Sunday, February 15, 2015

Answers to College Questions

Answers to College Questions
Need help comparing colleges to find the right fit?
Check out the U.S. Department of Education’s College Affordability and Transparency Center. Search for and compare colleges on all sorts of criteria including costs, majors offered, size of school, campus safety, and graduation rates.  This site also includes a price calculator to help you estimate how much college will cost after scholarships and grants.
Another helpful site is The College Board. Their interactive, on-line guide offers step-by-step help researching colleges.
Wondering how much your dream college will cost?
Find out at CNNMoney.  Enter a school name and begin your research.
Need a little help filling out that college application?

Review this info-graph from College Choice that covers the dos and don’ts of filling out college applications.
Looking for financial aid and scholarships?
Visit College Choice.  They provide information on the top 50 college scholarships including the Gates Millennium scholarship which pays full tuition and room and board.

The College Board also provides information on scholarships, financial aid and internships from more than 2,200 programs, totaling nearly $6 billion.

 

If you need help filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) visit Federal Student Aid for some helpful tips.


College-bound and looking for budgeting apps that help you manage your money?

In this article at ParentsCountdown to College Coach, Suzanne Shaffer reviews 10 budgeting apps that help college-bound students manage their money. 

Is all that college debt really worth it?

Worried about college debt?  Read this article from College Choice that reviews the advantages of a college education.

Visit me on Twitter for more interesting articles - @financeunleash

And at my TPT store for personal finance lessons designed especially for teens.




Friday, January 9, 2015

Tips on Buying and Financing a Car


Tips on Buying and Financing a Car


Rob Infantino (Credit.com) has some great tips for anyone looking to buy a new car in his article, 8 Things You Need to Know Before Buying a New Car.

Some of his key points include: Doing your homework can save you money; there is wiggle room built into every vehicles’ price; buying a car should never be an impulse buy and don’t wait until you are desperate to start shopping for a car. Read more...

The Federal Trade Commission – Consumer Information site also offers some great information on buying a new car.

Some of their key tips include: Do your research to avoid being pressured into making a hasty decision; financing your car with the dealer may not be the best deal you can get; discuss the possibility of a trade-in only after you’ve negotiated the best possible price for your new car and after you’ve researched the value of your old car and know the vocabulary when negotiating the cost of a car. Read more...

Follow my BLOG and visit me on TWITTER for more interesting articles.

YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN THIS NO PREP LESSON ON BUYING AND FINANCING A CAR...




Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Micro Investing - A Question for Teens





 Here is an interesting micro investing concept that you might like to discuss with your students, it is called ACORNS.
Acorns co-founders Walter and Jeff Cruttenden have created a smart phone app which allows people to round up purchases and automatically invest spare change into a diversified portfolio. This app might change the way many of us invest.
A question for students to discuss might be: In light of all the stores that have been hacked into recently, how safe is this app? And would they consider using it as a way to invest – what are the pros and what are the cons?
Click on the links below for videos and news stories on ACORNS...

Spare Change Drive you Nuts? Trythe “Acorn”App
Source: Trish Regan and Matt Miller (Bloomberg Television’s “Street Smart”)

Turn Spare Change into Big Bucks
Source: Hadley Malcolm (USA Today Young Money)


 
Thanks for stopping by!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Personal-Finance-For-Teens-Unleashed

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Investing Terms

 

 
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Personal-Finance-for-Teens-Unleashed-Investing-Terms-628831This Investing Terms lesson is part of a dynamite unit on Investing. The complete unit is a great hands-on way to teach students the ins and outs of researching, selecting, and tracking stock and mutual funds. The unit is loaded with fun, hands-on assignments, informative presentations, crosswords, and on-line flashcards, games and quizzes. And it all begins with and builds from the Investing Terms assignment.
The Investing Terms lesson is a three-part lesson that covers basic investing terms used on the New York Stock Exchange, and is designed to aid students in analyzing stock summaries, charts and graphs in later assignments.  It is packed full of reinforcing activities, like crosswords, on-line flashcards, games and quizzes.

The basic terms introduced in the Investing Terms assignment lay the foundation for what is to come as the unit progresses.

Companion assignments to review, reinforce and assess include ...

 
These 60 task cards are a fun way to reinforce the terms that were introduced to students in the Investing Terms assignment. Questions include multiple choice, short answer and true and false. The cards can be used individually, in small groups or as a whole class challenge type of game. Eleven wildcards are included to Rev Up the excitement!
This test is a companion to the Investing Terms assignment. The 59-question test is a good mix of matching, multiple choice and true/false questions.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Personal-Finance-for-Teens-Unleashed-Investing-Terms-Task-Cards-1157670http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Personal-Finance-for-Teens-Unleashed-Investing-Terms-Test-1150984

Monday, April 7, 2014

2 Great Personal Finance Lessons

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Personal-Finance-For-Teens-Unleashed


If you are teaching personal finance and need a starting point I hope you had the chance to download my popular Wonderful Life assignment. It has been downloaded over 2000 times at Teachers Pay Teachers and is a great way to get students thinking about their personal goals and their future. Click here to read more...


http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Personal-Finance-for-Teens-Unleashed-Personal-Finance-Conversation-Starters-574084


Personal Finance Conversation Starters for Teens
is another popular lesson with students.  

These 275 conversation starters will keep your students engaged all year long!

The conversation starters are a fun way to get kids talking about the money issues that we all face in our daily lives.  There are really no right or wrong answers and you never know where the conversation will lead.  That makes it all the more fun. In answering these questions students bring their unique perspective and life experiences to the table and learn from each other.
Just imagine them discussing topics like...

”Some adults have a lot of trouble saving money.  If you were asked to give them advice about saving what would you say?”
Or

“What is your worst fear about money?”
The conversation starters were written with 8th – 12th grade students in mind.  They can be used for small group or whole class discussion.  They can also be assigned as a short journal writing assignment.  

The 274 conversation starters are designed as 3 ¾ x 3 ¼ cards that can be laminated and used throughout the school year.  It is great fun to let students choose a card at random, never knowing what the question will be in advance.
The topics covered include: saving, spending, investing, goals, career choices, college, starting a business, charities, retirement, wills, job loss, the cost of health care and even bankruptcy and a ton more!
Thanks for stopping by!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Personal-Finance-For-Teens-Unleashed

Monday, September 16, 2013

Wonderful Life Presentations


Wonderful Life Presentations - Setting Personal and Financial Goals!


If you and your students have been working on my "Wonderful Life" assignment right about now you are probably putting the finishing touches on the assignment.

A few things I like to do before presentations include...

I ask my students to edit and practice their presentations so they go smoothly.

I give them the option of self-editing or editing with a friend.

Right before presentations I talk about how hard it can be to get up in front of a class and present - just because we don't do it a lot.

I remind them to support each other, and we talk about how they can do that.

I ask students to print 2 copies of presentation handouts - 4 slides on a page.
As each student goes before the class to present they give me a copy of their handouts and keep a copy for themselves.  I use my copy for grading purposes, and they use their handouts as they give their presentation.

I also mention how important it is to speak loudly and clearly so everyone can hear their presentation, and how eye contact helps to hold the audience's attention.

I ask a student from my class, usually the day before presentations, to run the computer that is hooked up to the presentation hardware and software.

I usually project the presentation on the wall behind the student that is presenting. They use their handout notes to set the pace, and the student running the presentation on the computer follows their lead.

Presentations for a class of 32 usually take about three or four days. The first day is usually the slowest, and then the kids pick up speed.

That's about it. Hope you have a great week!



Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Wonderful Life Assignment

 

A Lesson Designed to get Students Thinking about
Personal and Financial Goals!


I like to start the first week of school with a lesson I designed to get students thinking about their personal and financial goals “Wonderful Life”.  
This fun, interactive project gives students a chance to get to know each other while creating a presentation that reveals their goals regarding career, wages, and lifestyle.  It also sharpens their communication and presentation skills. As a culminating activity, each student presents their project to the class. It is a great first lesson.

Over 2000 teachers have download this lesson from
Teachers Pay Teachers.  If you have not already grabbed it, here is the link... “Wonderful Life”.


Teaching “Wonderful Life
Now that so many teachers are using this lesson, I thought I would offer a few tips on how I teach “Wonderful Life.”
I like starting the class off with this assignment because it eases the students (and the teacher) into the class, and it is a fun way for everyone to get to know each other.  It gives the teacher a chance to spend some one-on-one time with students.  It also sets the stage for the rest of the course.

Teacher tips

When I begin this lesson I always show students a completed presentation.  My thinking is that students will create something as good or better than the sample I show them.
I review the features of the presentation software students will be using - if needed. 
I stress that students should give plenty of details on each of the topics included the presentation.
Topic: Describe your dream home
Example: My dream home is a log cabin located on a beautiful, blue lake high in the mountains.  Secretly it would be very a high-tech house---but have a rustic look.     
I also spend some time talking about page layout – organizing and designing easy to read headings, subheadings, and text, as well as graphics that drive your point home.  I talk about trapped white space and how to avoid it. I usually steer students away from using clip art - pictures just seem more sophisticated.
I tell students that they will be presenting their project and that it would be to their advantage not to use animations like flash or crawl.  These types of animations are really distracting.  “Crawl” loses the class because it takes too long and “flash” just confuses everyone including the teacher who is attempting to grade the presentation.

Timing

It takes about a week for students to complete this assignment and an additional three days for student presentations. This is my experience with a class of about 32 students.
Every class is different, as is every student. Some will take a little more time to complete the lesson and others will take less time. I ask students who finish early to spend time editing their presentation and adding sound and animation. This gives the rest of the class time to finish up.
Next Week...more on presentation setup for “Wonderful Life”.

Thanks for stopping by!