Personal Finance
Links & Resources
AWESOME GENERAL RESOURCES
The following are good for many different topics:
Build Your Tomorrow (YO! Eli on YouTube teaches FinLit) NEW!
"Two Cents" (Financial Literacy videos from PBS) NEW!
Yeleny's Personal Finance YouTube Channel (fun & engaging!)
Better Money Habits (en Espanol) (Bank of America & Khan Academy)
Investopedia (single-best resource I've found; short videos on many topics)
Are millenials saving for retirement? (short video)
When do YOU think is a good idea to start?
THEME 1: Goals & Decision Making
Millionaire Facts & Myths
- 7 Millionaire Myths (Investopedia slide show)
- 7 Millionaire Myths (Investopedia; w/short vid clip)
- 6 Simple Steps to Becoming a Millionaire
- Millionaire Game (played in class!)
- Lifetime Earnings Soar with Education (article w/stats)
- The Millionaire Next Door
- Principles of Economics (see poster @ front of room)
Net Worth
-
Net Worth (w/short video)
How Homeownership Became the Engine of American Inequality (how people built wealth)
Opportunity Cost/Scarcity/Choice ← CORNERSTONE of PerFin!
- Opportunity Cost Definition and Real World Examples
- Tradeoffs and Opportunity Costs (short video)
- Opportunity Cost - Investopedia (w/short video)
- Scarcity - Investopedia (w/short video)
- Opportunity cost: Simple Whiteboard expl (w/video)
- What is Scarcity? (3m vid)
- Scarcity and Choice/Tradeoff (corny cartoon skit/video)
- Handy Dandy Guide (song, slides; it's also in pkt 1.2)
- No Free Lunch!
PACED Decision Making ("College for Maria" activity)
- Good summary here. See packet 1.2 for more info.
MISSION
There are corporate mission statements and personal mission statements. In both cases, it should answer questions like "why are you here?" and "what is your purpose in life?" Read this & this.
VISION
There are corporate vision statements and personal vision statements. In both cases, it should answer questions like "where will you be (or how do you see yourself) in __ years?"
SMART Goals, Objectives
Denzel Washington on Goals (12m vid)
SMART Goals are goals that, when accomplished, will take you toward your mission and vision; they are relevant.
OBJECTIVES are very specific steps that, when completed, will take you closer to accomplishing your SMART goal. Read on...
- How to Write SMART Goals (step-by-step guide)
- How to Write SMART Goals (video)
- What Are SMART Goals? (short video)
-
Objectives are very specific things (steps) you need to complete in order to reach the goal - for example, if your goal includes improving your grades, "no gaming on school
nights" would be a good objective for many of you
Think of objectives as things you check off on your way to a SMART goal; completing an objective MUST take you closer to your SMART goal.
An objective should answer the question: What step can I do/take THIS WEEK to start toward my goal?
Project/Activity: SMART Goals and Objectives
Read ALL directions first, then do them in sequence.
(1) Use links above (under "SMART Goals, Objectives")
to learn more about SMART goals. (~10 minutes)
(2) Open Chrome browser & log into your Google/Gmail account.
(3) Get a copy of my SMART Goals and Objectives Worksheet.
(4) Read the 1st page of the worksheet for instructions and examples.
(5) Read it again. Reflect. Think hard. Look in the mirror.
(6) Complete the worksheet.
(7) Ensure your FULL name, date, and period are on it (you can write them onto the printed copy if you prefer).
(8) Double-check: Do ALL six of your goals pass ALL FIVE ELEMENTS of SMART??? If your goals are not SMART, you will not earn full credit. Ask a peer, parent, etc., to take a look. Most common error is no deadline.
(10) Correctly submit copy via Schoology.
PACKETS
THEME 2: Careers & Planning
2.1 Multiple Intelligences
Intro to Multiple Intelligences
1. What is intelligence? Who is intelligent? Are JEOPARDY! contestants intelligent?
-
YouTube
video on Dr Gardner's multiple intelligences
SHOWN IN CLASS! -
Multiple Intelligences Career Chart
SHOWN IN CLASS! - Know the meanings of inter and intra as well as the main idea of each intelligence
2, Now that you know all about multiple intelligences, you will take at least two online tests to help you find your strengths and weaknesses (the results are needed for the next lesson). Online Tests (take at least two tests and SAVE YOUR RESULTS by following directions below)
- Literacy.net (10-15 mins)
- Psychology Today (10 mins)
- PersonalityMax (25 mins but VERY detailed report)
SAVE YOUR RESULTS! (1) In Chrome use [Ctrl]+[P] (for print), (2) change destination to "Save as PDF", and (3) save the file to your Personal Finance folder (which you might have to create if you have not done so already) under "Documents". You may also use screenshots or any other method that works for you. These will NOT be collected BUT you'll need to refer to them.
THIS SHOULD BE DONE BY THE *START* OF NEXT CLASS.
Career Research Assignment
Multiple Intelligences/Career Exploration
Opener: College Majors with Highest Starting Salary (Sept 2019)
1) Watch: Six Career Destinations (YouTube)
SHOWN IN CLASS!
2) Use the Multiple Intelligences Career Chart and look at careers under the intelligences you scored strongest in on the tests you took last class (you saved the results as a PDF to your /Documents/Personal Finance/ folder, right??). You don't have to use these, but they might help if you're not sure of what careers to investigate.
3) Get a copy of my Multiple Intelligences/Career worksheet. This is what you will complete, print, and submit (via Schoology) for a grade. You must import your Google Doc; please do not upload a Word doc due to technical issues.
4) Using the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook ("OOH"), O*NET Online, and other career resources you might find, choose THREE careers that match your test results, and for each one, show:
- Why that career matches your test results
- The low (10th percentile), median (50th percentile), and high (90th percentile) salaries for the career. Round to the nearest thousand (e.g., $46,543 rounds to $47K).
- Are there regulatory/legal requirements for a career? NJ info: general and everything-you-want-to-know. National info: certifications.
- If you find other sites that were helpful (e.g., salary info), please list those sites (e.g., salary.com).
- Click here for a HINT on using OOH as a resource
5) Complete the rest of your Multiple Intelligences/Career worksheet. Your opportunity cost of not reading/following directions is forfeited (lost) points. #ChooseWisely
Your multiple intelligences test results stay with the rest of your notes - do not turn them in.
2.2 Employee vs Entrepreneur
Employee vs Entrepreneur Mindset (9m video, rambling dude)
The 15 Characteristics of Effective Entrepreneurs? (7m video, shown in class)
8 Differences Between 'Entrepreneurs' and 'Employees'
12 Important Differences Between Employees and Entrepreneurs
15 Differences Between Employees and Entrepreneurs
Employment vs Entrepreneurship: Choosing the Right Path
Better to Be Entrepreneur or Employee?
2.3 Human Capital
What is
Human Capital? (Investopedia, w/2m vid)
SHOWN IN CLASS
100 Fastest Growing Jobs In New Jersey
Unemployment Rates and Education (Human Capital)
8 Things Employers Aren't Allowed to Ask You
SHIFT Happens (7m vid)
Top Ten Post-Grad Degrees: How to make fat stax (Investopedia)
Probability of Competing Beyond HS
Estimated probability of competing in professional athletics
LESSONS/PACKETS:
2.1 Multiple Intelligences: Video/discussion,
Career Research Assignment (no Packet)
2.2: Employee vs Entrepreneur (Packet 2.2)
Use relevant videos & your own research
Extra credit at bottom of p31 - EM's submission
2.3: Human Capital
Unemployment Rates by Education Level (no Packet)
2.4: Why Some Jobs Pay More Than Others (Packet 2.4)
Theme 2 "Study Guide"/Test Topics
- OOH: What is it, where's it from, what info it's good for (and not good for), how current is it (study main page)
- 8 Intelligences: Whose theory, what does each intelligence mean, how to determine your strengths/weaknesses and what will you do with the info, how is/was general intelligence traditionally measured (try searching on 'intelligence tests' and this)
- Employee vs Entrepreneur: Characteristics of each, advantages and disadvantages of each, how are they different, how are they similar (page 2 of packet AND resources above)
- As usual, ALL class discussion, notes, resources, packets, videos, etc., are "fair game" for the test.
CREATING YOUR EVERFI ACCOUNT
View "How to Succeed with EverFi" (short presentation) if you miss the in-class presentation/explanation.
READ ALL DIRECTIONS BEFORE STARTING.
NOW READ THEM AGAIN.
ONE MORE TIME.
NOTE: If you already have an account with this system (usually from Alcohol unit in Health class), you can ADD the class code below. See me if you have trouble.
1) Click here to access the 1st registration page
2) Copy & paste the correct code for your class from the list below to the registration page (be sure STUDENT/LEARNER is chosen):
FALL 2019:
Per 01: 7298738b
Per 04: ad4c2592
Per HR2: 7d9e3261
Per 06: ecb60474
If you do not use the correct code, I cannot see your scores and a ZERO will be recorded for all assignments! Use COPY-PASTE to ensure accurate class code entry which will minimize problems.
3) Click [NEXT]
4) Read ALL of the following, then complete all fields on the 2nd registration page:
a) Change the DAY of your birth but use the
correct MONTH & YEAR
b) Use your real, full name (last name must be EXACTLY as
it appears in Genesis). I have hundreds of students and
don't have time to decode or look up nicknames, street
names, show business names, pet names, initials,
etc. If you choose to ignore this requirement you should
expect zeroes on all EverFi assignments regardless of the
results you see. Same goes if you use wrong class code.
c) Provide your email address so you can reset your
own password if you forget it. I know it says optional, but if
you don't and you forget how to log in, there's no extension
and I may not be able to help you 24/7.
d) Choose a username you'll remember (your email is a good
choice); choose a password that's hard for others to
guess but easy for you to remember.
e) Agree to the terms of service.
YOU are responsible for remembering (mentally, in your phone, in your notebook, etc.) YOUR login ID and password. Forgetting your login ID and/or password does NOT excuse you from meeting assignment deadlines, nor does starting at the last minute and running into technical issues.
5) Click [NEXT]
6) Complete short survey. Your registration is NOT complete until you do this and view the introductory video.
NOTES:
- EverFi log-in page: https://platform.everfi.net/
- EARBUDS/HEADPHONES WITH BUILT-IN MICROPHONE DO NOT WORK WELL ON OUR PCs; BRING A CHEAP NO-MICROPHONE PAIR (THINK "DOLLAR STORE SPECIAL")
- EVERFI WORKS WITH BOTH ANDROID AND iOS, AS WELL AS CHROMEBOOKS, MACs, and PCs.
- SOME VIDEOS HAVE CLOSED-CAPTION (CLICK 'CC' BUTTON)
-
EXTENSIVE EVERFI HELP, TIPS, ETC., AT BOTTOM OF
THIS PAGE
See Below for help with Registration...
NOTE: More EverFi resources at BOTTOM of this page (e.g., troubleshooting and other tips)
FINANCING HIGHER EDUCATION (NO THEME #)
S T A R T H E R E !
Presentation shown in class (summarizes everything); be sure to click the many links inside the presentation!
Intro to Financing Higher Education (Presentation shown in class)
Scholarship Project
Choosing not to follow directions will result in a lower (or no) score. Read all directions FIRST before starting (so you know where you're going!).
1) Research & identify a REAL scholarship, which should be:
cool/interesting/unusual/unique/whacky
scholarship opportunity for high school students with a
deadline AFTER Jan 1, 2021. You may search on your own
and/or use the many links provided on this very page!
(HINT: Use Ctrl+F to search for scholarships)
2) In Google Docs (or Word) create a HALF-PAGE
(8.5" w x 5.5" h) advertisement for your scholarship (it should
only occupy the TOP HALF of a normal sheet).
It MUST include ALL of the following info:
a) Name of scholarship
b) Amount of scholarship
c) Deadline for applying (has to be after Jan 1, 2021)
d) BRIEF SUMMARY in YOUR OWN WORDS of scholarship
e) QR code that leads to a web page with more info on the
scholarship (click here to access an online QR generator;
click here for 10-second guide on how to use it;
How to insert image into Google Doc: look here and here)
f) Font should be large enough to read from a few feet away;
do NOT use tiny font...or giant font (SEE this exemplar)
3) Print and ensure it completely fits on top TOP HALF after it's
folded. No penalty for black & white, but color would be
nice (and/or you could color it by hand).
4) CLEARLY hand-write your FULL NAME and DATE and
CLASS PERIOD # on the back. Missing some/all of this info will
cost you some/all points.
See examples on bulletin board that's 17 feet north of my door!
Financing Higher Education: Continued
College is not the best choice for everyone, especially if it means taking on a mountain of debt; educate yourself!
REALLY good, inspirational
documentary on beating the odds
(57m) NEW!
Well-done, easy-to-understand pages by Discover.com:
FREE MONEY and financial aid from NJ State Government
New Jersey's Higher Education Student Assistance Authority
NJ Grants, Financial Aid, and Scholarships
8 Steps to Apply for Federal & State Student Aid (rev Sept 2018)
Other
Paying for College (CFPB) great "jumping off" point
Private undergraduate loans from Discover informative
How to Create a FAFSA ID (6m vid, from NJHESSA)
FAFSA
What is FAFSA and Why Should You Care?
Protect Yourself from Identity Theft on Student Loan
FAFSA Main Page (nicely remodeled with easy nav at top!)
News/Cautionary Tales
The Student Debt Crisis: Lives on Hold (Consumer Reports)
Who Got Rich Off the Student Loan Crisis
A New Scam Targets College Students (Consumer Reports)
Student Debt Grows to Alarming Levels (Consumer Reports)
College Checklists (NYT)
Guidance Office Sessions (NYT)
What Happens if I Ignore My Student Loans? (Credit.com)
No College Kid Needs a Waterpark (NYT)
General Financial, Loans
Paying for College (CFPB)
Compare College Costs & Financial Aid (CFPB)
Paying for College (NYTimes)
How the GOP Tax Plan Could Make It Harder to Pay for College
(Consumer Reports)
College Tuition Insurance (Consumer Reports)
What You'll Actually Pay at 1500+ Colleges
Wells Fargo's Education Finances Center
How to Pay for College: 10 Tips (Bankrate)
Create Your Roadmap (College Board)
Explore the Costs of Attending College (US News)
Credible (cut your student loan costs; featured on NBC News)
Credible (student loan refinancing)
Specific example (guess who gets the lowest rates???)
How Much of Your Income Should Go Toward Loan Repayment
Transferring Credits Between NJ Colleges
"Sticker" vs Net Price
College Raptor: Net vs Sticker Price
When College Sticker Prices Can Matter
College Scorecard (compare financials of different colleges)
Calculators (Loans, etc.)
HESAA (via NJCLASS)
CNN: How Much Will That College
REALLY Cost?
(very good but not working??)
Compare Financial Aid/Schools (CFPB)
ECMC - Estimate Your College Costs
Too Rich for Aid, Too Poor for College
US News & World Report article
Scholarships
Tips to Getting College Scholarships (vid)
Is There a Scholarship Out There Just For ME? (3m vid)
How U.S. Student Loans Became A $1.6 Trillion Crisis (10m vid)
ScholarMatch (scholarships)
5 Tips for Scoring College Scholarships (Consumer Reports)
Finding Scholarships (from StudentAid; simple explanations)
Top Ten Tips to Getting Scholarships (w/3m vid; from Discover)
(see Mr Michaels to apply; due 13Nov2019)
Unusual Scholarships
Unusual Scholarships (scholarships.com)
10 Unique Scholarships (3m vid from Discover) NEW!
Weird Scholarhips (scholarships.com)
Weird/Unusual/Unique Scholarships
More Weird Scholarships (college-financial-aid-advice.com)
StartClass (find right college)
Miscellaneous
Glossary of Federal Student Aid terms
NJ-specific: Higher Education Student Assistance Authority
Federal Student Aid Glossary [of terms]
Comprehensive presentation from TCNJ (w/NJ and Fed info)
19 top free apps for college students (Consumer Reports)
8 Ways to Prevent College Weight Gain (Consumer Reports)
The Best Sheets for College Dorms (Consumer Reports)
How Student and Parent Assets Affect Your Financial Aid
Are there any assets that are not counted for financial aid purposes?
THEME 3: BUDGETING
Let this sink in...it costs a QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS to raise a child to adulthood (Can YOU afford to raise a child?)
Like graphics instead? Check this out!
Lesson 3.1: What is a budget? Why should I have one?
Personal Expense Spending Tracker (Google Sheet) and Analysis
Lesson 3.2: Funding Goals by Planning
Fixed vs Variable expenses
Senior Year Budget Sheet and sample expenses
Column 1: Give each line a priority (High, Medium, or Low)
Column 3: Estimate the cost of the item
Column 4: Who's paying (self, parent, friend, etc.)
Column 5: Type of goal (leave this blank)
Column 6: Actual cost can only be determined AFTER it
occurs so leave blank unless you have a functioning
time machine
Lesson 3.3: Taxes
Uncle Sam Takes a Bite - Forms, forms, forms! (Packet 3.3)
Lesson 3.4: Money Management
Managing Your Money (Packet 3.4)
Lesson 3.5: Personal Budget
See how a 24 yr old making over $200K spends his money
See how a 23 yr old making $50K/yr lives in Brooklyn, NY
Recommended percentages per budget item (1 2 3)
What's a Budget?
Intro to Budgets
Cosby Pilot (YouTube, 4m) ⇦ shown in class
You Need A Budget (YouTube, 2m) ⇦ shown in class
What is Budgeting? (MyMoneyCoach)
5 Steps to a Successful Budget (payoff.com)
Personal Expense Spending Tracker (Google Sheet)
Pay Yourself FIRST! ← CORNERSTONE OF PersFin
Pay Yourself First (6m vid; boring but good info)
Pay Yourself First (Investopedia)
How to Pay Yourself First (1m vid)
Pay Yourself First (3m cartoon vid)
Pay Yourself First (The Balance)
HOW to Pay Yourself First (WikiHow)
Emergency Savings (infographic)
Track Your Spending
APPS:
12 FREE Apps to Track Personal Spending
4 "Best" Personal Finance apps
Best Personal Finance Apps of 2019 (Investopedia)
FREE Non-App Budget Tools:
Pear Budget (spreadsheet)
Quick-Start Budget (PDF to print)
HS Students' videos on Budgeting
How an NBA star lost $100 MILLION
Prom
Prom Spending Survey - 2015 (practicalmoneyskills.com)
Prom night can cost teenagers (and parents) a pretty penny
Teens Are Spending Way More...Here's Where the Money Goes.
23 Prom Night Statistics Every Parent Should Read
Fall 2020 Piper Jaffray Survey on Teen Spending NEW!
Infographic PDF ⇦ shown in class
Budgeting Rules
Elizabeth Warren's 50/30/20 Rule (ON TEST)
50/30/20 Budgeting/Money Mgt Monday (YouTube, <4m) ⇦ shown in class
Elizabeth Warren's advice (YouTube, <8m)
Elizabeth Warren's 50/30/20 Rule (Investopedia)
40 Things NOT To Do When You're BROKE!
Pay Yourself First (YouTube, 2m)
How much ca$h to keep in the bank (Investopedia, w/short vid)
Paychecks
Understanding Your Paycheck (YouTube, 2m) ⇦ shown in class
Understanding Your Paycheck (YouTube, 4m) NEW!
If Paychecks Could Talk (YouTube, 4m) ⇦ shown in class
How
to Understand Your Paycheck (YouTube, 2m)
Overtime pay
Calculate Overtime Pay for Hourly and Salaried Employees
Salary vs hourly related to exempt vs non-exempt
What is the Difference Between Salaried and Hourly Employees?
What is the difference between wages and salary?
Difference Between an Exempt and a Non-Exempt Employee
(here and here, too)
Net Pay
Defining Take-Home Pay (Investopedia)
Other
Paycheck Calculator: Gross, Net, and more
Pay Frequency (nice summary table)
Deductions:
EVERYTHING You Need
to Know About Payroll Deductions
(The Balance)
Statutory/Required vs Optional/Voluntary
Garnish (no, not the stuff on your dinner plate!) (1 & 2 & 3)
Wage Garnishment: How It Works and What You Can Do
If Your Wages Are Garnished: Your Rights!
Garnishment (Wikipedia)
Social Security/Medicare/FICA
Who pays FICA?
Social Security Wage Base ($132,900 in
2019)
Simple explanation (The Balance)
Medical Insurance Costs
Cost of Medical Insurance in NJ (Calculator)
What Information is Included on a Pay Stub
What's on a pay stub (QuickBooks)
What is a pay stub (The Street)
What info is included on a pay stub (TheBalanceCareers)
When GenZ (born after 1994) Expects Raises and Promotions
Taxes
Ten Key Tax Terms to Know
Tax Terms
Glossary
What income is taxable?
What are all these deductions?
Almost HALF of Americans pay no INCOME tax (1 2 3)
NJ's Top Property Tax Bills: is your home on the list? NEW!
Pre-tax vs Post-tax deductions
Who pays income tax? The answer will surprise you. NEW!
Allowances vs Paycheck Deductions vs Tax Deductions, oh my!
FILE YOUR OWN TAX RETURNS after you receive
your W-2 forms!
Read this first. You and your parents are responsible for following IRS rules; the following links are provided as a convenience only and this is not to be construed as tax advice. When in doubt, consult your tax advisor.
FREE: file your FEDERAL tax return online for free NEW!
FREE: file your NJ STATE tax return online for free NEW!
FREE: online tax filing from CreditKarma NEW!
Tax Brackets and Progressive Taxation
The Progressive Income Tax: A Tale of Three Brothers
(5m vid) ⇦ shown in class
What is Progressive Taxation? (2m vid) ⇦ shown in class
How Tax Brackets Work - new for 2019 (3m vid)
How Tax Brackets Actually Work - Two Cents (7m vid)
2018 Tax Brackets (the ones in the packet are old)
Why the Rich Pay Lower
Taxes: income types, brackets, etc
(YouTube)
How Tax Brackets Work (Progressive Tax System; with examples)
Tax Bracket Worksheet (1 in class, 1 for HW; old bracket info
but concept is exactly the same)
How Tax Brackets Work - new for 2019 (3m vid)
How Tax Brackets Actually Work - Two Cents (7m vid)
First-Day [of work] Forms:
How to Complete an I-9 (Investopedia)
IRS W-4 (most of what you need to know on one short page)
The actual IRS Form W-4 (PDF)
How to fill out your W-4 form (w/vid)
How to fill out [old] W-4 form (w/simple cartoon video) NEW!
How to fill out a Form W-4 (list of vids) NEW!
Do's and Don'ts of the W-4 (w/video) NEW!
The Purpose Of The IRS W-4 Form
End-of-Year Forms:
IRS Form W-2 (w/video) ⇦ shown in class
10 Things You Should Know About 1099s
What is Form 1099? (and here)
Tax Returns
NEW! 2018 IRS Form 1040
2018 IRS Form 1040 (PDF)
2018 IRS Form 1040 - Instruction (PDF or HTML)
What's "Head of Household?" (let Eli explain)
General info, including schedules 1 through 6 (HTML)
2018 IRS Form 1040 "Walkthrough" (24m vid)
NOTE: Easy to watch and VERY detailed; covers some
intermediate topics such as those a small business owner
would be interested in. If you're still confused after
doing Jack and Jill's returns in class, you should watch this.
How to fill out your 1040 form
Your guide to the new 1040 form
IRS Form 1040X: the "re-do" form
Taxable Interest, a/k/a line 2: short video, brief writeup
Know your 1099 forms, including 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, 1099-G
TheBalance.com does a GREAT job of summarizing 1099 info
What is a Dependent (for tax purposes)?
Can elderly relative be a Dependent (for tax purposes)?
5 Tests To Claim a Dependent On Your Tax Return
10 Common Tax Filing Mistakes to Avoid
What's "Head of Household?" (Eli tells you in his vid)
LINE-BY-LINE GUIDE: HOW TO COMPLETE IRS FORM 1040 (for TY2018)
The following are NOT tested topics, but enough people have
asked so here's some info:
EIC, a/k/a line 8a NEW!
Nontaxable Combat Pay, a/k/a line 8b NEW!
Health Care, a/k/a/ line 11 NEW!
Other
3 Ways to Get More Out of Your Paycheck (YouTube, 2m)
>> KEY TEST TOPICS <<
(think of this list as a really big HINT...)
If you can explain the following, you should do well on the test; ALL of this was covered in class and/or in the ABOVE RESOURCES and class packets!
BUDGETING/PAYCHECKS TEST
- How Net Pay is calculated
- Optional vs Mandatory PAYCHECK deductions
- SS/Medicare: who pays, how much, how long
- Overtime: what is it, how is it calculated
- Exempt vs Non-Exempt (goes w/Overtime)
- Paycheck frequencies
- Pay Yourself First
- Pre-tax vs Post-tax deductions
- Salary vs Hourly
- Garnish
- What % of your take-home to spend on major expenses (from Young Adult Budget project)
- What is a pay stub and what info is on it
TAXES TEST
- In class, you completed your own W-4 and two 1040 tax returns (Jack & Jill) using provided W-2 forms. You were told to add them to your notes.
- Separate from your Taxes Test, you will complete a 1040 for a fictitious individual using provided forms and table; this will be graded.
- Marginal vs Effective tax rates (very short videos)
- Too much to list here so be sure to use ESSENTIAL STUDY GUIDE for Theme 3: Taxes below for an iNTeRaCTiVe test review:
The taxes portion of Theme 3 is significant, so it gets its own dedicated Study Guide! Loaded with links which is why it's best used online (not printed). Of course, this is a GUIDE ONLY; you have materials from class, dozens of resources, EverFi experience, etc., that is also essential to your success. Prepare well and procrastinate at your own peril.
VERY detailed explanation of Jack's IRS Form 1040. Pretty much everything I said in class but in a document. Here's a colorful version that's more generic (not specific to Jack's W-2).
Practice Tests that will help:
https://quizlet.com/9201297/paychecks-flash-cards/
https://quizlet.com/60803129/paychecks-taxes-quiz-flash-cards/
THEME 4: Saving & Investing
Start with this infographic (Visual Capitalist) and
Investing and Investing 101 (Pinterest) and
Investing by Age (NerdWallet)
Getting Started: the following will give you the information you need to learn and be successful in Theme 4.
What is inflation? Why do we have to beat it?
Watch: How Does Inflation Affect My Investments (YouTube, 4m)
Read: Inflation's impact on stock returns, 9 Effects of Inflation
Key: The Time Value of Money (2m video) NEW!
What is the stock market? How does it work?
Watch: How the Stock Market Works (YouTube, 9m)
Watch: How the Stock Market Works (Investopedia, 2m)
Read: How the Stock Market Works (HowStuffWorks)
Read/Watch: Private vs Public Companies (Investopedia, 1m)
...and what does that have to do with inflation?
Watch: Why Invest in Stocks, Anyway? (YouTube, 3m)
So, you like it when your money makes money for you?
Consider: Signing up for Investing Basics and Term of the Day
Preaching from the "Pen": Curtis Carroll
Watch: How I learned to read - and trade stocks - in prison, TED Talk by Curtis "Wall Street" Carroll (YouTube, 11m)
Money Management Mistakes to Avoid from PNC Bank
Are You On The Right Path?
Seven Financial Lessons to Master by Age 30 (w/vid, Investopedia)
How to Become a Millionaire (Investopedia)
Historical Returns
Annual Returns on Stock, T.Bonds and T.Bills: 1928 - Current
S&P 500 Historical Annual Returns
4.1 Pay Yourself FIRST, EARLY, and OFTEN
Compound Interest ←CORNERSTONE of this course
Graphical Compound Interest Calculator ← play around w/this
Understanding Compound Interest (2m vid)
What is Compound Interest? (2m vid)
What is Compounding? (1m vid)
Rule of 72: Explanation in the packet.
Step-by-step here,
Videos here and here. Several examples done in class.
How Compound Interest Really Works - simple explanation
w/examples
Compound Interest (2m vid)
The POWER of Compound Interest (short explanation w/graph)
Pay Yourself First (YouTube, 2m) ←CORNERSTONE of this course
Why Saving 10% Won't Get You Through Retirement
How Early Can YOU Retire?? Two Cents (6m vid)
Stuff You Can Do in your 20s & 30s to become RICH (1m video)
Rule of 72: Explanation in the packet. Step-by-step here,
with videos here and here. Several examples done in class.
How Compound Interest Really Works - simple explanation
w/examples
Compound Interest (2m vid)
The POWER of Compound Interest (short explanation w/graph)
4.2 Why Should I Have a Savings Plan? Omitted because it duplicates the career research you did previously.
4.3 Save? Invest?? BOTH??? (Packet 4.2, which should have been labeled 4.3)
What is inflation? (2m video)
Good summary of savings vehicles ←Excellent chart!
What are stocks? (2m video) NEW!
What are mutual funds? (2m video) NEW!
Mutual Fund Tutorial (in-depth; optional)
What are bonds? (2m video) NEW!
Individual bonds NEW!
Why Companies Issue Bonds (w/short video)
Everything You Need to Know About Bonds in 15 Minutes
Real Estate; Investing in Real Estate
How to Invest if You Are BROKE (Investopedia)
Compare savings accounts, money market accounts and CDs NEW!
The Best Ways to Invest for a Small Budget
Dollar-cost averaging ←Why we save OFTEN!
Cash Savings vs. Retirement Savings – Where Should You Focus? NEW!
4.4 No Free Lunch
Free Lunch ←not what you think..TANSTAAFL
TANSUAAFL (5m vid)
FDIC (incl 1min video) ←is your money safe?
Inflation (incl video)
Mutual Funds (incl video)
Risk; Risk-Reward Tradeoff ← CORNERSTONE of PerFin!
Liquidity Risk; What is liquidity? (2m vid)
Inflation Risk and this
Real vs Nominal Interest Rate ←simple but IMPORTANT
Real vs Nominal (w/1m video)
EVERYTHING You Need to Know About Interest in ONE LINK
Financial Risk - several types (see packet!)
Annual Return/Return on Invesment
Step-by-Step instructions NEW!
Return on Investment (Investopedia, with 2m video) NEW!
4.5 Financial Institutions
What Are the Major Types of Financial Institution?
Primary Market (1m vid)
Secondary Market (1m vid)
Forms of Business Organization
Mutual Fund vs Index Fund←similar but not identical
Index vs Mutual Funds (Motley Fool)←EASY explanation!
Diversification ← CORNERSTONE TOPIC!
Debt Financing; Debt vs Equity Financing
Rule of 72 (and here)←visited several times during course
Stock Splits Would you rather have one pizza in 8 slices or 16? Does it make a difference??
4.6 Financial Information
4.7 Researching Companies
How to Read Stock Tables/Charts (here, AT&T, here)
Demonstration in class - take notes!
4.8 Buying and Selling Stocks and Bonds
Fidelity's YouTube Channel (short vids on many topics!) NEW!
How Stocks and the Stock Market Work (HowStuffWorks)
What's a Dividend? (1m vid from Investopedia) NEW!
Bonds; Bonds Tutorial (in-depth; optional)
Stock Market Tutorial (Investopedia)
How the Pros Decide When to Buy, Sell, or Hold
OTHER
Day Trading for Beginners (Investopedia, with short video)
Make the Most of your 401(k) (Investopedia - nice summary)
Foundations of Investing (Fidelity)
Where to invest Money You'll Need in Five Years (Investopedia)
Retire Wealthy: The Millenial March to $1 MILLION NEW!
PACKETS/HANDOUTS
STOCKS & PORTFOLIOS
Stock Basics Tutorial (9 very short "parts")
Stocks Basics: How to Read A Stock Table/Quote
How to Read Stock Info (YouTube, 10m) NEW!
What is stock analysis? What is fundamental analysis?
What is a sector? (definition)
How are sectors used?
Sectors/Industries Overview (Fidelity.com) ←start here
10 Sectors of the Stock Market (etfdb.com)
Stock Sectors: How to Classify Stocks (the Balance.com)
Yahoo Finance Stock Screening "Tool"
Stock Exchanges (Investopedia, w/2m vid)
What is a Stock Exchange? (The Balance)
APR and APY: Why Your Bank Hopes You Can't Tell the Difference
APR vs APY (simple vs compounding) ← MUST WATCH
** Use this page to pick stocks by sector for the project **
THE FOLLOWING PROJECT WAS MOVED TO SCHOOLOGY;
COPY LEFT HERE FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE.
Stock Portfolio Project (Google Docs) - GRADED!
Read all directions before beginning to work...
- Use finance.yahoo.com to do some research and identify 8 publicly-traded companies that interest you. To achieve a diversified portfolio, these companies should come from different industries/sectors; when you research a stock on finance.yahoo.com, down the page on the right is a company summary that tells you what industry the company is in. The companies you select must be traded on a U.S. exchange (e.g., NYSE, NASDAQ) in US dollars. NOTE: Some companies are owned by other companies (here's a great example). One of my favorite sites to do financial research is finance.yahoo.com. Read ALL directions before beginning to work and to maximize your score & learning.
- You MUST be using CHROME and be logged into your Google account. Read ALL directions before beginning to work and to maximize your score & learning.
- Look at my portfolio - see how I spent almost the entire $50,000 evenly across all 8 investments. How much is $50K divided by 8? Stock price is determined by the stock market, not you; you only get to decide which stocks and how many shares. Read ALL directions before beginning to work and to maximize your score & learning.
- Open the BLANK portfolio. Read ALL directions before beginning to work and to maximize your score & learning.
- Click FILE and MAKE A COPY to save it to your Google Drive (under a folder called Personal Finance).
Do *NOT* ask for permission to edit the blank portfolio. Read ALL directions before beginning to work and to maximize your score & learning. - Follow directions in the blank portfolio at the bottom. Use Yahoo's "industries" link to browse companies in different industries/sectors - click here to see; click here, too. Read ALL directions before beginning to work and to maximize your score & learning.
- The normal submit process does NOT work with this project, so do this:
After you have ensured that you've met all requirements, did not delete rows, and do not have "N/A" or other error messages, perform these steps:
1) In Google Sheets, click FILE
2) click DOWNLOAD AS
3) click PDF
4) click EXPORT
5) choose a destination (and remember it)
6) click SUBMIT ASSIGNMENT button in Schoology, then:
T H E M E 4 T E S T P R E P
Failing to plan is planning to fail
Financing Higher Education: Budget Project
1) Copy Budget Template to your Google Drive. View Budget
Instructions which tells you step-by-step how to complete
the Budget Template. BE SURE to (a) enter your name and
period # where indicated, and print the budget sheet in
PORTRAIT MODE.
2) Complete Reflection/Analysis (based on Budget Template)
3) Complete 25 ?s on Financing Higher Education using the
links/resources given at the top in the instructions.
This will be checked but not collected - it's part of your notes.
REMINDER: Copy Google file(s) to YOUR drive, then edit. Requests to edit my copy will be ignored!
THEME 5 - CREDIT
Start with this infographic and this infographic
The "Meat" - Packets from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve
See below for "potatoes"
5.1: Extra "Credit" game (like "Millionaire" game); intro to credit
Don't Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford (NBC, HD: 2m14s), or
Don't Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford (Vimeo, SD: 2m14s)
What Is Credit? (YouTube, 2m18s)
Vocab: Borrower, Consumable goods, Credit,
Creditworthiness, Durable goods, Lender
5.2: What is Credit?
Spending and Credit (Packet 5.2)
List of banks in NJ (1 2)
Vocab: Fees, Interest
5.3: Cash vs Credit (Packet
5.3 - do NOT do p127)
Vocab: APR, Cash, Checks, Credit limit, Debit cards
Finance charge, Grace period, Inflation, Interest, Late fee,
Minimum payment, Money orders, Opportunity cost,
Credit limit vs Available credit
5.4: Making Credit Choices
Sharp Financial Advisors (Packet 5.4)
5.5: Find Your Way Through the Credit Maze
Activities (Packet 5.5)
Vocab: Closed-ended credit, Installment plans,
Open-ended
credit, Revolving
credit. Secured debt,
Unsecured debt
5.6: Applying for Credit
Reading a Credit Report (Packet 5.6)
Vocab: Credit bureaus, Credit report, Credit scores (FICO &
Vantage)
5.7: All About Interest
Everything You Wanted to Know About Figuring Interest
(Packet 5.7) Part 3 = EC if you get it all correct
Vocab: Annual percentage rate (APR), Balloon payments,
Finance charge, Interest rate
5.8: Shopping for a Credit Card
Comparing Credit Cards (Packet 5.8)
Vocab: Annual fees, Annual percentage rate (APR),
Credit, Credit limits, Credit statements, Grace period
5.9: Consumer Credit Protection (Packet 5.9, 1st 4 pages)
Vocab: Credit protection, Redress of credit problems
Excellent summary on ONE PAGE: Credit Protection Laws
VOCAB HINT: GO here and simply search on a term or phrase; make your own flash cards or find an existing Quizlet
The "Potatoes" - Super-Useful References!
A brief history of credit over the millenia
The C's of Credit
Investopedia - 5 C's of Credit (Investopedia, w/video)
Wells Fargo - What Lenders Look for (5 C's of Credit)
Practical Money Skills - 3 C's of Credit (nice summary w/quiz)
Credit SCORES
QUIZ: Will it sink your credit score? NEW!
Four Consequences of a Late Credit Card Payment
Ten Mistakes to Ruin Your Credit Score
Ten Simple Ways to Ruin Your Credit Very Quickly
Nine Ways to Destroy Your Credit Score
Seven Fastest Ways to Ruin Your Credit
Four Consequences of a Late Credit Card Payment
What is a good credit score? (awesome poster/graphic)
Breaking down credit score (good graphic)
What affects credit scores (very good poster/graphic; ties to
credit reports)
Credit Score Ranges: What Do They Mean? (Investopedia)
EVERYTHING you wanted to know about FICO scores
What is a FICO score? (Investopedia, w/video)
FICO Score Estimator NEW!
FICO Score
Education (almost everything FICO in one place)
What is FICO?
What's IS NOT in a FICO score?
Credit Scores (lots of info in ONE graphic; hanging on white board)
Understanding FICO
scores (big PDF with lots of cool graphics)
What impact do negative marks have on your credit score? (vid)
FICO reveals how common credit mistakes affect scores NEW!
700 Credit Score: Everything You Need to Know
Credit Score RANGES: What Do They Mean? NEW!
Why you might have OVER 70 different credit scores (3m video)
What's Keeping You From An Excellent Credit Score
FICO vs Vantage Credit Scores: How do they differ?
FICO vs VantageScore - 5 Differences (Credit.com)
VantageScore vs FICO (WalletHub)
Brian Howard (11m video)
Credit REPORTS
Credit REPORT vs Credit SCORE (5m video)
What is a credit report? and here
Four ways to get your credit report for FREE
Why Credit Karma Is Free and How It Makes Money
How can a minor (under 18) have a credit report?
If you find a mistake on your credit? (YouTube)
CFPB: Checking Your Credit Report
John Oliver on Credit Reports (18m video; PG13 for language)
Errors on your Credit Report
Disputing Errors (FTC)
Fixing your Credit Report after Identity Theft
Three Major Credit Reporting Bureaus/Agencies
Credit CARDS
How Checks & Credit Cards Work (simple graphic) Great test question
How Does a Credit Card Work? (3m cartoon video)
Credit Cards 101 (3 short videos)
List of Credit Card Companies, Card Networks & Major Cards NEW!
Choosing a credit card (helpful for packet 5.3)
Credit Karma's search tool and Main Credit Card page
HINT: Using this you should be able to finish p118 of packet 5.3 in ten minutes
while learning something in the process
Student Credit Cards (with no credit)
Nerd Wallet's Find the Best Credit Cards for You
Credit Cards if you have great credit
General credit card stuff (CreditCards.com)
Credit Cards: The Pros and Cons
Credit Card Pros and Cons (3m video)
Credit Card Agreements: How hard are they to understand?
How Are Credit Card Cashback Programs Profitable?
Why and How to Use Credit Cards Effectively
What Happens if you Never Use Your Card
10 Reasons to Use Your Credit Card NEW!
Credit vs Debit
Credit v Debit: 2 Very Different Cards (YouTube)
Debit vs Credit & 10 Reasons to use Credit (Investopedia)
Debit vs Credit (comparison chart)
What About Just Paying CASH?
Minimum Payments
Minimum Payments Explained (4m vid) NEW!
Minimum Payments Explained w/Water Pitcher (SCARY 3m vid)
What Happens If I Make Only the Minimum Payment?
Minimum payment survey: How much your issuer charges
Reading a Credit Card Statement
Discover Card ← easy, with short-but-detailed explanations
MyCreditUnion ← good, especially the graphic at the bottom
Credit Card Repayment Calculators
Types of Credit
Secured vs Unsecured ← one of two ways to categorize debt
Secured vs Unsecured Loans (Greenpath)
Secured vs Unsecured (1m video)
Revolving vs Installment ← one of two ways to categorize debt
What are the differences between revolving & installment?
Why might a bank NOT issue a secured credit card? (4m video)
General info & articles
MyFICO Credit Education (easy to read and highly recommended)
Good Debt vs Bad Debt (Investopedia)
Minimum requirements to have a FICO score
Credit risk
(kinda wordy, but solid)
Credit score and heart attack risk connected
Nice summary of different loan types
The DANGER of co-signing another person's loan #OMG
Paying bills online vs via "snail mail"
Credit Card Debt is Bad for Your Health! (CNBC)
If My Debt Is Sold to a Collection Agency, Do I Still Have to Pay?
Life Advice for Young Adults - from Warren Buffet
Aside from your own credit history/score, what else
influences the interest rate you pay?
How Fed rates influence your loan interest rates (NYTimes)
How a Fed Rate Hike Will Affect Your Finances (CNBC vid)
How the Fed's Interest Rate Hike Affects Consumers
Dave Ramsey Stuff (YouTube)
What's Wrong with a Credit Card If I Pay it Off Every Month?
The History of Credit - How Debt Became A Way Of Life
5 Ways Dave Ramsey Has Ruined My Life! || Life With Sarah
The Challenges Of Living Without A Credit Score
Technology & Personal Finance
Best Personal Finance apps of 2018
APR vs APY (1 2 3 4; Khan Academy)
NOTE: You are NOT responsible for formulas and calculations; you ARE
responsible for knowing meaning, importance, and difference(s)
Credit Card Repayment Calculators
How long to keep receipts, records, etc.
What Consumer Reports recommends NEW!
Credit INQUIRIES: What are they & how do they affect you?
Hard vs Soft (NerdWallet)
Hard Inquiries and Soft Inquiries (CreditKarma)
Starting out - Credit for the first time
How to build credit from scratch (3m vid)
4 Things Credit Card Newbies Should Do to Establish Good Credit
Checking, Savings and Credit Cards for Your Kids:
Getting a Visa Credit Card for a Child
How to build credit from scratch (YouTube)
What Credit Score Do You Start With? (WalletHub)
So, what's required to get that first FICO score? NEW!
What's My Starting Credit Score? NEW!
Can you get that first credit card on your 18th birthday?
How the CARD Act affects young spenders
How long until you have a credit score? (CFPB)
How to Get Good Credit at a Young Age (WikiHow)
Applying for your First Credit Card (Discover Card)
WalletHub's Best Credit Cards for No Credit - 2018
Applying for your First Credit Card (Discover) NEW!
Bankruptcy - When things just don't work out
Everything you wanted to know about bankruptcy in NJ
Credit Laws
Credit Protection Laws (excellent summary on ONE PAGE)
12 consumer protections in the Credit CARD Act
How the Credit CARD Act of 2009 Affects You
Mortgages - the biggest financial decision of your life
Comparison of a 30-Year vs. a 15-Year Mortgage
Student Loans
History of why student loans aren't discharged in bankruptcy
Student Loans Can Follow You TO THE GRAVE! (LA Times)
In NJ, Even DEATH May Not Erase Student Debt NEW!
Dangers of Parents Co-signing Student Loans NEW!
Co-signing and Credit
What is co-signing and what should you know? (2m video)
How Good Credit Saves You Money NEW!
4 Ways Good Credit Saves You Money
How A Good Credit Score Can Save You $83,770
Good Credit Saves You Money in More Ways than One
9 Benefits of Having a Good Credit Score
Your Credit Can Affect Your Employment
Credit Scores and Jobs: Reality Check for Job Hunters
Can an Employer Check My Credit? (2m vid)
Can an employer check my credit score?
Why employers check credit, and what do they see
Pawn Shops - Yes, they are a form of credit!
Selling to a pawn shop - fees/cost
Pawn Shop 101: What You Need to Know
Is A Pawn Shop Loan Ever A Good Idea?
THEME 5 TEST PREP TOOLS
Theme 5 Essential Test Prep & Study Guide
"...you'd be CRAZY not to use this!" -Former Student
Credit Score Quiz (Practice)
Final Exam Prep page - practice tests
THEME 6 - BANKING SERVICES
6.1 What Financial Institutions Can Do for Me (no packet)
6.2 How to Pay for Goods & Services Packet 6.2
6.3 Managing My Checking Account Packet 6.3
VOCABULARY:
Bank fees, Car title loans, Cash advance, Money order, Certified checks, Checking account, Credit Card, Debit Card, Financial Institutions, Money order, Overdraft, Payday Loan, Pre-paid debit card (use Investopedia or other Internet resources to learn about non-linked terms above)
Bank Basics: These + EverFi = Banking Guru
- Beginner's Guide to Banking
-
All About
Banking (10 short parts)
Required reading: the above won't take that long and covers most of what you need to know - Nice, short summary of account types (Wells)
- Checking Accounts 101 (3m video)
- Savings (vs Investing) (1 2 3)
- Certificate of Deposit (CD) (a/k/a "time deposits")
- Is your money safe? FDIC
- Opening a Bank Account (4m video)
Types of Institutions: Banks, Credit Unions, Brokerages, Payday
- Credit Unions vs Banks (video1 AND video2)
- Commercial bank vs Savings & Loan ("thrift") and here
-
Brokerage firms offering banking
services
and here and here - Payday lenders
-
What is the Federal Reserve Bank? (YouTube)
Can you open an account with "The Fed"? Who does? - Dave Ramsey RANT on Payday Loans (4m vid - funny!)
- Online banking from Discover
Ways to Pay for Stuff (Payment Types)
Cash/Debit/Credit Compared
- Credit vs. Debit vs. Cash: The Ultimate Showdown
-
Credit Cards vs. Debit Cards: What's the Difference?
(2m vid + info) - Bank Account Debit: What's Really Happening
- When to use Credit vs. debit vs. cash vs. mobile wallets: A practical guide for everyday spending (CreditKarma)
- CreditCards.com (statistics for 2014)
- What happens if I swipe my debit card as "credit"?
- Bank of America (short; lists PROs and CONs)
- Paying with cash on the decline (Guardian article)
- Hands-on Banking
- When to Use Credit vs Debit (YouTube)
-
Debit vs Credit vs ATM: KNOW THE DIFFERENCES!
✔ When you use debit card and they say "debit or credit", what the heck does that mean? After a LOT of searching, here's the best answer I could find.
✔ ATM Card, Debit Card, Credit Card: What’s the Difference? (includes good comparison table)
✔ ATM vs Debit vs Credit card: what's the difference? (REALLY brief, just a summary) - Credit vs Debit: 2 VERY Different Cards (8m vid)
-
Why Credit is Better than Debit
(4m vid, PG13 for one "bad" word from the host)
Checks/Checking Accounts
- Checking Accounts 101 (3m vid)
- How Banks Process Deposits (5m vid)
- NGPF Interactive Activity
Slides (instructions)
Worksheet
Simulator: Online BankSim (free account required) - What is a checking account? (with short video)
-
Your
first checking account (Investopedia)
Routing # vs Account # - Writing a check:
Anatomy of a check - what do all the numbers mean?
How to write a check (1m23s vid) - Cashing/Depositing Checks:
Check endorsements simple, with images
Endorsing checks you receive (YouTube)
Check endorsements simple, with images
Step-by-step guide to depositing checks (WikiHow)
How to fill in a deposit slip
How to make a mobile deposit (Wells Fargo) - How to keep a check register (vid)
- Basics of balancing your checkbook (vid)
- Your first checking account
- How Checks and Credit Cards Work (simple diagrams!)
-
Bounced checks (2m vid)
Know the difference between BOUNCED, VOIDED, and CANCELED checks! - Why balancing a checkbook is still useful
- What to do if you write a check and need to "cancel" it because it's lost or stolen
- Top Reasons a Bank Won't Cash Your Check
- When Good People Write Bad Checks
Payday Loans
-
What is a Payday Loan?
Part 1: What is a Payday Loan? (2m vid)
Part 2: Who uses Payday Loans and why? (2m vid) - Payday Loans Don't Pay (Investopedia)
- John Oliver on Predatory Lending very funny, very scary (NOTE: strong language) (YouTube, 16m)
- Fascinating piece on payday lenders: "regular" people are using them, too. Discusses fees and charges:
Listen or read - Payday Loans QUIZ
Credit Cards
Cash Advance [on Credit Card]
Gift Cards
Cashier's Checks vs Money Orders
Watch Out!
- Start with this infographic
- ATM Scams (YouTube) old video but still valid & scary
- 5 ATM Scams to Break The Bank (Investopedia)
- Credit Card vs. Debit Card: Which Is Safer Online?
- What to do if your ATM/Debit/Credit card is lost or stolen
- 5 Ways To Protect Yourself Against Debit Card Fraud
- Money order scams
-
Overdrafts: Friend or Foe?
How overdrafts work (YouTube)
What is overdraft protection? (YouTube)
Overdraft protection (YouTube)
Is overdraft protection worth it? (ABC News video)
Overdraft on Debit Card: (simulated chat) - Sneaky Banking Fees (HowStuffWorks)
- Debit Cards: Is Your Money At Risk?
Fees/Other Stuff
- Provident Bank's Fee Schedule (similar to other banks, really)
- Commerce Bank's smorgasbord of account options
- How much will it cost you at Provident Bank?
Provident Bank's Fee Schedule (similar to other banks, really) - Free Checking (is it really free?)
- Millenials (that's you!) are responsible for the return of free checking?
- Everything You Never Understood About Overdraft Fees Explained
- 4 Ways to Avoid Overdraft Fees
- Bank Overdraft Fees Hit Younger Adults Hardest, Pew Says
THEME 7 - TRANSPORTATION
7.1 How Do You Get Wheels and What Are The Costs?
Total/True Cost of Ownership
Total Cost of Ownership Calculator - Edmunds
What is the five-year cost to own a car? (KBB)
What is the true cost to own a car? (NerdWallet)
What that car REALLY costs to own (Consumer Reports)
Excellent explanation of cost, depreciation, etc. (PBS, 4m vid)
New vs Used
Comparing NEW vs USED car purchase (7m vid)
4 Questions to Help You Decide on a New or Used Car
New or Used? (Consumer Reports)
UsedFirst.com shows which used cars to buy, and when
New vs Used? (Investopedia)
7.2 What Do I Want vs What I Can Afford
Budgeting for Transportation
How to Buy Your First Car (Consumer Reports)
Determining Your Car Budget (CNN)
Car affordability calculator (US News)
How much car can I afford? (Edmunds)
7.3 Warranties & Service Contracts: Do I Need Them?
If Something Goes Wrong, Who Pays?
List of auto manufacturers' warranties
Extended Warranties - worth it? (Consumer Reports)
7.4 Paying for It: Loan vs Lease
It's a Money Thing: Leasing vs Financing a Car (YouTube, 4m)
Lease vs Buy - Consumer Reports
Should You Buy or Lease? 3m vid)
Gap Insurance
Pro: Gap insurance - Nationwide
Against: Don't Waste Your Money - ABC Action News
Lease vs Buy - HowStuffWorks.com
Leasing Still Expensive - NY Times
5 Leasing Myths - Kiplinger
Saving
Money: Which is Better, Buying or Leasing a Car
(YouTube)
Leasing Mistakes to Avoid
Lease vs Buy Calculator - Bankrate
Which is Better - Buying or Leasing? (YouTube, 5m)
Car Leasing Terms/Glossary (here's another one & another)
7.5 How Costly Will Insurance Be?
This is covered in Theme 9 (Insurance) as well
Consumer Reports Car Insurance Buyer's Guide
7 costly mistakes to avoid before and after a car accident
Other: Choosing a Vehicle
THEME 8 - HOUSING
8.1 Moving Into My Own Place
8.2 How Comfortable Will My Place Be?
8.3 Tired of Renting? Time to Buy?
8.4 Can I Really Afford That House?
8.5 Shopping for a Mortgage
What to Buy and How to Save: Furnishing Your CRIB!
The Cost of Furnishing An Apartment (incl calculators!)
17 Things You Wish Someone Told You About Buying Stuff For Your First Apartment
12 Things Every First Apartment Needs
Renting vs Buying
Renting vs Home Ownership - Which is Better? (YouTube, 5m)
zillow.com poke around and see what it costs to buy or lease in Pway or wherever you want to live
Rent-to-Own: How the process works
What To Know Before Renting Your First Apartment - Motto
Renting vs Buying - Khan Academy
Rent vs Buy Calculator - Realtor.com
Rent vs Buy - USA Today
Rent vs Buy CALCULATOR (trulia.com)
Should I Buy A House? (Fidelity)
Homeownership: 4 Things to Know About Renting vs. Buying (Schwab)
Interesting Pway Housing Statistics
https://www.unitedstateszipcodes.org/08854/
https://www.trulia.com/real_estate/08854-Piscataway/
https://www.movoto.com/demographics/nj/08854/
This is many of you in a few years:
I Make $50K a Year: How Much Rent Can I Afford?
Buying
What is a mortgage? (YouTube, 3m)
How to Buy a Home (Dave Ramsey vid, 7m)
Saving for a Down Payment: Where to Put It (Investopedia)
Leasing/Renting
NJ Lease template (PDF) RU ready for this?
More on Tenant Rights in NJ (summary)
Tenant Rights in NJ (easy read...NOT)
THEME 9 - RISK PROTECTION
9.1 Caveat Emptor!
9.2 Credit Scams, Schemes, Identity Theft, and Privacy Issues
9.3 Why Insurance and How Does It Work?
9.4 Basics of Life Insurance
9.5 Auto Insurance
9.6 Renter's Insurance
Credit Scams, Schemes, Identity Theft, Privacy
Most of this was previously discussed in Banking and other units; the following provide additional stories and detail...
Identity Theft Prevention – Don’t Become a Victim of ID Theft (2m)
Identity Theft Speaker and Privacy Expert John Sileo on 60 Minutes (10m)
Identity Theft Documentary: An Educational Documentary (28m)
5 ATM Scams to Break the Bank (Investopedia, w/short video)
4 Ways to Protect Your Teen From Identity Theft (and here)
Teens Vulnerable To Identity Theft, Financial Crimes And Impersonation
Teen ID Theft (YouTube, 4 min)
Consumer
Protection Laws (FindLaw)
NJ Licensure - Why so many licenses? How does this help
consumers?
NJ
Division of Consumer Affairs (look under Division Units
tab, especially Consumer Protection)
Read this Wiki entry
Consumer Protection: A Beginner’s Guide (especially the Websites section)
5 times you DO NOT have to give your Social Security number
Ponzi Schemes (Investopedia)
START HERE: Risk/Risk Management
Risk - four ways to deal with it
Accept, Share, Mitigate, Avoid
Insurance - General
Insurance (definition w/very short video)
4 Types of Insurance Everyone Needs
How Insurance Works (2m video)
Insurance (12 parts; comprehensive)
Insurance 101 (Travelers Insurance Company)
How Insurance Works (6m vid by Infographics; illustrated history)
Insurance for Singles (w/4m video)
Insurance Tools and Resources (AllState)
Insurance - Auto (including some NJ-specific info)
How Auto Insurance Works (6 very short parts)
Minimum required coverage in NJ
What Happens If You Have An Accident but No Insurance?
Insurance - Homeowner/Renter
Home Insurance (one short page of text, no video)
One Third of Homeowner's Insurance Claims are Dog Bites
11 Riskiest Dog Breeds for Homeowners and Renters
Crossword Puzzle to practice >30 terms
Insurance - Life Insurance
How Life Insurance Works (Six VERY SHORT parts)
Life Insurance 101 (2m vid)
Insurance - Disability Insurance
Disability Insurance 101 (2m vid)
Insurance - Health/Medical Insurance
(see videos below as well!)
How Does Health Insurance Work?
Insurance - Short-Term Disability
NJ FAQ: Temporary Disability Insurance
Insurance - Long-Term Disability
Long-term disability insurance 101 (video)
Insurance - Workers' Compensation (getting hurt on the job)
What is it and what is Workers' Comp Fraud? (video)
Insurance - BODY PARTS!
Celebrities who insured their body parts
QUIZ: Guess which body parts these 10 celebrities had insured for millions of dollars by brands
What are YOUR body parts worth?
Vocabulary/Terms
Insurance has hundreds of terms and phrases; concentrate on the important ones like: premium, deductible, co-pay (co-pay vs deductible), cap/max (story that explains it). Here's a list of some of ten key insurance terms, and another, and another.
After you watch/read the above to get "introduced" to insurance, watching ALL of the following videos (many chosen by previous students) will quickly and easily explain how each type of insurance works - take notes!
MEDICAL/HEALTH
Disability – under 2 mins
AUTO
Renters’ – under 3 mins
Personal Property – under 3 mins
LIFE
Miscellaneous/General
Higher Education/College
- US News: Paying for College
- 7 Questions Fin Aid Officers Wish Parents Would Ask
- Top 5 Tips for Dummies
- How College Financial Aid Works
- Understanding Student Loans 101
- Significantly Reduce your College Expenses by Studying Abroad
- Student Loan Confusion
- How much will college really cost? (CNN calculator)
- College Affordability Center (incl calculator)
- Understanding True Cost of College (general info)
- What You'll Actually Pay (interactive w/graphics!)
- StudentLoans.gov Repayment Estimator
- Underestimating the True Cost of College
- College Scorecard (finding colleges based on key criteria)
-
Is college worth it?
CalcXML (calculator)
Follow the Money (NYT article with links to calcs)
Worth It? (Forbes article with links to calcs)
CollegeRiskReport (generates extremely detailed
report with graphs and explanations)
Worth It? (SF Fed - simple calc) - What College Costs This Year - CNN Money
- How Much Will That College Really Cost? - CNN Money
- How to Pay for College w/Less Stress (NYT)
- Federal Student Aid (government site)
General
- EverFi: navigation icons on the left side NEW!
- 25 Ways to Save on a Shoestring
- Millenials: Saving, Investing, Retiring
- 5 Tools to Tackle Finances in Your Twenties
- Multiple Intelligences and Careers
- 10 Ways the Class of 2014 Can Beat the Economic Odds
- Disposable vs Discretionary Income (and here, here ,
- About.com - Careers
- Advice to All You Graduates (NYT)
- Coffee Savings Calculator
- Financial Vocabulary (lookup words/phrases)
- Personal Finance Vocab and Investopedia
-
Everything you wanted to know about
the
W-4 (very long video) - How to Fill Out Your W-4 (vid from Investopedia)
- Good video tutorial on how to complete a 1040EZ
- Paycheck/withholding calculator
- What to do if you're missing your W-2
- Intro to FAFSA and What Is FAFSA? NEW!
- Simple vs Compound Interest
- Money + Time = EXCITEMENT
- Calculating APR (Online APR Calculator)
- Financial Calculators (ChooseToSave.org)
- Graphical Compound Interest Calculator
- NCTM Financial Calculators (with graphs)
- What Kinds of Insurance Do You Need?
- Intro to Health Insurance (YouTube)
- Intro to Car Insurance (YouTube)
-
Compare Credit Cards
Credit Cards if you have great credit
Capitol One - Card Compare
CreditKarma - Card Compare
CardRatings.com - Under 26: Stay on parents' insurance?
- 25 must-see Khan Academy Personal Finance videos
- PayWizard (salary info)
- Lowest-paying jobs
- Yes, it's expensive to live in NJ
- Credit Myths
- Pay Day Loans & Predatory Lending - John Oliver (YouTube; PG13)
-
Minimum Payments Explained with Pitcher of Water (YouTube)
Minimum payment calculator (BankRate) - Interest rates, money supply explained with a racecar (YouTube)
- CARD Act (YouTube)
- 8 Financial Tips for Young Adults
- Time Value of Money
- Bank of America (YouTube Channel)
- Capital One (YouTube Channel)
- EverFi glossary of vocabulary (20 pages)
- Inc. Magazine financial glossary
- Crisis of Credit (2008 Financial Disaster Explained)
Tests and Quizzes
-
Kiplinger's Quiz
Gallery ←Excellent Practice!
-How long should appliances last?
-What Do You Know About Tax Brackets?
-Does Insurance Cover THAT?!
-Everyday Actions That Affect Your Credit Score
-Identity Theft
Credit
Single-Payment Car Title Loans Can Lead to Long-Term Debt
Stocks & Investing
- Investing Lessons
- Explaining stocks and the stock market
- Investing: A tutorial for beginners
- Stock basics tutorial
Articles
For class and FBLA competitions:
- Personal Finance from Khan Academy
- Philadephia Federal Reserve Bank
- St Louis Federal Reserve Bank
- Yahoo Personal Finance
- MarketWatch
- Motley Fool
- Practical Money Skills
- Investing for Your Future (Rutgers)
Student Loans
Taking Out Student Loans - Step-by-Step Guide
http://www.alcareerinfo.org/financial/
http://fafsa.ed.gov
http://www.finaid.org
http://www.salliemae.com/get_student_loan/apply_student_loan/understanding/financial_aid/fafsa/
http://collegeanswer.com
http://www.finaid.sa.ucsb.edu/fafsasimplification/index.html
Types of Financial Aid (ACT)
Big Future (research all kinds of info)
FAFSA Qualifications/Eligibility (w/poster)
Financial Aid 101 (St Louis Fed - includes 8m video)
How Student Loans Work - Explained (YouTube)
7 Easy Steps to FAFSA (video)
Repayment: What to Expect (YouTube)
Wondering how the amount of your federal student aid is determined?
Transportation
Lease vs Buy - Consumer Reports
Lease vs Buy - HowStuffWorks.com
5 Leasing Myths - Kiplinger
Saving Money: Which is Better - Buying or Leasing a Car? (YouTube)
Total Cost of Ownership Calculator - Edmunds
Lease vs Buy Calculator - Bankrate
Gap insurance - Nationwide
Which is Better - Buying or Leasing? (YouTube, 5m)
Car Leasing Terms/Glossary (here's another one)
How Much Car Do You Buy to Keep Your Teenager Safe?
Housing
What To Know Before Renting Your First Apartment - Motto
Renting vs Buying - Khan Academy
Rent vs Buy Calculator - Realtor.com
Rent vs Buy - USA Today
NJ Lease template (PDF)
Rent vs Buy - 5 Things to Know - CBS This Morning (YouTube, 4m)
Renting vs Home Ownership - Which is Better? (YouTube, 5m)
zillow.com - find a place to rent or own
Rent-to-Own: How the process works
Should I Buy A House? (Fidelity)
Interesting Pway Housing Statistics
https://www.unitedstateszipcodes.org/08854/
https://www.trulia.com/real_estate/08854-Piscataway/
https://www.movoto.com/demographics/nj/08854/
This is many of you in a few years:
I Make $50K a Year: How Much Rent Can I Afford?
Rent vs Buy CALCULATOR (SmartAsset)
W!SE Financial Literacy
CFL: Certificate in Financial Literacy
Avoiding Financial Ruin
8 signs you're flirting with financial ruin
Tutorials
TED Talks:
5 Life-Changing TED Talks About Personal Finance
5 TED Talks to Master Your Finances
One Life-Changing Class You Never Took: Alexa von Tobel at TEDxWallStreet
Consumer Protection/Identity Theft
4 Ways to Protect Your Teen From Identity Theft (and here)
Teens Vulnerable To Identity Theft, Financial Crimes And Impersonation
Teen ID Theft (YouTube, 4 min)
Privacy Expert John Sileo on "60 Minutes (YouTube, 10 min)
Consumer Protection Laws (FindLaw)
NJ Licensure - Why so many licenses? How does this help
consumers?
NJ
Division of Consumer Affairs (look under Division Units
tab, especially Consumer Protection)
Read this Wiki entry
Consumer Protection: A Beginner’s Guide (especially the Websites section)
Theme 8: Consumer Protection
Your cell phone number and identity theft (NYT article)
If you've been a victim of identity theft
6 Ways College Students Can Protect Against Identity Theft (CR)
10 steps on how to fight identity theft (CR, w/short video)
5 ATM Scams That Can Break the Bank (Investopedia, w/short vid)
Keeping your financial information safe (YouTube)
Victims of ID theft: 5 steps to take (YouTube)
Identity Theft Prevention – Don’t Become a Victim of ID Theft (YouTube)
OnGuard Online (various topics from the FTC)
Theme 9: Risk Management/Insurance
Risk - four ways to deal with it
4 Types of Insurance Everyone Needs (short, covers a lot)
How Insurance Works (outstanding summary in FAQ format)
Insurance for Singles (video)
Minimum required coverage in NJ
What Happens If You Have An Accident but No Insurance?
One Third of Homeowner's Insurance Claims are Dog Bites
11 Riskiest Dog Breeds for Homeowners and Renters
Renters Insurance (Investopedia)
How Life Insurance Works (video)
Life insurance for dummies (introduction to insurance)
Crossword Puzzle to practice >30 terms
Watching ALL of the following videos is strongly recommended
MEDICAL
Disability – YouTube, under 2 mins
Long-Term Care Under 4 mins
Medicare vs Medicaid (Investopedia)
Auto, comprehensive – YouTube, under 2 mins
Auto, liability – YouTube, under 3 mins
Auto – comprehensive – YouTube, under 2 mins
Renters’ –YouTube, under 3 mins
Personal Property – YouTube, under 3 mins
Checking Out Checking Accounts
- Beginner's Guide to Banking
- What is a checking account? (with short video)
- Free Checking (is it really free?)
- Millenials (that's you) are responsible for the return of free checking?
- Everything You Never Understood About Overdraft Fees Explained
- 4 Ways to Avoid Overdraft Fees
- How to keep a check register (vid)
- All About Banking (10 short parts)
- Basics of balancing your checkbook (vid)
- Commerce Bank's smorgasbord of account options
- Anatomy of a check
- Provident Bank's Fee Schedule
Finance basics in COMIC BOOK format! (NY Federal Res. Bank)
Games and Simulations
Stock Market Games
How the Market Works (FBLA)
National Stock Market Simulation
TD Bank Virtual Stock Market Simulator
Gen-i Revolution Personal Finance Simulator
Join & enter correct class code:
c3c7db - Fall 2017 Per 01
366423 - Fall 2017 Per 04
343e1a - Fall 2017 Per 07
3d897f - Fall 2017 Per HR2
FUN video games to practice and sharpen your financial skills
VISA NFL Financial Football (or try this link)
VISA FIFA Financial Soccer (or try this link)
Financing College
Managing College Debt (Time for PAYBACK) NEW!
Poverty Simulation NEW!
EdPuzzle Support
EverFi Support
How to re-take a POST-test:
Once you have completed the POST-test at least one time (you MUST complete the module to get to it), you can re-take it without having to re-do the entire module. Here's how:
Login URL:
Login Problems (NO EXTENSIONS):
-
You're POSITIVE you are using correct ID and password:
a) Is CAPS LOCK on?
b) Did you type an errant space before or after your
ID or PW?
c) Are you typing your password correctly? PaSSwOrD
is NOT the same as password or PASSWORD - it must
match EXACTLY. -
If you provided correct email address during setup and you remember your ID:
Simply click the 'reset password' button on the login screen -
Bad/no email address, can't remember ID, etc.:
You have to contact me and I will reset your ID when I have time. I cannot see passwords so do not ask.
Please do not create additional accounts; I will not rummage through them to find your score. ONE account per student!
EverFi Slow or "Freezing":
- Does sound work for other tabs/apps? Or is it ONLY EverFi that's having issues?
- Maybe the item in EverFi has no audio component?
- Ensure you have a strong/reliable wifi signal
- Try another browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc.). Some users report IE (Internet Explorer) is unreliable.
- Shut down and restart the computer.
- Use another device.
- Refresh browser
- Log out of EverFi, and log back in
EverFi not working at all:
- Flash, Javascript, and Cookies must NOT be disabled
- Pop-up Blockers should be disabled
- Close all other tabs and apps while doing EverFi
- Try another browser (Chrome, Safari, etc.). Some users report IE (Internet Explorer) is unreliable.
- Shut down and restart the computer.
- Use another device.
Can't go to next screen (no white arrow):
Most common cause is you didn't do all the things you were supposed to on the screen you see in front of you, so try:
- Clicking on each/every answer provided, whether it's correct or incorrect
- If there is a "slider" you need to click points along the slide "line" as you may not be able to click the slider and drag it.
Don't know which module(s) to complete:
There are several modules in two different EverFi courses. You have two choices:
1) Read the assignment and follow directions
(highly recommended).
2) Guess and hope you are right.
Can't/don't see the assigned module:
As of Fall 2019, there are TWO versions of EverFi: Classic and New. You have two choices...
1) Read the assignment and follow directions
(highly recommended).
2) Guess and hope you are right.
Click here for more details on EverFi Module Mapping (explained in detail in class).
Other Technical problems:
Visit the EverFi Tech Support Page
Technical Requirements:
Minimum System Requirements
Hundreds of PHS students have used EverFi on pretty much anything. If you experience a problem, try a different web browser (Chrome, Safari, etc.).
Helpful Documents:
NJ CCCS
"Practice" Tests & Quizzes
http://www.financialeducatorscouncil.org/high-school-financial-literacy-test/
https://www.financialeducatorscouncil.org/financial-literacy-test/
http://www.money-quiz.com/hs/high-school.html
http://www.forbes.com/sites/shericaplan/2011/04/06/financial-literacy-quiz/
http://www.infusionomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/HIGH-SCHOOL-PRE-TEST-FINAL.pdf
http://fbla.testfrenzy.com/personal_finance.php