I hear frequent complaints from the world that financial literacy isn't taught in schools. It is, actually, but it's hard to get students to pay attention to issues that seem so far away from them. They haven't signed up to buy a house, they have no practical income, anything that comes in is disposable, so who pays attention?
If there WAS any way for me to teach a 101 course in financial literacy, here are 10 assignments that I think might help.
1) At the beginning of the course - pick 10 stocks to track in the stock market. They should be companies that you know. What are their prices? At the end of the course, how did your stocks do? Would you have made more investing in these stocks, or a whole market index fund like VTSAX or FZROX?
2) Review the USDA cost of food site. What is the cost of food for everyone living in your house?
3) Find an adult who will share a single credit card statement with you. What were their total purchases? What were the largest expenses? What were some repeat expenses? How does their purchase total compare to their budget? What is the interest rate of the credit card? Are there any purchases they wish they hadn't made with the credit card?
4) How much are cars in your area? What are some car loan amounts it would take to buy these at 3, 5, 7 year financing?
5) Find the average household income in your city. What would a 50/30/20 (needs/wants/savings) budget look like? How does it compare to monthly apartment costs, car loan repayments, the USDA food budget?
6) Look around your house and find 10 things cluttering up the space that you could get rid of. How much do you think they cost initially?
7) What are the average salaries of three future careers you're considering? What are the college costs, and would the job salaries put you in a position to pay back student loans? If you're at one of these jobs, what words would you use to convince your employer you're a great employee who needs the best raise?
8) How can you avoid bank fraud, phishing schemes, and gift card scams? What other popular scams are in the news for hurting people?
9) What is the average US credit card debt and interest rate? Pick three monthly payments and calculate how long it would take to pay off the debt. How much would you pay in total interest?
10) What will your budget look like as an adult? What kinds of things would you put on a credit card?
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