good one and eye opening! In fact, there is a current game show with the premise.

This is how it works:

Everyone goes around the room and says three statements. Two are true, and one is false. Today, let’s play with a couple of different hot topics in finance and see if you can spot the lie.

Mortgages

1. If you have no FICO score, you can still get a mortgage
2. Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) does not protect me (the buyer)
3. As a rule of thumb, you should be 80 or older in order to get a reverse mortgage

Credit Cards

1. Buying with credit makes us feel the same as buying with cash
2. Credit cards were invented in 1950
3. Credit cards are considered unsecured debt

Estate Planning

1. Over 50% of Americans have no estate plan, no will and no medical directives
2. Dying without a will is known as “an intestinal death”
3. Not everyone needs to hide their money from the “death tax”

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Mortgages

1. If you have no FICO score, you can still get a mortgage
   True; it is a lot easier with a credit history, but manual underwriting is an option
2. Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) does not protect me (the buyer)
   True, PMI protects the lender from you (the buyer) not ponying up
3. As a rule of thumb, you should be 80 or older in order to get a reverse mortgage
   False, it’s age 62…still old, though.

Credit Cards

1. Buying with credit makes us feel the same as buying with cash
   False; with credit cards, we focus on benefits and cash makes us focus on cost
2. Credit cards were invented in 1950
   True; the first credit card (as it is known today) was created in 1950 with the Diner Club card
3. Credit cards are considered unsecured debt
   True; unsecured debt means that they can’t come get your stuff (unlike a mortgage or car loan, which are secured)

Estate Planning

1. Over 50% of Americans have no estate plan, no will and no medical directives
   True; what is your estate plan?
2. Dying without a will is known as “an intestinal death”
   False; an estate would be “intestate” and has nothing to do with death-by-Taco-Bell
3. Not everyone needs to hide their money from the “death tax”
   True; only estates worth more than $5.25M (for 2013) need to be thinking about estate taxes

Want to learn more fun finance facts? Go to DanHinzCoaching.com, and follow me on Twitter and Facebook.

As a financial coach, I am focused on increasing the financial literacy of Bay County and Florida. If you, or someone you know, would like to get out of debt, avoid bankruptcy, or become more responsible with money, contact me for more information on personal coaching, classes, and seminars.