Next Gen Personal Finance: December 2014 Newsletter

 

 

Welcome to Next Gen Personal Finance's December 2014 Newsletter Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF) is a non-profit organization that believes that all young people deserve a free, quality education to develop their financial capability. We hope you enjoy our second newsletter. It was gratifying to see the interest, emails and calls that came from our November newsletter. You confirmed our hopes by telling us that you found ideas/activities that you could incorporate into your classroom. We love your feedback so please let us know how we can continue to serve you. Also, please be sure to bookmark our FREE Lesson Library and check back frequently as each month we will be adding new lessons (check out our Investing Basics lesson which we recently added).   Regards, Tim Ranzetta [email protected] Activity Ideas/Case Studies As a personal finance educator, I know first-hand the importance of activities and having students "learn by doing." These activity ideas and case studies provide students with the opportunity to apply their learning: Boeing 401K Plan: The Case of the Missing Millions Creating a Holiday Spending Budget How To Choose a Checking Account Case Study: Millionaire or Not? Popular NGPF Lessons We find and curate engaging videos, articles, activities and performance tasks and package them into full lessons. These lessons provide your students with both the practical knowledge and application to develop their financial capability. Here are the most popular lessons this month: Budgeting Basics Reading Your Pay Stub Checking Basics The Costs of Not Paying Off Your Credit Card Bill Online and Mobile Banking What's the Catch?: Creating Savvy Consumers We have to create savvy consumers to navigate the minefield called the financial services industry. Our What's the Catch? posts provide students with opportunities to develop their financial savvy. When Is a "Free" Checking Account Not Free? What Makes A Company "Naughty"? (from Consumer Reports' Naughty/Nice List) Can I Really Get Free Access To Credit Scores? Video Resources You know students love videos but you also know finding great video resources can take time. At NGPF, we spend hundreds of hours looking for resources so you don't have to. Here are a few video (and one audio) resources that we uncovered the past month that we thought your students would enjoy: The Psychology Behind Our Money Decisions (4-6 minutes) The Marketing Messages Behind Bank Commercials (3 commercials, 30-60 seconds each) Scared Straight Approach to Student Debt: A Documentary Playlist (7 videos, 3 to 27 minutes in duration) Audio Resource: Before You Buy A Car From A Dealer, Listen To This...(76 minutes) Questions of the Day Here are questions to engage your students in current events and serve as great ways to catalyze classroom discussions before you jump into your lesson: Why Was Black Friday So Glum For Retailers? What's The Right Amount Of Student Debt? Which Checking Account Is Better? Should High School Students Get A Part-Time Job? What Is Apple Pay? Chart of the Month This set of charts shows how spending patterns for middle-income families have changed over the last six years.  See what insights student glean from analyzing these charts.     On The Couch: The Psychology of Money Understanding the psychological factors behind many financial decisions serves as a critical first step behind making better decisions. Here are a few resources that explore money's relationship to happiness, generosity, bargain hunting and fears: How Much Money Do You Need To Be Happy? Why Don't People Give More? We Love A Bargain: The Psychology Of Discount Prices What Financial Fears Do Adults Have? Pain of Paying (15 minute video) Community Activity Next Gen Personal Finance actively supports the financial literacy community through workshops, conference sponsorships and volunteer teaching at local high schools. Contact us at [email protected] if you are interested in discussing a speaking or sponsorship opportunity. Previous Events: October 18, 2014: FBLA Conference (Santa Clara, CA) - NGPF provided a workshop for FBLA Advisors and students November 8-10, 2014: Jump$tart Conference (Los Angeles, CA) - NGPF participated as an exhibitor November 15, 2014: CBEA State Conference (Monterrey, CA) - NGPF exhibited and conducted a workshop for personal finance educators November 19-21, 2014: AFCPE (Bellevue, WA) - Exhibitor Upcoming Events: December 9-12, 2014: Pilot at Palo Alto High School (Palo Alto, CA) January-March, 2015: Pilot at Eastside Prep (East Palo Alto, CA) February 28, 2015: Common Ground Speaker Series (Princeton, NJ)