Then test your knowledge with quizzes from econ4u.org on topics from government spending to credit to taxes, courtesy of the Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy.

I’m a sucker for trivia…maybe it was all of that Jeopardy my parents watched when growing up. In fact, I think we should get a Ka-blog trivia night going at a local bar, don’t you? Some econ questions, some questions on credit scores, some personal finance stumpers, celebrity foreclosure trivia….what do you think?  I’m sure some of you savvy spenders and savers would blow me away!

At least that’s what the Consumer Federation of America suggests in a report released today. The consumer group says that Minnesota is one of 18 states with an “inadequate” web site for auto and home insurance information.

“At a time when consumers are under increasing financial pressure, state insurance departments can do their part by making available current information about the rates, solvency, and complaints of individual insurers as well as tips for consumers to use to secure fairer and faster claims settlements,” said Robert Hunter, the CFA’s Director of Insurance.

The report found that consumers in the six states with “excellent” sites can find “current price, complaint and solvency information to make well informed purchase decisions and could find key information on how to get the best claim settlements as well.”

Go to the Minnesota Commerce Department’s consumer page and you’ll find a link to “insurance”  two-thirds of the way down the list that offers the basics on home and auto insurance, but not much from the personal finance perspective.

At California’s site, for example, you can compare premiums. In Minnesota, you’d have to go to a private insurance site and get quotes which will likely ask for a lot of personal information from you.

That’s just one of the features I think Minnesota should work on for its site. Until then, what are your auto and home insurance tips?

Growing up in a family of seven on welfare, former Vikings All-Pro wide receiver Cris Carter didn’t know much about money as a tyke. “My experience financially was to be frugal because there was never going to be very much.” Today, with kids starting their “adult life so far behind” because of education debt, he said it’s more important than ever to “live within your means.” He has a son who started college this fall.

This is one reason why he said he signed up to promote Visa’s financial education game “Financial Football.” Read all about it in my column from yesterday.

And play the game and share what you think.

As a kid I learned that I should never charge more on my credit card than I could afford to pay off. But I wish I’d been required to make more of a financial contribution to big purchases so I could have learned the meaning of sacrifice, choice, and the value of a dollar. And I still struggle with the desire for instant gratification, since I was fortunate enough to grow up not wanting for anything.

How about you? What did you learn about money at home and what bad habits from home did you carry into adulthood?

If you’re too young for AARP, then try Qvisory

According to an e-mail from their PR guy:

Qvisory is an online community for young people [KM: That’s 18 to 34 acc. to them] that’s a brainchild of Andy Stern from the SEIU [KM: That’s a labor union] . It’s built on the same model as AARP, but for young people; it will help them with work, health and money issues they face with services like health insurance and financial counseling, and will advocate for their interests in DC as well.

It also acts as a social network where you can make a pact with other users to make a change– such as pay off credit card debt, move money into index funds, or start paying off grad school loans.

As for the age business, where are the 34 to 49 year olds to go? Where’s the advocacy for them? That demographic is so often lost in the talk about young people and old people. I guess I can join for two years.

A Qvisory membership costs $36 per year versus AARP’s $39.95 for five years. But with Qvisory, you get free phone financial counseling and use of handy tools like an e-safe deposit box.

It’s easy to get into a rut. I’m in one lately where I make the same boring loop from money site to money site in search of the latest on the stock market and consumer finance.

The Wall Street Journal to Yahoo Finance to MSN Money and back again with a stop once a week or so for a peek at Filife.com, Pfblogs.org and The Consumerist.

Sigh. 

What’s your personal finance information diet? Do you have a blog you read regularly or a writer you always check out? If you do, you know what to do.