Martin Lewis: What kind of moneysaver are you? take the test and find out...

And to prove it, this year we finally managed to get financial education on the English National Curriculum.

To celebrate, and see if you’ve been doing your reading of my columns over the last year, here’s a test to see how good a moneysaver you are.

1) Where do you go to make a financial complaint about how a bank or building society has treated you?

A) The Office of Fair Trading

B) Financial Ombudsman Service

C) The FCA

D) The FSA

2) If you take a camera back to a shop two days after buying it because it’s faulty, which of these statements from the shop assistant would you have to accept?

A) Sorry, you’ll have to take it to the manufacturer. Here’s its address

B) Sorry, we’ve a no returns policy which is stated on your receipt

C) It has to be covered by a warranty for us to help

D) None of the above

3) Where is usually the most expensive place to get foreign currency?

A) Online

B) At your bank

C) At the airport

D) At the Post Office

4) You pay a credit card deposit for two budget airline flights to and from Spain, costing £60 out and £60 back; then the rest on a debit card. The airline goes bust and you want to do a 'Section 75' reclaim from the credit card company. Which is true...?

A) Section 75 applies as the trip was over £100 in total

B) Section 75 doesn’t apply as each flight was under £100

C) Section 75 doesn't apply as you only paid the deposit by credit card

D) Section 75 applies, but you’re only covered for the amount of the deposit

5) If you had £380,000 to save in the UK, what's the smallest number of different financial institutions you’d need to put it into to ensure complete safety if any went bust? (excludes NS&I)

A) 1

B) 5

C) 7

D) 38

6) You've just bought a new house and it’s a freehold property. You need to sort out buildings insurance, which of these is the MoneySaving option?

A) Use the mortgage company’s insurance; it’s done a valuation so you won’t need to pay for it again

B) Get an independent market valuation to ensure it’s adequately covered, then search for the cheapest

C) There’s no need to buy insurance as it’s included in all mortgages

D) Only cover how much your house would cost to rebuild if it was knocked down, then search for the cheapest

7) You’ve bought a dress for a friend and they don’t like it. When you return it with the receipt a week later, which of these is the retailer legally obliged to do?

A) Nothing, unless you told them it was bought as a gift B) Offer a credit note C) Nothing, unless it was bought online D) Allow you to change the size 8) Which of the following WON’T help cut your petrol bill?

A) Turning the air con off

B) Only half filling your tank each time

C) Accelerating to your cruising speed in the shortest time

D) Using Petrolprices.com to search for cheaper fuel

The Answers:

1) B) Financial Ombudsman Service The Ombudsman is a free independent service for settling disputes between financial companies and their customers. To complain to it you first need to complain to the company itself, then if you’re not satisfied take it to the Ombudman who can force it to treat you fairly and pay you cash owed.

2) D) None of the above The Sale of Goods Act 1979 ensures goods should be of satisfactory quality and fit to do the job intended for them. If you’ve a faulty good, get it back to the retailer as quickly as possible – your relationship is with it, not the manufacturer, and it’s obliged to sort it out.

3) C) At the airport Avoid buying currency from airports, ferryports or international railway stations at all costs. The exchange rate is usually much worse than elsewhere, as they know you’re a captive customer so no longer have much choice.

4) B) Section 75 doesn’t apply as each flight was under £100 Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act says if you pay even a penny on a credit card, for something costing £100 - £30,000 then the card company is equally liable with the retailer if anything goes wrong. So had the flight been £100 you’d have been covered even if you just used the credit card for the deposit. Unfortunately though, it only applies for single items and here each flight was under £100.

5) B) 5 The Financial Services Compensation Scheme guarantees that the first £85,000 saved per person per financial institution is protected in the event of any bank or building society going bust. Therefore you’d need money in five different accounts to protect £380,000.

6) D) Only cover how much your house would cost to rebuild if it was knocked down, then search for the cheapest.

A common mistake is to cover the house's market value, meaning many people are over insured and paying way too much. Full help in www.mse.me/homeinsurance.

7) C) Nothing, unless it was bought online While many shops will allow you to return goods, legally they don't have to, unless its faulty and ‘not liking it’ isn’t a fault. The exception is things bought online (or by phone or catalogue) as then the Consumer Contract Regulations say you’ve 14 calendar days to cancel after receiving the goods - and you don’t have to give a reason.

8) C) Accelerating to your cruising speed in the shortest time Turing the air con off can cut your petrol use by up to 8%; reducing the car's weight by not filling it up each time will also cut your costs by only a touch. But accelerating quickly does the opposite and wastes a huge amount of fuel.

Scores 8/10 – Eeek – I’m worried about the competition!

6-7/10 - Bravo that’s some decent MoneySaving.

4-5/10 – OK, but you need to take a little bit more notice of your rights. 2-3/10 – Your wallet doesn’t love you - you need to try harder.

0-1/10 – You are loved… but by banks, insurers, credit card companies, breakdown firms, supermarkets and more. Time to do some revision.

Moneysaving offers

Ember Inns £5 off £20

Register online with Ember Inns and get a voucher that gets you £5 off a £20+ spend. The discount will be taken off main menu food and drink, as long as there's at least one main meal ordered from the main menu. It's valid at any restaurant Mon-Thu until 29 Jan 2015, one voucher per bill and table (www.emberinns.co.uk)

20,000 ‘free’ Megabus tickets

Megabus is offering 20,000 'free' one-way tickets on nearly all its routes in Eng, Scot, Wales and Europe for travel between Mon 12 Jan and Thu 12 Feb. It's valid on Mon-Thu trips only and you'll just need to pay a 50p booking fee per transaction, not per ticket (uk.megabus.com)

Martin Lewis is the Founder & Editor in Chief of Money Saving Expert. To join the 10 million people who get his Martin’s Money Tips weekly email, go to www.moneysavingexpert.com/latesttip or watch The Martin Lewis Money Show on ITV, Fridays at 8pm.