Real Life Finances

Below is a breakdown of this week's lessons.  We will build off of our budgeting discussion and break down money management throughout the month.  I've given you all a typical starting salary for a typical job in which you net approximately $2,500/month in 2 pay periods ($1,250 on the15th and last day of each month).  I've assigned typical expenses and due dates in the "Typical Monthly Expenses" Google sheet.  With this information, we'll do the following:

Monday

B/R: Open budget spreadsheet and enter the fictitious values from our Google sheet

C/T: We can analyze essential financial information

1.       Set up bank account with first check

a.       What to bring?

                                                               i.      ID – 2 forms

                                                             ii.      Your check

2.       Use debit card

3.       Look at a check

a.       Routing number

b.      Account number

c.       Check number

Tuesday

B/R: Draw a check using the image provided:

C/T: We can analyze essential financial information

1.       Watch me fill out a check

2.       Write your own check for rent

3.       Other scenario for writing a check

Wednesday

B/R: Differentiate between routing # and account #

C/T: We can analyze essential financial information

1.       Online payments

a.       Easier? Harder? Safer?

b.      Scenarios for them

c.       Should you memorize routing & account #s?

2.       Which bills can you pay online?

3.       Can you send checks without a checkbook?

Thursday

B/R: Write due dates for each bill

C/T: We can analyze essential financial information

1.       How do you keep up with bills?

a.       Smart phone reminders

b.      Date book

c.       Email alerts

2.       How much cash should you carry at all times?

3.       What to do when emergency occurs

Friday

B/R: What is a realistic emergency that could occur?

C/T: We can analyze essential financial information

1.       What if that emergency costs more than what you have?

a.       Bills will still be due

b.      Negotiating payment plans for medical expenses

c.       Repercussions of not negotiating payment plans

2.       Blog post about what was learned this week

Imperative

As you can see, the definition of imperative is "of vital importance; crucial."  This week, as the year, along with many of your high school careers, winds down, I would like to take some time to provide you with some information that I feel is imperative to know prior to venturing off into college or the real world.  For this reason, I've reserved the Large Group Instruction (LGI) room Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday so that we will have limited distractions and a comfortable setting in which to engage in meaningful discussion.  

Much of the material covered in class this week has already been covered in other courses throughout high school, but I feel as if refreshing your memory and adding some important details will allow you to walk out of class (and into the real world) with a clear understanding of the most important aspects of each lesson.

Below is a breakdown of our week:

Monday (in LGI Room):

The W2 and W4 forms - what are they and why have them?  What is the goal of filling out a W4?  How do you read a W2 form?  Why might you claim a smaller/larger number on your W4?  What is the ideal scenario for filling out a W4?

Tuesday (in classroom):

On Tuesday, we're going to discuss in class some other topics you might want to know about before next year.  Have you ever heard people talk about business-related or other financial topics that you think you should know about?  We can compile a list for future lessons.  Additionally, we will discuss other class-related topics.

Wednesday (in LGI Room):

This lesson about financial goals is really interesting.  Knowing what you want to do with your money moving forward (car? apartment? computer?) will help you with financial goals that you can set for the short-term and long-term.  The information learned in this lesson will help greatly with Thursday's topic.

Thursday (in LGI Room):

How do you prevent yourself from running out of money at the end of the week/month?  Where does all your money go?  We'll discuss budgeting and exactly how to predict/calculate your weekly/monthly expenditures and how your budget affects your short-term and long-term financial goals.

Friday (in classroom):

On Friday, you'll blog about the biggest takeaways from this week's lessons, as well as share at least two suggestions for future "Imperatives" lessons.  

See you Monday!

Thank-You Letters & Writing Prompt

This week, we're going to accomplish two larger projects.  First you will compose and send thank-you letters to your interviewer from Mock Interview Day.  Second, to complete your N4 writing prompt, you will compose an argumentative essay about the new minimum wage in California.  The week breaks down like this:

Monday:
Review this article and this follow-up article about the value of thank-you letters after an interview.  We'll discuss what goes in a post-interview thank-you letter and some of the highlights of Mock Interview Day.

Tuesday:
I'll be out chaperoning a Health Science Academy trip, so you'll have the entire class period to compose your thank-you letters.  Make sure to save your letters to your student drop box AND your Google Drive.

Wednesday:
We're going to read and discuss this article about the increasing minimum wage in California.  After this article was published, California passed the proposed increase, and minimum wage will grow to $15/hour by 2018.  To students, this might sound like an awesome thing, but please think about what this does to the budget of a business and the effects on the number of employees a business is capable of paying.

Thursday:
I'll be in class for the first half of the period, but then I will have Admin Duty.  While I'm in class, I'm going to review the Argumentative Writing Rubric and then allow you to begin writing your argumentative essays to address the following prompt:

Based on what you read in the News ELA article "California's Lowest-Paid Workers Could Soon Get a Raise," compose an argumentative essay about whether you think the increased state minimum wage would have a positive or negative impact on employment.  Be sure to address the effects of an increase in the cost of labor, how the farming industry will have to adjust, and what will happen to the wealth of business owners.  Cite specific examples from the text to defend your opinion.

Friday:
Any student who missed an interview on Mock Interview Day will complete an interview in class.  From there, you will complete the rest of your writing prompt and submit via Faculty Drop Box.

That's it for this week.  See you Monday!