National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program New HSFPP brand for all materials New HSFPP web URL beginning 2/1/2012 (people who use the old URL will be automatically sent to the new site during transition)
Module 1 Money Management Target Competency Manage your spending [Plan, Budget] Module 1 - Money Management 1-1 Explore how spending, saving and values impact your finances 1-2 Set SMART money goals 1-3 DECIDE to make better money choices 1-4 Create a spending plan to reach your goals 1-5 Figure out ways to maintain a positive cash flow
Module 1 Money Management National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program Module 1 Money Management On page 3 of the student guide you see the following tips and strategies that will be used in this module. Students also meet Michael and Selena whose personal examples will be used to teach the above tips and strategies.
Activity 1.1a: My Money Habits National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program Activity 1.1a: My Money Habits On student guide page 5 you find activity 1.1a: My Money Habits. In this activity students list their money habits and mare them with a + for sensible, a – for unwise and a N for neutral. The possible impact will be filled out later in the module. The closer a student gets to being out on their own, the more they need to be in control of their actions. For this reason, the time to take on good money habits is now.
Activity 1.1b: My Money Habits National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program Activity 1.1b: My Money Habits On student guide pg. 7 students complete activity 1.1b: My Money Habits. They go back to Activity 1.1a and think about how their listed money habits could affect their future and for each unwise habit they write down a sensible habit to replace it. Page 7 also talks about the case of the disappearing dollar and how many youth and adults find themselves asking where their money went (who stole their money)! The good news is that the thief will be super easy to catch. Just look in the mirror. Students are then introduced to a spending plan! Did You Know? Research shows you end a bad habit-or start up a new, good habit-by changing your behavior for as little as 21 days!
Activity 1.2: My Disappearing Dollars National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program Activity 1.2: My Disappearing Dollars On student guide pg. 8 is activity 1.2: My Disappearing Dollars. Students are asked to list how much they spent and what they bought in the past week (or month), and use the information to gather evidence in the case of their disappearing dollars! Students then read about delayed gratification the importance of waiting until you know you can afford something. There is an example of how Michael has always had a hard time delaying gratification and now he wishes he would have listened to his grandma and waited to buy the jacket. I think we have all had times like Michael were we impulsively bought something, then remembered we needed the money for something else! Waiting is not a punishment! How many of us have items we “needed” and have barely used it? What could we have done with that money instead? This is a great opportunity to share personal experiences with students and have them share theirs!
National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program Activity 1.3: Why Wait? Activity 1.3: Why Wait? On page 10 has students write down two or three reasons to hold off on a purchase? This page also has a great section on do you need it or do you want it – needs and wants!
Activity 1.4: My Needs and Wants: Can I Tell the Difference? National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program Activity 1.4: My Needs and Wants: Can I Tell the Difference? This leads us to activity 1.4: My Needs and wants: Can I tell the difference? In this activity students look at their spending log from activity 1.2 then decide if each item is a need or a want. It also cautions them to really be sure their needs are really needs!
National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program Activity 1.5: My Values On page 12 students learn about values and on page 13 is activity 1.5: My Values. Students list what three or four things are most important to them and why each is important to them.
National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program SMART Goals Pages 13-20 are about scoring with goals and mainly SMART GOALS! The SMART acronym is basically a checklist for creating turbocharged goals that will help guide you to success.
National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program SMART Goals Activity 1.6: SMART Goal Makeover on page 16 has students look over Selena’s and Michaels goals and rewrite them to make them SMART. Page 17 introduces instant gratification and how buying on impulse can get you into trouble. Students also read about Goal Time Spans (Short, Medium, and Long).
National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program SMART Goals Page 18 talks about rating your goals and always writing them down. On Page 19 students complete Challenge 1-A: My SMART Goals and take what they learned and create two or three of their own.
National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program Decide to Succeed Page 19 and 20 talk about deciding to succeed and decision making. Page 20 walks students through the process of making the best possible decision using the DECIDE Strategy.
Challenge 1-B: My Decision National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program Challenge 1-B: My Decision Page 21 talks about opportunity cost (what you give up) of decision making. Students next complete Challenge 1-B: My Decision. Students use the DECIDE strategy for a decision they are facing. Students can go to www.hsfpp.org to download a guide to help them DECIDE.
National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program Plan For Victory Page 22-23 discuss your how students can use a map (spending plan or budget) that will guide them to their destination: success. There are some great bullets for WITHOUT a budget… and I love the stat about almost 60% of millionaires use a budget to manage their money.
National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program Activity 1.7: My Income On page 24 students complete Activity 1.7: My Income by listing the income they receive throughout the year. This helps students begin to make some predictions on what they think they will make in the coming year.
National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program Income and Expenses Page 25 continues talking about income and give examples. Students then learn about expenses which leads to Activity 1.8: My Expenses. In this activity students will use their spending log from activity 1.2: My Disappearing Dollars to group their expenses in categories. They then calculate what percent they spent in each category and create a pie chart that displays a visual.
National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program Expenses Pages 26 and 27 continues talking about expenses and classify them as three types: Fixed, Variable, and Periodic with detailed descriptions and examples.
Pay Your Self First (PYF) National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program Pay Your Self First (PYF) Page 28 - 29 introduces one of my favorite topics PYF! It tells students that they should treat PYF like a fixed expense on their spending plan to save money for their SMART Goals. It goes on to talk about one type of PYF fund that’s smart to have and emergency fund! Page 29 also talks about 6 Steps to a Winning Spending Plan! This gives a great example about filling a bucket with rocks. You pour the little rocks in first and then, try to put in the big rocks but they don’t fit. The next time you put the big ones in first and then pour the little ones in around it, and everything fits. This is the approach you need to take with your money. Put your fixed expenses (Big Rocks) into your income bucket first to make sure they are paid. Then, pour in your variable and periodic expenses (little rocks) to fill the spaces until there’s no more room. When you get to this point and still have more pebbles, you either stop pouring and scoop out some of your pebbles to fit in others or increase the size of your income bucket.
Six Steps to a Winning Spending Plan National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program Six Steps to a Winning Spending Plan Pages 30 and 31 go on talking about creating your spending plan. You have to set SMART Goals and analyze information such as your spending log before you create a plan. You then dive into the specifics using six steps to plot your path to money mastery.
Six Steps to a Winning Spending Plan (cont.)
Challenge 1-C: My Spending Plan National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program Challenge 1-C: My Spending Plan Pg. 31 has students complete Challenge 1-C: My Spending Plan where students review their goals and spending log and write up a spending plan so they can pay for things they need and want. There are example forms online to help them make their own spending plans. Pg. 31 also points out that you will need to make tune ups to your spending plan and not to worry about getting it perfect the first time. The key is to update your spending plan regularly to keep pace with your changing income, goals, and spending habits.
Cruise to the Finish Line National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program Cruise to the Finish Line Pg. 32-33 talks about putting your plan into practice. Students learn about cash flow and it doesn’t matter who you are or how much you earn, you need to maintain a balanced cash flow! Students need to be committed to being responsible with their money. The sooner they accept this responsibility, the sooner they will feel in control of their finances and life. The guide gives students 4 steps to stay on course.
Activity 1.9: My Income Options National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program Activity 1.9: My Income Options Pg. 34 talks about money 911 and the fact that sometimes money runs out before the month does. When this happens you need to increase your income or decrease your expenses. Students then complete Activity 1.9: My Income Options and list two ways they can realistically bring in more cash?
Activity 1.10: My Spending Leaks National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program Activity 1.10: My Spending Leaks Pg. 35 has a great discussion on “plugging your money leaks” It gives the example that people have buckets with holes and money constantly seeps out, so that the bucket is empty when money is really needed. Activity 1.10: My Spending Leaks is good for students to look at their spending log and identify money leaks. They then answer some questions.
National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program 7 Ways to Strike Back Pg 36-37 gives students 7 ways to strike back and make their money go further.
7 Ways to Strike Back (cont.)
Challenge 1-D: My Action Plan National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program Challenge 1-D: My Action Plan On Page 39 Students think about how well they manage their money now and complete Challenge 1-D: My Action Plan. In this challenge they list What I do well, What I will do to improve, and I will share money management tips with the following people.
National Endowment for Financial Education High School Financial Planning Program Questions? I have also included some other handouts for your use in this module. We covered a ton in this module! Do you have questions!