What I'm Reading this Weekend (July 14-15)
By Beth Tallman
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Jul 13, 2018
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Current Events, Economics, Investing, Paying for College, Internships, Retirement
Economics
Inflation ticked up in June to 2.9%, the highest level in 6 years. What does that mean for workers? (see Chart of the Week below)
Rare earth metals, critical in production of Americans’ extra appendage (cellphones), come from China. How will the trade wars with China impact this market?
Higher Ed and News for Recent Grads
The state of student loan debt in words and pictures!
Berklee College of Music finds success by bucking the trend and making its Online program a...
Interactive: How has the Dow Jones Industrial Average Changed Over the Years?
Use this interactive to show how the U.S. economy as represented by the DJIA has changed. Click on the start button and you this interactive will show companies entering and leaving the index over time. You can also pause it as these changes occur.
Note: This CNN interactive hasn't been updated to reflect GE getting booted out in June 2018. Who was their replacement? Answer below.
Questions:
How has the composition of the Dow Jones Industrial Average changed over the years as...
Schools in the News: Summer Edition
The 4th R: Real Life is a student essay (NY Times) highlighting the reasons that personal finance should be a high school graduation requirement. Here's an excerpt: "When students graduate high school, they are thrust into adulthood, whether they join the work force or pursue higher education. They assume immense financial responsibilities almost immediately. How can the government expect 19-year-olds to complete tax forms if they’ve never learned about them in school? Young adults who...
What I'm Reading This Weekend - July 7-8
By Beth Tallman
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Jul 06, 2018
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Current Events, Economics, Student Loans, Personal Finance, Retirement
Economy
This detailed Vox article explains what recent Supreme Court rulings at the end of this term mean for American business and the future of Antitrust. Economics nerds will enjoy the good examples of monopoly and monopsony here.
How do American workers fare compared to their counterparts across the world? Maybe not so well.
“Only Spain and Greece, whose economies have been ravaged by the euro-zone crisis, have more households earning less than half the nation’s median income...
Top 10 Posts on NGPF Blog for 2017-18 School Year
By Tim Ranzetta
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Jul 05, 2018
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Current Events, Behavioral Finance, Index Funds, Cryptocurrencies, Investing, Budgeting
The NGPF Blog provides educators with two posts daily during the school year, including an engaging question of the day. Teachers rely on the daily Question of the Day as a great conversation starter and appreciate that it engages all students since it requires no prior knowledge. In addition, the blog provides a great way to note trends in personal finance, highlight high quality resources and share ideas from our teacher community. With the school year ended, we wanted to highlight the most...
What I'm Reading This Weekend (June 30-July 1)
By Beth Tallman
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Jun 29, 2018
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Personal Finance, Economics, Student Loans, Current Events, Taxes, Credit Cards, Credit Scores
Economics
Here is an interesting, though depressing look at the employment trends and lack of upward mobility among workers in the lowest quartile.
The markets seem to be taking the impending trade war seriously this week.
Student Loans
Student debt forgiveness is good news. The bad news? Forgiveness comes with a tax bill.
Employers offering help repaying student loans to attract workers in a tight labor market.
Personal Finance
Taxes: Have you heard about the post card sized 1040? Here is...
How To Advocate for Financial Education...Student Voices Matter
I stumbled across an amazing example of advocacy for financial education coming out of Roaring Fork High School in Colorado. Two high school students there, Stefan Platzer and Xio Alvarez, are working hard on a project to make the case for money management courses in their high school. As described in the article, their project is a great model on how to advocate for financial education.
Student voice drove the process as their survey results led them to the obvious conclusion that...
What I'm Reading This Weekend (June 23-24)
By Beth Tallman
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Jun 22, 2018
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Current Events, Employment, Personal Finance, Taxes, Stocks, Insurance
Today’s Headlines:
States cleared to charge sales tax on online sales and banks pass first phase of the Fed’s stress tests, wait to hear if they can buy back shares or increase dividends.
Demographics/Employment
As baby boomers retire, there are fewer workers to take their places. Who will support them? This WSJ article includes some informative maps.
The FRB of Atlanta published an article detailing its findings on industries facing a shortage of workers.
One aspect of...
What I'm Reading This Weekend (June 9-10)
By Beth Tallman
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Jun 08, 2018
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Current Events, Parent Conversations, Retirement, Credit Reports, Investing, Mortgages
Parenting
The WSJ takes a good look at the overprotected American child. You probably see the impacts on the students you teach.
Michelle Singletary explains why parents should have “the talk” (about credit) with their kids.
Here are eight things parents can do to help their college students become financially independent.
And here is what you do if your adult children want to move home.
Education
The New York Times looks at education spending over time. (Hint: it...
Tim Talks to National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) CEO Ted Beck
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Jun 08, 2018
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Personal Finance, Podcasts, Advocacy, Current Events, Research
With retirement looming on the horizon and a successful decade-plus tenure at leading non-profit, NEFE, I wanted to get Ted Beck on the podcast to reflect on his experience as a leader in the field. There is so much we can learn from his perspectives on curriculum, teacher PD, research and innovation. He shared his insights on the major achievements as well as the opportunities that lie ahead in the field. Ted’s legacy of creating opportunities for collaboration, instilling a sense of...
What's New With.......Budgeting?
The "What's New With" series is going to take a summer break and return in time for the start of the new school year.
Tips and Strategies
"Budgets Are Like Sex" is certainly a title that would get your attention, and that is what the Huffington Post is counting on. While it is written in PG-13, it may not be appropriate for your students, but it sure might convince some of your friends to start budgeting.
Here are some strategies for dealing with variable expenses.
Don’t let...
Question of the Day: What's the average monthly payment for a new car purchased in 2018?
By Tim Ranzetta
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Jun 05, 2018
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Question of the Day, Budgeting, Purchase Decisions, Current Events, Research
Answer: $523
Questions:
When do you expect to buy your first car?
Will you buy new or used? Explain your answer.
What are other costs that you can expect to pay for a car beyond the car payment?
Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.
Behind the numbers (from CNBC):
In the first quarter of this year, the average monthly loan payment for a new vehicle climbed $15 compared with last year, hitting an...
NGPF Extra Mile Award: PLC Participants
NGPF's Professional Learning Community (PLC) provides educators with an opportunity to collaborate virtually on an artifact that they want to improve. Teachers meet for 30 minutes over a 3-5 week period until each member has received feedback on their resource. Here's what they tell us they love about PLCs:
"I really enjoyed participating in the PLC. Not only did I get fresh ideas on how to revise my own project, but I got additional project ideas that I can use immediately in my class."...
What I'm Reading This Weekend (June 2-3)
Personal Finance
If you have been paying your loans for 10 years and been rejected for public service loan forgiveness, there is now a way to apply for forgiveness (and hopefully get it this time.)
Here is another NYT article with the latest on 529 plans.
Publicly traded companies in the US had to start reporting their pay ratios this year (CEO pay/median pay). Read on if you have the stomach to do so.
Didn’t see this one until it showed up reprinted in our local Sunday paper about...
What's New With.....Insurance?
Merger mania hits all types of insurance companies.
For Health insurance companies, the mega mergers of the major insurers were not approved, so the mergers are more creative/vertical in nature.
In the property/casualty sector, AXA (France) moved to buy XL Group (Bermuda) for over $15 Billion.
Walmart looking to get into the health insurance business by acquiring Humana.
Health Insurance
There are four new exemptions for avoiding penalties for not having health insurance.
The...
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