It's hard to answer because, truthfully, most won't use the majority of anything I teach them. Therefore, I wanted to give my seniors one important skill that they will actually need in "real life." This was their final project that was worth 1.5 test grades. Some of the students worked very hard and came up with an excellent product; the students were excited for the opportunity to plan their future. The instructions and rubric are attached. Feel free to use for your class. This can be adapted for any class, but I feel that it is most important to my seniors for me to impart my knowledge on the matter before they left me for the "real world."
Skills Included:
- Researching a career path and starting salary
- Calculating taxes
- Finding a place to live
- Purchasing/Leasing a vehicle
- Writing checks
- Filling out tax forms
- Finding car insurance
- Researching cell phone costs
- Calculating savings
- Paying off a credit card
- Paying off student loans
- Budgeting for food, gas, and entertainment
- And more...
Future Budget Project
Checks used for project -- Blank Practice Checks
To calculate the amount the student owed on a credit card, I put random amounts (with interest rates) on slips of paper and drew them at random for groups of people. You can determine how to group them on your own. I asked them to chose a lego on the way into the door. The color and size of the lego determined which slip to follow.
I gave my students a full week in class (in a computer lab) to work on the project. This was plenty of time for them to finish (and make them look good). I also gave them benchmarks to let them know where they should be in the process. This could be done outside of class, but I thought it was good to be there to answer questions. The project led to many interesting and informative conversations. Each day I had a different student asking me "financial advice." I should've started charging....
I also set aside two days of class time for the students to present to their fellow classmates. They liked seeing where each other would live, what career each would choose, and what car each would purchase. I did not make the presentation necessary, but I did give some extra points for those brave enough to present.
Here are a few examples of student work. They are not perfect, but I wanted to share...
Example #1 -- Future Budget Project
Example #2 -- Future Budget Project
Example #3 -- Future Budget Project
Happy Budgeting!!!!!!
