Financial Planning NEFE Lesson 2 - Where Does Your Money Go? :: Curriculum

Accounting Model

Units:

Financial Planning NEFE Lesson 2 - Where Does Your Money Go?

Part of Unit: Personal Finance

Lesson Plan Overview / Details

Students will participate in an activity that will promote a discussion of, and be in agreement with, what actual wants and needs really are, and in different situations. This will prepare them for the first step in making financial goals.

To the Instructor

Lesson 2 is the second lesson in a series of 4 lessons for Unit One, "Your Financial Plan: Where It All Begins." There are 7 units to this course. The National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) has a student guide workbook as well as an Instructors Manual (IM) that you need to download which is free of charge. Go to http://hsfpp.nefe.org/ for this free program, then click on Instructor at the top of the page and register to use this Financial Planning Program for high schools. You can also request free workbooks for your students to use and take home as well. You will have access to the IM which is online. There are chapter assessments at your fingertips for each unit as well. The NEFE website has videos, PowerPoint presentations, copy of the entire IM and student workbooks, and much more. This unit will take 4 to 6 class periods to complete depending on class schedules and added activities for student retention.

Lesson Time

Time: 50 Minutes

Standards

California Career and Technical Education Standards

Student Objectives / Goals

Students will be able to discuss what factors determine when an item is a need rather than a want
Students will discuss what they found most interesting about the differences of opinion
Students will do a Quickwrite on how wants and needs are important to their financial decision making

Activities in this Lesson

Activity 1 - Is it a Want or Need? - Hooks / Set
Time: 15 Minutes

Have the following projected on the board for students to start as bellwork, or read the following to the students:

“All of us, at some point in our lives, will want something that costs more than the money we have. Should we ask our parents for the money, or borrow it from a friend? Do we really need it, or just want it? And why do we want it?
- Discuss with the person next to you what you know about whether an item is a want or a need
- Write down a few items that you would like to have and are deciding if you can purchase them in the future.
- Decide if those items are a want, a need, or both
After giving students a few minutes to brainstorm, allow an additional 8 to 10 minutes for discussion. Then, show the short video after this activity.
- Video - Don't buy what you can't afford [ Watch Video ] [ Download Original Video ]
Activity 2 - What is it? - Check Understanding

Time: 10 minutes

Materials: Three 8 ½ X 11 sheets of paper to make 3 signs, one labeled NEED, one WANT, and one labeled BOTH. You will also need masking tape and pictures of the items in your list of things (see below) with the item name written above the picture.

Directions: (Pictures of items are posted in Resources/Materials section)

Hang signs at opposite ends of the room. Arrange students in the center of the room between the three signs. Tell the students that you are going to name an item and each person should decide whether the item named would be classified as a NEED, a WANT or BOTH, and then they are to move to the respective ends of the room. After everyone has decided and moved, survey a few members from each group by asking why they classified it as a NEED, a WANT, or BOTH. Ask them to give an example of how or why the classification could be changed.

When completed, allow time for further discussion.

Suggestions of items are listed below: (A few pictures with the associated words are attached as examples)

Ideas for the NEED or WANT list:

Automobile                              Skis

Telephone                                Cell Phone

Newspaper                              Athletic shoes

Business Suit                          Sunscreen

Jewelry                                     Haircut

Tickets to an NBA game        Notebook

Backpack                                House

Pizza                                           Water
- Is it a Want or Need [ Download ] Print these out and hold up individually for this activity
Quick-Write - Check Understanding
Time: 15 Minutes

When completing this lesson, students will have a good idea of whether an item/thing would be classifies as a want or a need. They will complete and turn in a “Quickwrite” about the lesson explaining the importance of what they learned and how they will use this knowledge as it pertains to their own personal spending habits.

Use the form below to use for the Quick Write.
- A form to use for the Quick-Write [ Download ]
Assignment 1-3, My Personal Spending Log - Projects
Tip: Give the students legal sized letter envelopes to collect and insert receipts (tell students they must get receipts whenever possible) and to record their income and their expenditures on the envelope. Show an example. (You may need to create and hand out daily scenarios for those students who do not have money to spend.)

"Track your spending for a week, assessing how your spending matches your financial goals. You will be turning in this assignment next _____________ for 50 points. Make sure you put down every cent you receive from your parents/guardians or the money you borrow from your friends, and get receipts if possible. You will be using this information for the assessment activity at the end of this unit."