Check out these two cuties. Which pet would you get? Read some of the Tampa Bay Times feature articles on pets and search their ads for available pets. Before you make your decision, conduct some research using the following sites: Research for comparing dogs: Research for comparing cats: Then, use the decision-making matrix attached. What are the four most important criteria for your decision? For example, consider size, amount of care, cost, and other attributes. Then, choose your top four and compare them. What pet came up first?
Standards
SS.8.FL.2.1 Explain why when deciding what to buy, consumers may choose to gather information from a variety of sources. Describe how the quality and usefulness of information provided by sources can vary greatly from source to source. Explain that, while many sources provide valuable information, other sources provide information that is deliberately misleading. SS.912.FL.2.1: Compare consumer decisions as they are influenced by the price of a good or service, the price of alternatives, and the consumer’s income as well as his or her preferences. SS.912.FL.2.5: Discuss ways people incur costs and realize benefits when searching for information related to their purchases of goods and services and describe how the amount of information people should gather depends on the benefits and costs of the information.
People pay taxes to help provide goods and services for the benefit of the American people. For example, the government can build and fix roads, pay for civil servants, and invest in technology. Some of the biggest expenses are health programs, social security, and defense. For an overview on taxes, watch the Schoolhouse Rock Video. What did you learn about taxes? What are some of the goods and services that taxes provide? Then, watch the Khan Academy Basics of the U.S. Income Tax video. What did you learn about income tax? Then read the Tampa Bay Times article below, explain how taxes pay for education.
Standards
SS.8.FL.1.8 Discuss the fact that some people receive income support from government because they have low incomes or qualify in other ways for government assistance. SS.912.FL.1.7: Discuss how people’s sources of income, amount of income, as well as the amount and type of spending affect the types and amounts of taxes paid.
A more recent study by Common Sense Media illustrated that children’s access to mobile devices is much higher than it was two years ago. In fact, over the past two years, the number of children using mobile media has almost doubled and the time children spend using mobile devices has tripled. Buying apps usually requires using credit. Check out the video Appily Ever After below to understand some of the financial issues that could occur with younger children, especially when using "freemium" apps. After you watch the video, create a presentation to give to younger students to help them avoid these problems.
Those aren't the only problems with apps! Did you know that when you sign into some apps through your Google or Facebook account, you are allowing access to your information, including financial data? Furthermore, read the Tampa Bay Times article on how downloading apps can provide access to your personal and private information. What did you learn? What are some ways you can protect yourself from risk of data or identity theft? Create a modern fairy tale, video, or rap to present to other students and parents so they can live appily ever after!
SS.8.FL.6.7 Evaluate social networking sites and other online activity from the perspective of making individuals vulnerable to harm caused by identity theft or misuse of their personal information.
SS.912.FL.6.9:Explain that loss of assets, wealth, and future opportunities can occur if an individual’s personal information is obtained by others through identity theft and then used fraudulently, and that by managing their personal information and choosing the environment in which it is revealed, individuals can accept, reduce, and insure against the risk of loss due to identity theft. Buying insurance helps you protect against risks. The purchase of insurance involves paying an amount called a premium at regular intervals, with the understanding that if negative events occur, the insurance company will pay certain costs. What are some types of insurance and what do they cover? Insurance can be complicated. Read the two Tampa Bay Times articles below on messy insurance issues. What are some of the problems identified in the articles? How do unethical practices impact the price consumers pay for insurance? What advice do you have for consumers who are going to purchase insurance? What would you do if you were the owner of an insurance company?
Standards
SS.8.FL.6.1 Analyze the fact that personal financial risk exists when unexpected events can damage health, income, property, wealth, or future opportunities. SS.8.FL.6.2 Identify insurance as a product that allows people to pay a fee (called a premium) now to transfer the costs of a potential loss to a third party. SS.912.FL.6.1:Describe how individuals vary with respect to their willingness to accept risk and why most people are willing to pay a small cost now if it means they can avoid a possible larger loss later. SS.912.FL.6.7:Compare the purposes of various types of insurance, including that health insurance provides for funds to pay for health care in the event of illness and may also pay for the cost of preventative care; disability insurance is income insurance that provides funds to replace income lost while an individual is ill or injured and unable to work; property and casualty insurance pays for damage or loss to the insured’s property; life insurance benefits are paid to the insured’s beneficiaries in the event of the policyholder’s death. Investing for the future can be very confusing and risky. The stock market is the most risky investment because of price fluctuation and confidence in the market. When there is optimism, prices rise and we say we are in a bull market. When pessimists dominate, prices fall and we say we are in a bear market. Check out the two Tampa Bay Times articles below: Bull and Bear. What are some of the factors that can increase or decrease confidence in the market? How can news or world events impact stock prices? Bulls and Bears aren't the only animals of Wall Street. Have you heard of chickens? They are afraid of the market. What about wolves? Check out how the movie the Wolf of Wall Street got caught up in an investment scandal in the article below. How can you avoid wolves?
Standards
SS.8.FL.5.1 Describe the differences among the different types of financial assets, including a wide variety of financial instruments such as bank deposits, stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Explain that real estate and commodities are also often viewed as financial assets. SS.8.FL.5.5 Explain that the rate of return earned from investments will vary according to the amount of risk and, in general, a trade-off exists between the security of an investment and its expected rate of return. SS.912.FL.5.3:Discuss that buyers and sellers in financial markets determine prices of financial assets and therefore influence the rates of return on assets. SS.912.FL.5.4:Explain that an investment with greater risk than another investment will commonly have a lower market price, and therefore a higher rate of return, than the other investment. SS.912.FL.5.6:Describe how diversifying investments in different types of financial assets can lower investment risk. SS.912.FL.5.7:Describe how financial markets adjust to new financial news and that prices in those markets reflect what is known about financial assets. Check out the Tampa Bay Times article on the thrift shop, Thrifty Dog, which claims it will donate all proceeds beyond operating expenses to animal rescue and pet care organizations. This is a great example of a social entrepreneurship enterprise, where the owner has a triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit. Are there any problems involving people or the environment that you would like to solve? Consider a business you could start to solve that problem. What good or service would you provide? How does it provide an income (profit) for you? How can you help people? How can you do something for the planet?
Standards
SS.8.FL.1.2 Identify the many decisions people must make over a lifetime about their education, jobs, and careers that affect their incomes and job opportunities. SS.912.FL.2.6: Explain that people may choose to donate money to charitable organizations and other not-for-profits because they gain satisfaction from donating.
There are many things that impact our buying decisions. For example, consider the growing plastic vortex known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Watch the Tampa Bay Times Newspaper in Education video below, which discusses the problem. Gather information from a variety of sources. What did you discover? How does this information impact your buying decisions?
Standards
SS.8.FL.2.1 Explain why when deciding what to buy, consumers may choose to gather information from a variety of sources. Describe how the quality and usefulness of information provided by sources can vary greatly from source to source. Explain that, while many sources provide valuable information, other sources provide information that is deliberately misleading. SS.912.FL.2.1: Compare consumer decisions as they are influenced by the price of a good or service, the price of alternatives, and the consumer’s income as well as his or her preferences. SS.912.FL.2.2: Analyze situations in which when people consume goods and services, their consumption can have positive and negative effects on others.
The above image shows how a skimmer can be attached to a credit card reader at a gas station. Skimmers, found on gas pumps and ATM's, are illegal devices that are used to steal credit information. Read the Tampa Bay Times article below on illegal card skimmers. What are the risks? Then watch the video on how credit card skimmers work and conduct more research on the problem. Create a public service announcement to inform people about the problem and some solutions. How do you protect yourself against skimmers? What government agencies protect consumers against skimmers?
SS.8.FL.6.1 Analyze the fact that personal financial risk exists when unexpected events can damage health, income, property, wealth, or future opportunities.
SS.912.FL.4.12:Discuss that consumers who use credit should be aware of laws that are in place to protect them and that these include requirements to provide full disclosure of credit terms such as APR and fees, as well as protection against discrimination and abusive marketing or collection practices. The Tampa Bay Times article on gas prices below highlights an increase during Spring Break. Why do you think there is an increase in gas prices before holidays? Think about supply and demand. When there is more demand, prices often increase. There is a lot of online data about vehicles; however, often times people don't know how to use the data. Check out the graph above from GasBuddy, which tracks the price of gasoline over an 18 month period. What trends do you notice? How might higher prices in gasoline impact vehicle purchasing decisions? Conduct some research on Tampa Bay Times Cars and other online sources to discover the gas mileage of your top five favorite vehicles. Which vehicle gets the best gas mileage and how does this impact your decisions?
Standards
SS.8.FL.2.2 Analyze a source’s incentives in providing information about a good or service, and how a consumer can better assess the quality and usefulness of the information. SS.912.FL.2.3: Discuss that when buying a good, consumers may consider various aspects of the product including the product’s features. Explain why for goods that last for a longer period of time, the consumer should consider the product’s durability and maintenance costs. Check out the Tampa Bay Times opinion column on Facebook by Daniel Ruth. The title is Facebook Users Were Naive to Share Private Information. Before reading the article, what do you think the title means? In paragraph 8 of the article, Ruth says: "Apparently Facebookers were asked to fill in a personality profile . . ." That is how the information sharing began. How many times have you ever filled in an online quiz or personality profile? These profiles come in the guise of: What Harry Potter character are you? What superhero would you be? etc. Companies like Cambridge Analytica collect data from these quizzes to sell to marketing firms and other organizations, some of which are not reputable. Now read the Tampa Bay Times article below on Facebook likes. What type of information about your biases and preferences have you shared by liking something on social media? Did you know that companies also collect this information? Conduct more research and create a public service announcement that explains the risks of completing these quizzes and "liking" on Facebook or other online applications.
Standards
SS.8.FL.6.7 Evaluate social networking sites and other online activity from the perspective of making individuals vulnerable to harm caused by identity theft or misuse of their personal information. SS.912.FL.6.9 Explain that loss of assets, wealth, and future opportunities can occur if an individual’s personal information is obtained by others through identity theft and then used fraudulently, and that by managing their personal information and choosing the environment in which it is revealed, individuals can accept, reduce, and insure against the risk of loss due to identity theft.
Recently, Florida Virtual School reported a data breach. Based on the Tampa Bay Times article below, what is a data breach? Conduct some online research. What other information can you find about this issue? How can a data breach impact your finances? Watch the videos below from the Federal Trade Commission about Identity Theft. Why should you care about identity theft? How can you keep your information safe? What advice would you give to your friends and family?
Standards
SS.8.FL.6.7 Evaluate social networking sites and other online activity from the perspective of making individuals vulnerable to harm caused by identity theft or misuse of their personal information. SS.912.FL.6.9 Explain that loss of assets, wealth, and future opportunities can occur if an individual’s personal information is obtained by others through identity theft and then used fraudulently, and that by managing their personal information and choosing the environment in which it is revealed, individuals can accept, reduce, and insure against the risk of loss due to identity theft. In the article below, the Tampa Bay Times called Florida the Fraud King, as based on a Federal Trade Commission report. According to the article, what are the most frequently reported fraud crimes? How can you protect yourself against fraud? One of the ways to protect your credit rating from financial crimes is to check your credit report. If someone commits fraud and steals your identity, it can impact your future. What protects you from fraud? Did you know that employers, landlords, and insurance companies check credit scores? How can this impact your future?
Standards
SS.8.FL.6.1 Analyze the fact that personal financial risk exists when unexpected events can damage health, income, property, wealth, or future opportunities. SS.912.FL.2.7: Examine governments establishing laws and institutions to provide consumers with information about goods or services being purchased and to protect consumers from fraud. SS.912.FL.4.5:Explain that lenders make credit decisions based in part on consumer payment history. Credit bureaus record borrowers’ credit and payment histories and provide that information to lenders in credit reports. SS.912.FL.4.6:Discuss that lenders can pay to receive a borrower’s credit score from a credit bureau and that a credit score is a number based on information in a credit report and assesses a person’s credit risk. SS.912.FL.4.7:Describe that, in addition to assessing a person’s credit risk, credit reports and scores may be requested and used by employers in hiring decisions, landlords in deciding whether to rent apartments, and insurance companies in charging premiums. Watch the EconEdLink video on buying with credit. Then, play the Wallet Wisdom Game (below) from Tampa Bay Times Newspaper in Education. What did you learn? What are some of the benefits of credit cards? What are some of the costs? Based on what you learned, create some wallet wisdom sayings. Then, create some wallet wisdom cards to pass out to friends and family to help promote financial literacy!
SS.912.FL.4.1:Discuss ways that consumers can compare the cost of credit by using the annual percentage rate (APR), initial fees charged, and fees charged for late payment or missed payments.
SS.8.FL.4.3 Examine the fact that borrowers who use credit cards for purchases and who do not pay the full balance when it is due pay much higher costs for their purchases because interest is charged monthly. Explain how a credit card user can avoid interest charges by paying the entire balance within the grace period specified by the financial institution. SS.912.FL.4.5:Explain that lenders make credit decisions based in part on consumer payment history. Credit bureaus record borrowers’ credit and payment histories and provide that information to lenders in credit reports.
There are so many things to consider when trying to make a car-buying decision. We have some great tools to help you make that decision. First of all, you can read the Tampa Bay Times article above Good Driver Poor Credit to find out what things can drive your costs up. Then, learn about auto insurance from the Federal Reserve No Frills Money Skills videos and use the EconEdLink car shopper app for iPhone or Android. Search for some cars using the Tampa Bay Times Cars search engine. Once you have picked your top four cars, use the excel spread sheet below to input your own data and make a comparison. What are the costs and benefits of the different choices? For more information on buying cars, read the Tampa Bay Times article.
Standards
SS.8.FL.2.2 Analyze a source’s incentives in providing information about a good or service, and how a consumer can better assess the quality and usefulness of the information. SS.8.FL.2.4 Examine choosing a payment method, by weighing the costs and benefits of the different payment options. SS.912.FL.2.5: Discuss ways people incur costs and realize benefits when searching for information related to their purchases of goods and services and describe how the amount of information people should gather depends on the benefits and costs of the information. Some day in the future, you will want a place of your own. Moving out is exciting and risky. Consider whether you would rather rent or buy a home. Read the Movin' on Out passage on page 4 in the Are You Ready For the Real World Newspaper in Education supplement attached below. Now, search the newspaper for five possible places to live. List your priorities for amount of living space, price, and location. Which of the locations best suits your needs and fits your budget? What if you want to buy a home in the future? When you are established in your career, buying a home is considered an investment. What things should you consider when trying to decide between buying and renting? How would your budget change if you were to purchase a home? Use some of the Practical Money Skills Buying a Home Calculators to plan for the future.
Standards
SS.8.FL.2.5 Discuss the fact that people may revise their budget based on unplanned expenses and changes in income. SS.912.FL.2.5 Discuss ways people incur costs and realize benefits when searching for information related to their purchases of goods and services and describe how the amount of information people should gather depends on the benefits and costs of the information. Managing money is one of the most difficult things to learn. One of the first things you should do is learn how to create a budget. Watch the EconEdLink videos on Budgeting and Budgeting Basics. Then, use the EconEdLink Budget Calculator to create your own budget. To learn more about budgets, check out the Are You Ready for the Real World Newspaper in Education publication below on page 13. How can you make room in your budget for unexpected expenses?
Standards
SS.8.FL.2.5 Discuss the fact that people may revise their budget based on unplanned expenses and changes in income. SS.912.FL.1.5: Discuss reasons why changes in economic conditions or the labor market can cause changes in a worker’s income or may cause unemployment. Do you have a passion that excites you that makes you want to start your own business? Check out the image above. What does it say about being an entrepreneur? Why would an individual want to become an entrepreneur? Although entrepreneurship is extremely rewarding, it is also very challenging. Watch the Council for Economic Education video about Entrepreneurship. What are the costs and benefits of becoming an entrepreneur? Search the Tampa Bay Times for articles about entrepreneurs. What have some local entrepreneurs accomplished? What are some of the challenges? How could a decision to start your own business affect your income and future opportunities? If you decide you would rather work for someone else, check out the Tampa Bay Times article below on the best jobs in Florida.
SS.8.FL.1.2 Identify the many decisions people must make over a lifetime about their education, jobs, and careers that affect their incomes and job opportunities.
SS.912.FL.1.1: Discuss that people choose jobs or careers for which they are qualified based on non-income factors, such as job satisfaction, independence, risk, family, or location. Check out the Tampa Bay Times articles about Flippy below. After reading part 1, what do you think about the future of robots in the workplace? What types of jobs do they replace? After reading part 2, what kinds of skills do people have that cannot be replaced by Flippy?
Getting more education and learning new skills can increase your career prospects. However, you should make sure that you make the right higher education choices. Did you know that over 70% of students left college with student loan debt. Planning can help families prepare for higher education expenses. Use the Council of Education College Calculator to plan for your future so you can make the best decision by comparing costs and benefits of different options. Standards
SS.8.FL.1.3 Explain that getting more education and learning new job skills can increase a person’s human capital and productivity. SS.8.FL.1.4 Examine the fact that people with less education and fewer job skills tend to earn lower incomes than people with more education and greater job skills. SS.8.FL.1.5 Examine the fact that investment in education and training generally has a positive rate of return in terms of the income that people earn over a lifetime, with some education or training having a higher rate of return than others. SS.912.FL.1.5: Discuss reasons why changes in economic conditions or the labor market can cause changes in a worker’s income or may cause unemployment. SS.912.FL.1.2: Explain that people vary in their willingness to obtain more education or training because these decisions involve incurring immediate costs to obtain possible future benefits. Describe how discounting the future benefits of education and training may lead some people to pass up potentially high rates of return that more education and training may offer. Your skills and talents can be considered as your human capital, as described in this video by the Council of Economic Education. What are your skills and talents? What are your interests? Conduct some online research using the Tampa Bay Times Jobs search. Search through the jobs and pick 10 possibilities for the future. What education, skills, and training are required for the different careers? Now, choose your top 5 and evaluate the costs and benefits of the different choices. Standards:
SS.8.FL.1.1 Explain that careers are based on working at jobs in the same occupation or profession for many years. Describe the different types of education and training required by various careers. SS.912.FL.1.3: Evaluate ways people can make more informed education, job, or career decisions by evaluating the benefits and costs of different choices. Have you ever "Liked" something on social media or filled in an online quiz? Many times your "likes" and quiz answers are sold to data companies so they can figure out your preferences. For example, in a quiz, What Superhero Character Are You? the questions will ask questions about your preferences. For example questions could ask things like: what color cape you would wear, what food you like to eat, what type of shoes you prefer, and what superhero car you would drive. If the quiz asked these four questions, what would someone know about you? While these quizzes are fun and seem innocent, this data is often gathered and sold to companies so they can target advertising toward your preferences to influence you to buy more. Consider ways you can protect yourself when using social media. What choices should you make about sharing information? That is not the only problem with information sharing by social media sites. The two Tampa Bay Times articles below discuss the latest Facebook data breach and how companies used personal data to manipulate the type of news and other information that appeared in their feeds. The first article further discusses how Facebook "likes" about hobbies, interested and attitudes were shared to create "information dominance" where a company can change all of the information you receive to make sure it aligns to your preferences and biases. These connections are very important to marketers and special interest groups, including conspiracy sites who share fake news. When you read the second article about Facebook breakup, consider how difficult it can be to leave a social media site. After learning about these sites, think of someone you know who uses social media. What advice would you provide to them?
Florida Standards
SS.8.FL.6.7 Evaluate social networking sites and other online activity from the perspective of making individuals vulnerable to harm caused by identity theft or misuse of their personal information. .... SS.912.FL.6.9 Explain that loss of assets, wealth, and future opportunities can occur if an individual’s personal information is obtained by others through identity theft and then used fraudulently, and that by managing their personal information and choosing the environment in which it is revealed, individuals can accept, reduce, and insure against the risk of loss due to identity theft.
Elon Musk is a very successful entrepreneur. Why do you think he decided to send a Tesla into space? Check out the Tampa Bay Times Newspaper in Education political cartoon about the launch. What were the costs and benefits of Elon Musk's decision to send the Tesla into space? Consider the news and social media coverage of the event. Conduct an online search of the coverage this event had through videos, news, and social media. Do you think he made a wise choice? Why or why not?
SS.912.FL.1.3 Evaluate ways people can make more informed education, job, or career decisions by evaluating the benefits and costs of different choices.
...... If you buy auto insurance, you expect to pay a premium now and transfer the costs of an accident to the insurance company. That's what reputable insurance companies do! But what happens when the insurance company doesn't pay full benefits? For example, read the Tampa Bay Times article below about a lawsuit against an insurance company that failed to obligate the full cost of a stolen or destroyed car. How can you protect yourself against this? Make sure you conduct research about insurance companies before you choose one. Also, check out the Better Business Bureau so you can see how the company is rated and how they treat other customers before you make a decision.
SS.912.FL.6.3:Describe why people choose different amounts of insurance coverage based on their willingness to accept risk, as well as their occupation, lifestyle, age, financial profile, and the price of insurance.
SS.8.FL.6.2 Identify insurance as a product that allows people to pay a fee (called a premium) now to transfer the costs of a potential loss to a third party. ...... According to the Tampa Bay Times article below, the Ford Motor Company is using Miami-Dade County to conduct a test of self-driving vehicles. Read the article. What do you think? How do you think consumers will react to autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles? What are some of the issues they may face? Would you buy a self-driving car? What are the costs and benefits of this decision?
Florida Financial Literacy Standards
SS.912.FL.2.3: Discuss that when buying a good, consumers may consider various aspects of the product including the product’s features. Explain why for goods that last for a longer period of time, the consumer should consider the product’s durability and maintenance costs. SS.8.FL.2.1 Explain why when deciding what to buy, consumers may choose to gather information from a variety of sources. Describe how the quality and usefulness of information provided by sources can vary greatly from source to source. Explain that, while many sources provide valuable information, other sources provide information that is deliberately misleading. ...... How are some of the ways charity can benefit from planned races? Check out the article from the Tampa Bay Times below to read about the Skyway 10K. Why might people want to donate money to charity? Which non-profit organized the race? Why do you think the organizers planned the event?
SS.912.FL.2.6: Explain that people may choose to donate money to charitable organizations and other not-for-profits because they gain satisfaction from donating.
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January 2022
CategoriesAuthorDeborah Kozdras, Ph.D. |