NEW! Virtual Version of the Bean Game (and Extension Activity too)
The Bean Game stands out as a definite teacher and student favorite. It has a simple set-up, it's student-centered and applies core budgeting principles such as wants vs. needs and adjusting for financial hardships. Knowing that many of you are now teaching remotely, we developed a virtual map where students make their choices on the map with capital letter Os ("O") instead of beans. This game takes on even more relevance in light of the financial adjustments that many families are making...
Reading List for March 27-29
Coronavirus Pandemic coverage this week includes articles on the soon-to-be stimulus bill, actions by the Federal Reserve, unemployment statistics, the stock market volatility, and potential implications for student loans.
Stimulus Bill
What is in it, and what is not. The NYT provides the answers with an FAQ.
Will you qualify to a direct payment? (WaPo) provides a calculator for stimulus checks.
If you don’t need your stimulus check to pay bills, what should you do with it? Save it...
QoD: What percent of the cost to drive a new car is the fuel cost?
Answer: 19%
Questions:
The largest cost element above is depreciation. Why do you think that a new car depreciates (or loses value) over time?
Changing the number of miles you drive will reduce your fuel cost. Will it change any of the other costs listed above?
Insurance estimates are based on someone with 6 years of driving experience. Do you think the cost of insurance would be lower or higher for a teen just getting their license?
Here's that answer in earlier QoD.
The...
NGPF Podcast: Lazetta Braxton discusses her "financial planning for the rest of us" model
Lazetta Braxton thinks about financial planning a little bit differently than most other practitioners. She shares how she developed her missionary zeal to provide financial planning services to those who are often forgotten or not well served by the current commission-based models. She provides some tips on how she motivates people to budget as well as how she's developing her daughter's financial capabilities. Enjoy!
Details:
0:00~1:44 Introduction
1:44~3:41 Early money lessons...
EdPuzzle Thursday: BUDGETING - Leasing vs Buying a New Car
Want to assign videos with built-in questions? We will be releasing a new EdPuzzle video here on the blog each week so that your students can answer questions that are directly embedded within engaging videos. We are excited to share with you a new video each week and a new topic each month!
In this week's EdPuzzle video, your students will learn the advantages and disadvantages (as well as costs!) of leasing vs buying a car.
Interested in more EdPuzzle videos? Visit our Video...
"Going from Broke:" Episode Summaries and Discussion Questions
Ashton Kutcher is one of the executive producers of a series called “Going from Broke,” focusing on the massive (student) debt issue facing young adults. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is the ad-supported video streaming service that runs the series on Crackle, and it hit 5 million views after just 4 weeks. The series appears to be attracting attention.
Dan Rosensweig, another executive producer, is the CEO of a company called Chegg and is the host of the show....
EdPuzzle Thursday: BUDGETING - Building a Budget
Want to assign videos with built-in questions? We will be releasing a new EdPuzzle video here on the blog each week so that your students can answer questions that are directly embedded within engaging videos. We are excited to share with you a new video each week and a new topic each month!
In this week's EdPuzzle video, your students will learn the basics of building a budget as well as the popular 50/30/20 rule of budgeting.
Interested in more EdPuzzle videos? Visit our Video...
[Updated] Question of the Day: How much does the retail price for roses increase around Valentine's Day?
Answer: Around 40%
Early January price: $36/dozen roses
Valentine's Day week price: $50/dozen roses
Questions:
What economic concept helps to explains this surge in pricing?
What other examples of items/services can you think of that have prices that change based on demand?
What challenges do you think rose growers encounter around Valentine's Day?
Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.
Behind the numbers (Brads Deals):...
Question of the Day: Which household chores require the most time in a given week?
Answer (courtesy of Financial Times):
Questions:
As families have gotten busier and busier, companies have cropped up to help them save time for these chores. Can you name a few for each category (e.g. Uber Eats or Door Dash delivers food from restaurants to save time in meal prep.)?
Which, if any of these categories, do you think that you/your family would consider using? Why?
These new companies have also created lots of "gig economy" jobs? Which of these jobs might you consider...
Question of the Day: How do 18-29 year old Americans spend their free time?
Courtesy of Morning Brew (great daily newsletter to keep you in the loop with the world of finance!)
Chose activity that Americans did more often in the past year:
Go to a library // go to a movie theater
Visit a casino // visit a museum
Attend a live music or theatrical event // attend a live sporting event
Visit a zoo // visit an amusement or theme park
Answer:
Going to a library
Visiting a casino
Attending a live music or theatrical event
Visiting an amusement or theme park...
Reading List for January 31-Feb 2
By Beth Tallman
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Jan 31, 2020
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Personal Finance, Behavioral Finance, Budgeting, Paying for College, Taxes, Insurance
Happy Super Bowl Weekend!
In case you missed this week's FinCap Friday, Credit Crunch details how the FICO methodology will impact millions of consumers.
Personal Finance/Financial Literacy
This article from the NY Times “Smarter Living” section got some attention this week in social media. “Does Personal Finance Still Work in our changing Economy?” contains a great discussion of the findings of the book The Financial Diaries (Rachel Schneider and Jonathan...
Question of the Day: Researchers have found five ways that spending money can make us happy. Can you name two of them?
By Tim Ranzetta
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Jan 26, 2020
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Question of the Day, Behavioral Finance, Purchase Decisions, Budgeting
Hat tip to Nick Maggiulli of Dollars and Data blog for highlighting this research from .
Answer:
Buying experiences
Treating yourself (on occasion)
Buying extra time
Paying upfront (i.e. all-inclusive vacations)
Spending on others
Questions:
What are ways that you spend money that bring happiness to you? Do they fit into any of these five categories?
Why do you think that researchers found that "buying experiences" might create more happiness than buying "things?"...
Reading List for January 24-26
By Beth Tallman
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Jan 24, 2020
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Current Events, Credit Scores, Budgeting, Career, Investing, Retirement, Personal Finance
Current Events/Credit Scores
One of the biggest stories hitting this week and running through social media is news of the new FICO scoring criteria. (USA Today)
“Most consumers will see less than a 20-point swing in either direction,” David Shellenberger, FICO’s vice president, product management, scores, said in a statement on Thursday. “That’s roughly 110 million that will see only a modest change to scores, if at all.”
Budgeting
Many of you shared...
QoD: Guess the percentage of each age group that has their driver's license: 16 year olds? 17 year olds? 18 year olds?
Answer:
16 year olds: 25.6%
17 year olds: 49%
18 year olds: 60.9%
Questions:
When did you get your driver’s license OR when do you plan to get your license?
What factors determined/will determine when you get your license?
When it comes to auto insurance, do you think the cost of insuring a 16 year old is higher or lower then insuring an 18 year old? Explain your answer.
What has been the overall trend in the percentage of teens with driver's licenses over the past 40-50 years? What...
QoD: Can you name 3 of the top 10 things that adults overspend on (i.e., spend more than their budget)?
Answer:
Questions:
Do you have a budget? Are you able to stick to it all of the time/some of the time/none of the time?
How would you answer this question for yourself: What are the purchases that cause you to overspend?
Take 2 or 3 items from the top 10 list and explain why that specific item leads to overspending.
Explain strategies that you could use to control spending in those categories.
Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the...
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