Chart of the Week: Spending Patterns By Education Level
Great series of charts from our friends at Visual Capitalist (hat tip to Brian Page for also tweeting this out) that analyzes spending by an individual's education level. Two charts are provided below: one for high school graduates, the other for college graduates.
High School graduate:
Explaining the chart: The chart is split into thirds:
Left side: Shows sources of income: salary, Social Security (some of these HS grads are seniors collecting Social Security, dividends...
QoD: Rank order from highest to lowest: percentage of people who....a) have an emergency fund, b) struggle to pay bills, c) live paycheck to paycheck.
Answer (from Schwab Modern Wealth Report):
Live paycheck to paycheck: 59%
Struggle to pay bills: 44%
Have an emergency fund: 38%
Questions:
Why do you think so many Americans live paycheck to paycheck? How much of it is an income problem compared to a spending problem?
If someone came to you and said "I want to stop living paycheck to paycheck," what questions would you ask them to try and understand their situation?
Why do you think it's so important to have an emergency...
Reading List for May 31-June 2
By Tim Ranzetta
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May 31, 2019
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Investing, Credit Cards, Behavioral Finance, Budgeting, Research, Retirement
From 403(b) plans to goal setting to digital decluttering and graduation advice...enjoy these weekend reads with your favorite cup of joe:
Thinking that annuity in your 403(b) is gouging you? You are probably right (from Barrons): "Teachers’ 403(b) plans are sold directly to individuals, rather than to employers, so the interest of the salesman was coming first. “Imagine you’re a kindergarten teacher and they’ve given you a 400-page prospectus about variable...
QoD: In percentage terms, how many more items of clothing do people buy today compared to 15 years ago?
Answer: 60%
Questions:
Why do you think that young people are purchasing more clothing but keeping it for only half as long?
What impact do you think that social media has had on this trend?
How would you describe how your shopping habits when it comes to clothing?
Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.
Behind the numbers (Business of Fashion)
This trend is partly driven by the young generation’s hunger for...
QoD: What is the top restaurant choice among teens?
Answer: Chick-fil-A
Questions:
What do you think makes a restaurant popular among teens? Name at least three factors.
What is your favorite restaurant?
Food is considered the number one spending priority for males and #2 for females. How much do you think YOU spend on food (snacks, drinks, meals) every month?
How much of your monthly food spend would you call a "need" vs. a "want?"
Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom....
QoD: Rank the following cost components for a cup of coffee from largest to smallest: coffee, cups/napkins, milk, shop costs/rent, staff costs?
This question comes courtesy of Morning Brew (yes, there's a bit of irony there!). They have a daily email blast which is a great way to start the day. I also discovered while researching this QoD that 40% of teenagers drink coffee on a regular basis.
Answer:
Shop costs/rent (35%)
Staff costs (25%)
Cups/Napkins (7%)
Milk (4%)
Coffee (4%)
Questions:
Does it surprise you that the basic coffee you purchase from Starbucks for $2.50 has about $0.10 worth of coffee in...
QoD: How much do Americans spend monthly on subscriptions?
Answer: $237 a month
Questions:
Have you ever signed up for a monthly subscription?
If so, what do you subscribe to and how much do you pay?
If not, do you know any family members who have subscriptions (who knows, maybe you even use their Netflix account:)
Have you ever heard someone complain about signing up for a subscription that they didn't even know about? What happened?
The research found that 84% of Americans underestimate how much they spend every month in subscriptions? How...
Chart of the Week: Trend in Food Assistance Programs By State Since 2007
Hat tip for Jessica for pointing out this interactive map showing trends in food assistance programs (aka SNAP or food stamps). For an economics teacher, this interactive helps to explain how the economic cycle affects federal assistance programs.
Here's the static map (click on it to go to the site where it is interactive):
Questions:
Looking at the U.S. map in 2017, what trends do you see in the usage of food assistance programs? Are there differences by region? Explain. ...
QoD: What percent of Gen. Z drivers are buying used cars (instead of new)?
Answer: 63%
Questions:
Do you think the first car that you buy will be a new or used car? Explain.
What are the advantages/disadvantages of buying a used car?
Why do you think a lower percentage of older generations buy used instead of new?
Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.
Behind the numbers (WSJ; subscription required):
“Gen Z buyers’ participation in the new-car space is declining year after year,”...
QoD: What is the cost to repair an iPhone screen?
You carry them around with you all the time and apparently break them quite a bit. According to this survey, 2/3 of smartphone users damaged their phones in the past year.
Answer: $29-$329, depending on the model and whether you have carry the AppleCare+ insurance
Questions:
Have you damaged your phone in the last year? If so, have you gotten it repaired?
Do you carry cell phone insurance? Why or why not?
Does knowing that 2/3 of cell phone users damage their phones in a...
Teacher Tip - COMPARE: Find an Apartment
If you've attended a FinCamp this school year, you've participated in the NGPF Fan Favorite project Budgeting with Roommates. As a perfect accompanyment, NGPF Fellow Adam Cole (Needham High School, MA) explains how he uses and modifies NGPF budgeting activity COMPARE: Find an Apartment in his classroom. Watch for some great tips on how to implement this activity in your classroom.
For all of NGPF's budgeting resources, visit https://www.ngpf.org/curriculum/budgeting/...
QoD: Can you name ONE of the most Googled money questions for 2018?
Hat tip to Beth Tallman for sending this one along.
Answer: Here are the top 5:
5. How much is my house worth?
4. What is bitcoin?
3. How to write a check?
2. How much house can I afford?
1. Where is my tax refund?
Questions:
What money question are you most curious about right now?
Why do you think that so many people are preoccupied with their tax refund?
Are you surprised to see any of these top 5 most Googled questions on this list?
Why do you think that two of the top 5...
QoD: What percent of 25-35 year olds are still living in their parent(s)' home?
Answer: 15%
Questions:
Do you know any 25-35 year olds that currently live at home?
Why do you think this percentage is so much higher for millennials than for earlier generations?
What are the keys to being able to live independently in your 20s?
Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.
Behind the numbers (from Pew Research):
The increased prevalence of living with mom and/or dad is more prominent among...
Chart of the Week: How does the average American household spend their money?
From our friends at Visual Capitalist:
Questions:
What is the largest income source for American households?
What percent of a household's income covers federal, state and local taxes?
What is the savings rate for the average American household (Hint: Divide Savings by Total Income to establish the savings rate)?
What are the five largest costs? Do you think these five costs are wants or needs?
One rule of thumb is that you shouldn't spend more than 30% of your...
QoD: How much does the average player spend on Fortnite?
Answer: $84.67
Thanks to Yanely for the inspiration for this QoD!
Questions:
What do you think motivates people to make these in-game purchases? Name at least three.
What are the ways that these developers “nudge” players to open up their wallets?
Have you ever made any in-game purchases on other gaming sites?
Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.
Behind the numbers (from LendEDU):
Fortnite, a...
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