Has scrolling through Instagram or your favorite social media account encouraged you to spend more money? CNBC shares that, “For millennials ‘more than any other generation, social media and the allure to spend beyond their means could have long-term negative effects on their finances if they’re not careful” in the article “Social Media May Make You Overspend And Its Not Just Because of Ads.” Upwards of 75% of teens shop online- says PracticalECommerce.com. With online shopping such a convenience, it has become more and more common. Imagine that you were given $100 to spend online. What online shopping site would you look at for your purchase? Have you shopped online before? Write down the last item that you bought online, and why you chose to purchase your good or service over the internet. Did you end up spending what you anticipated? Did you have a plan when you went online to make your purchase? Did you buy only what you initially wanted to purchase or did you add additional items into your cart? Was your online shopping experience a positive experience? Why or why not? What would you do to make a better online shopping experience next time? If you have not purchased online, what could you do to make sure that you are a smart online shopper? Read the attached article, “With Rise of Online Shopping, Has it Saved Us Any Money?” and think about some household benefits and hindrances to shopping online. What does the article identify as a consequence to online shopping for society? Give your opinion for each repercussion on American society.
Check out our new student guide to use with this Use the News activity. We have also created a Nearpod lesson you can use as a slideshow through the preview link or as an editable link. Florida Financial Literacy Standards
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.3.1: Discuss the reasons why some people have a tendency to be impatient and choose immediate spending over saving for the future. 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.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. How can you prepare for weather emergencies? From Florida hurricanes to the freezing temperatures people faced in the south this winter, Hurricanes are already in the news. From the devastating impact of Hurricane Harvey to the potential impact of rising storms like Irma there are many risks associated with hurricanes. Who could have predicted the massive flooding from Harvey? And flooding is only one of the risks associated with hurricanes. https://www.tampabay.com/hurricane/ Help students understand the risks and how to make decisions on preparing for the risks of hurricanes by using some of the resources on the Tampa Bay Times Hurricane Preparedness web page. You can also check out the geography of the storm on the NIE Tampa Bay Times Mapper Help students prepare for the financial disasters that can occur due to weather. Check out the Federal Reserve lesson plans that were created in the aftermath of Katrina, where you can also download or order copies of the poster, found below, on preparing for Financial Disasters.
You probably have either heard the news or seen memes about the toilet paper shortage at the beginning of COVID. Check out how some people joked about the toilet paper shortage on social media. What do you think? Why do you think toilet paper was in such high demand? Why did it become a scarce resource? Consider the title of the article by the Tampa Bay Times: Nervous shoppers rear-end store shelves. What does "rear-end" mean in another context, like in a car accident? While you are reading consider why the authors used the term "rear-end" to describe what is happening. Also, search for some answers to the question: Why has toilet paper become a scarce resource?
So after you read, why do you think toilet paper has become scarce? Conduct some research online. So what do you think about the toilet paper shortage? How much toilet paper do you think you need? Check out the toilet HowMuchToiletPaper.com to figure out how much paper you need. Now create some mathematical models to figure out how much toilet paper different groups need. Now think of supply and demand in terms of toilet paper during this crisis. Use this Supply and Demand infographic from the Atlanta Federal Reserve to explain what happens when the demand is greater than the supply.
Now apply this to toilet paper. What happens when the demand for toilet paper is greater than the supply? Conduct an online search for examples of price increases during this crisis. Many of the articles discuss "price gauging" as a recent unethical practice. To learn more about price gauging, read what Amazon is doing to unethical sellers who are participating in price gauging. What do you think about the recent price gauging? In your opinion, how is this different from regular practices of supply and demand? Use the OREO opinion writing graphic to organize your thoughts. Then, create an opinion piece, social media post, public service announcement, or meme.
In addition, we have created a Nearpod interactive that you can view or download to edit in your account.
Florida Standards: Financial Literacy-
Did you know that a fake charge can impact your credit score? On a piece of paper, write down what you think it means to have a credit score. How many scores can one person have? Why is that? Go to the site creditscorequiz.org and take the quiz. Write down each of the topics and the answers to the questions. How did you perform on the quiz? Would you say that you know about credit scores? What kinds of things did you understand? What did you learn by taking the quiz? Read the Dear Penny article to find out what caused D's credit score to fall? What advice did Penny provide? What surprises you about the article? What factors essentially affect your credit score? Review a sample credit report at MyFloridaCFO.com. Why is it important to review your credit score? Learn more about credit scores by using the engaging interactive at FinanceYourFuture.MyFloridaCFO. To use this with students, check out the student guide we created to accompany this post. Florida Financial Literacy Standards:
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. SS.912.FL.4.13: Explain that consumers are entitled to a free copy of their credit report annually so that they can verify that no errors were made that might increase their cost of credit.
This image was part of the Which Clever Caption Do You Like Best competition from the Tampa Bay Times. This is a perfect image to use when talking about squirreling away money. What does "squirreling away money" mean? What are some words that come to mind when you consider saving money?
What do squirrels, Benjamin Franklin, and Macklemore have in common? Check out our new Nearpod activity to find out!
Here are the Nearpod links:
What is "interest" and how does it help you buy more goods in the future? To discover more about interest rates, watch this Better Money Habits video!
Show what you know: Download the squirrel image (or another squirrel image of your choice) into an app that allows you to add a new caption, speech bubble, or slogan under the theme of squirreling away money. Create your own meme!
Once you have added your text to your image, share it with your friends and family. Extension: What is the difference between real and nominal interest rates? Nominal interest rates tell savers the dollar value of how savings will grow. Real interest rates tell savers about the purchasing power of their savings, which includes adjusting for inflation. Watch Mr. Clifford as he explains the difference!
For more on the difference between real and nominal interest rates, check out the Khan Academy videos.
Financial Literacy Standard : SS.912.FL.3.3:Compare the difference between the nominal interest rate which tells savers how the dollar value of their savings or investments will grow, and the real interest rate which tells savers how the purchasing power of their savings or investments will grow. (Explain how saving can result in getting more goods and services in the future). SS.912.FL.3.2:Examine the ideas that inflation reduces the value of money, including savings, that the real interest rate expresses the rate of return on savings, taking into account the effect of inflation and that the real interest rate is calculated as the nominal interest rate minus the rate of inflation. Read the Dear Penny letter written by “L.” It is obvious that their family is going through financial turmoil. Without reading Penny’s reply, what would you write in response? Would you know where to turn?
Debt is not a goal, yet many Americans find themselves in the hole financially. According to Nerd Wallet, the average household credit card debt surpassed $6,000 in 2018. List some reasons why you believe that households may choose to use credit cards. Identify the ideas on your list as beneficial or detrimental. When might you use a credit card? How would you use a credit card? What does it mean to have a balance on a credit card? Some families are unable to pay off their debt monthly and run into an overwhelming problem where each month they become further and further into debt. Read the Nerd Wallet 2018 American Household Credit Card Debt Study (be sure to look at each graph carefully). Take note of the following:
Students can make a newsletter or social media posts about the knowledge they gained about credit and debt. Where to Turn When There Are No More Pennies to Pinch . . . Here is a copy of the student guide to use with this post. Florida Financial Literacy Standards: 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.4.7: 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. SS.912.FL.4.8: Examine the fact that failure to repay a loan has significant consequences for borrowers such as negative entries on their credit report, repossession of property (collateral), garnishment of wages, and the inability to obtain loans in the future. SS.912.FL.4.9: Explain that consumers who have difficulty repaying debt can seek assistance through credit counseling services and by negotiating directly with creditors.
Did you know that insurance companies hire actuaries to statistically decide how risky you are based on traits such as your education, zip code, gender, home ownership, driving record, and - in some cases - medical history? They use statistical data to determine which traits predict the least possibility of accidents. To learn more about insurance, check out the Financing Your Future My Florida CFO activities. So, what should you look for in an insurance company? Talk to some friends and brainstorm what are important traits to look for in an insurance company. Share your groups ideas with the class. Do all teams have the same lists? Is it acceptable for different people to look for different things in their insurance companies? How can auto insurance help you? What does it mean to have a high deductible or a low deductible? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? What is the most appropriate choice for you as a teen? What about your parents? Grandparents? How did you make these decisions? What does the government have to say about automobile insurance? Is there help for picking the right insurance company? Read the attached article about gender and car insurance rates.
What do you think? What do you think would happen if you were a safe driver and your insurance rates went up due to inexperienced or unsafe drivers? What can you do to not be as risky to your insurance company? How soon can you implement these choices into your lifestyle? Now it's time for you to use the data. Check out the data collected by the Insurance Information Institute. If you owned an insurance company, what decisions would you make based on the data? Extension: Draw a cartoon strip with at least 5 bubbles. Write about car insurance and illuminate what is important to the consumer. Check out the student guide to use with this article.
Florida Literacy Standards: SS.912.FL.6.2: Analyze how judgment regarding risky events is subject to errors because people tend to overestimate the probability of infrequent events, often because they’ve heard of or seen a recent example. 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.912.FL.6.4: Explain that people may be required by governments or by certain types of contracts (e.g., home mortgages) to purchase some types of insurance. SS.912.FL.6.5: Describe how an insurance contract can increase the probability or size of a potential loss because having the insurance results in the person taking more risks, and that policy features such as deductibles and copayments are cost-sharing features that encourage the policyholder to take steps to reduce the potential size of a loss (claim). SS.912.FL.6.6: Explain that people can lower insurance premiums by behaving in ways that show they pose a lower risk. |
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January 2022
CategoriesAuthorDeborah Kozdras, Ph.D. |