Will our festive quiz knock the stuffing out of you?

1. How much does a colour television licence cost?

(a) 95.50

(b) 145.50

2. What does a typical family pay for gas and electricity each year?

(a) 489

(b) 989

(d) 1,449

3. What colour is the Scottish 50 pound note?

(a) Blue

(b) Green

4. You start paying 40 per cent tax when you earn how much?

(a) 28,500

(b) 37,400

(d) 150,000

5. What is the minimum legal tyre tread depth?

(a) 1.6mm

(b) 1.65mm

(d) 1.75mm

6. How much is the basic state pension?

(a) 75

(b) 97.95

(d) 150.25

7. The personal tax allowance is currently 6,475. This is the amount you can earn before paying tax. How much will this increase in the new tax year, starting April?

(a) Zero

(b) By inflation

(d) 1,000

8. Your brother buys you a jumper which is three sizes too big and the wrong colour. You want to return it and get the money back. What do you have the legal right to demand?

(a) An exchange for the same item, but of a different size or colour

(b) Exchange of something else to the same value

(d) A credit note

9. Elsie Inglis appears on Clydesdale Bank notes. Who was she?

(a) An anti-slavery campaigner

(b) The last witch to be burned in Scotland

(d) A migrant ship during the Highland Clearances

10. At present, if your bank or building society goes bust the first 50,000 is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. From January, the protection regime is changing. How much compensation can you claim in future?

(a) 100,000

(b) 75,000

(d) 85,000

11. Salt put on roads becomes less effective at very low temperatures. Below what temperature does it no longer melt ice?

(a) Minus 6C

(b) Minus 9C

(d) Minus 21C

BRAIN TEASERS

1. There is 42 million invested in premium bonds, with a prize money fund each year based on 1.5 per cent annual interest. With 1.7 million prizes at each monthly draw, if you have 20,000 invested, what are your odds of getting any prize?

(a) 1 in 24,000

(b) 1 in 240

(d) 1 in 69

2. If you paid 100 each month into a child's regular saver account paying 6 per cent, how much interest would you have earned by the end of the year?

(a) 6

(b) 60

(d) 39.44

3. You can invest 5,100 annually into a tax-free Isa. You invested 3,000 last May, but withdrew 2,000 in August. However, you want to top up to the maximum before the end of the tax-year. How much can you invest?

(a) 3,100

(b) 2,100

4. Which is the most expensive phone call from the examples below?

(a) Making a two-minute call to 118118 from a BT landline.

(b) Making a two-minute call from an Orange mobile in the UK to a US landline.

(d) Making a one-hour evening call to an 0870 number on a BT Anytime Plan.

5. If an Isa paid 3.5 per cent in its tax-free wrapper, how much would you earn after tax in an ordinary savings account paying the same amount?

(a) 3.5 per cent

(b) 2.5 per cent

(d) 3 per cent

6. Which is worth more?

(a) 1,000 Boots loyalty points

(b) 850 Nectar points

7. Which of the following will NOT save you petrol?

(a) Only half filling your tank

(b) Turning off the air-con

(d) Remaining in gear while coasting

8. You have a 125,000 mortgage on a tracker deal currently costing you 2.49 per cent in interest. If mortgage rates rise by 0.25 per cent each quarter over the next two years, how much will your repayments have gone up by December 2012?

(a) 134

(b) 560

(d) 35

9. In very cold weather, diesel fuel starts to "wax" and diesel-engined cars and lorries will not run (unless fitted with a fuel heater). At what temperature does this begin to happen?

(a) Minus 10C

(b) Minus 12C

(d) Minus 24C

10. If you owe 3,500 on a credit card charging monthly interest of 1.24 per cent (roughly 15 per cent annually), and make the minimum repayment every month, how long will it take you to pay off the debt?

(a) 30 weeks

(b) 40 weeks

(d) 18 months

11. I am moving house next month, and will be terminating my 99,000 interest-only mortgage for which I have been paying interest at 3.5 per cent. My monthly repayments are 288.75. My last normal monthly repayment is due on 1 January, with the sale of the property completing on 13 January. My lender collects interest by direct debit monthly in advance and calculates interest daily. What additional interest will I be asked to pay on completion?

(a) You will be asked to pay 56

(b) You will be refunded 111

(d) You will be refunded 113

2010: HOW MUCH CAN YOU REMEMBER?

1. How many days did David Laws last as Chancellor?

(a) 13

(b) 14

(d) 16

2. How long has the UK been out of recession?

(a) Three months

(b) Six months

(d) A year

3. The Bank of England's remit is to ensure inflation remains at 2 per cent. If it goes off target Governor Mervyn King has to write to the Chancellor at three-monthly periods explaining why. How many letters has he written this year?

(a) One

(b) Two

(d) Four

4. The airwaves have been alive with the sound of roasting pigs. But which pigs are we talking about?

(a) Bankers

(b) Iceland, Greenland and Poland

(d) MPs caught up in the great expenses scandal.

5. In 2006, lenders granted 110 billion of new mortgages. Lending fell sharply in 2010. By how much?

(a) 32 per cent

(b) 52 per cent

(d) 92 per cent

6. The Office of Fair Trading had its legal battle over bank charges thrown out by the courts. Does this mean those with outstanding claims against the banks still:

(a) Have a right to their money back

(b) Have no legal right to their money back

(d) Have a right to a refund in certain circumstances

7. According to the Nationwide building society, Scotland is the ninth most expensive region out of the 13 regions that make up the UK. Average UK prices, according to the latest data, are 167,354. What is their latest figure for average prices in Scotland?

(a) 112,064

(b) 127,945

(d) 145,606

8. How many months has the Bank of England base rate stood at 0.5 per cent?

(a) Eight months

(b) 15 months

(d) 19 months

9. Which brand didn't disappear from Scottish high streets?

(a) Halifax

(b) Dunfermline

(d) Bradford & Bingley

10. 2010 was marked by some of the worst weather on record at its beginning and end. On a dry road, it is recommended you should keep a gap of at least two seconds between the car in front of you and your car. On an icy road, that gap becomes greater. What is the gap recommended by the AA?

(a) Three seconds

(b) Five seconds

(d) Ten seconds

11. In September HM Revenue & Customs admitted getting tax codes wrong under the PAYE system. How many individuals therefore paid too much or too little tax?

(a) 500,000

(b) Four million

(d) Eight million

Quiz answers

General knowledge

1 (b). 2 (c). 3 (b). 4 (c). 5 (a). 6 (b). 7 (d). 8 (c). 9 (c). 10 (d). 11 (b).

Brain teasers

1 (c). 2 (d). 3 (b) according to HMRC Isa rules, the withdrawn money counts towards the annual allowance. 4 The answer is (a) costing 2.07. (b) costs 60p, (c) costs 1.90 and (d) is free. 5 (c) is the rate after deducting basic rate tax. 6 (c). 7 (c). 8 (a). 9 (c). 10 (b). 11 (b) and (d) are both correct (because of the bank holiday, your normal repayment will not be taken until 4 January, triggering a rebate for 12 days' interest at 3.5 per cent. Most lenders charge up to the day prior to completion and calculate daily interest on a 365-day year, but some do so based on the number of days in the month.)

2010: What can you remember?

1 (d). 2 (d). 3 (d). 4 (c). 5 (d). 6 (b). 7 (c). 8 (c). Base rate fell to 0.5 per cent in March 2009. 9 (b). 10 (d). 11 (c).