Transitional Skills Center – Developing Habits for Success (Semester 2)

Personal Finance – Financial Success In Life After High School

Teacher: Haltinner, Betsy

Unit/duration:

Unit 1 – Personal Finance Introduction (1 week)

Essential Questions How can understanding effective personal finance strategies improve my life?

What can I do to ensure that I will be successful when making and managing money?

Overriding Skills Reading: Comprehension

Discussion: Application

Skills/Content Define personal income

Discuss and identify the payroll deductions that are withheld from paychecks

Recognize the 4 four choices that can be made with our money

Describe the importance of developing effective spending habits

Develop financial goal(s) statement

Unit/duration:

Unit 2 – Our Economy (2 weeks)

Essential Questions How does understanding the economy help me make better financial decisions?

How do business cycles affect my personal income?

Overriding Skills Analysis: Cause\Effect

Reading: Research, Interpret

Discussion: Sharing

Skills/Content Identify the key components of and differences between Command, Market, and

Traditional economies

Demonstrate understanding of scarcity and how it is addressed in the three types

of economies

Explain the four phases of a business cycle

Interpret how these cycles can affect personal income

Unit/duration:

Unit 3 – Managing Money (2 weeks)

Essential Questions How will developing effective spending habits affect my financial future?

Overriding Skills Reading: Comprehension, Interpret

Discussion: Questioning

Analysis: Cause/Effect

Skills/Content Explain the difference between a needs and wants

Develop a list of needs to live independently and determine the costs of these

items

Prepare an yearly/monthly/weekly expense vs. income needed chart

Discuss the importance of establishing good credit and how one is able to achieve

a good credit rating

Calculate interest rates on credit accounts

Unit/duration:

Unit 4 – Multiplying Your Money (3 weeks)

Essential Questions Why is it important to have a savings plan to ensure financial success?

How can saving and investing help me earn additional income?

Overriding Skills Reading: Research

Discussion: Presenting

Analysis: Evaluation

Skills/Content Evaluate the differences between savings accounts, stocks, and bonds

Explain how investing in real estate and business ventures help you increase your

income

Select a stock, research the company, monitor the stock over a period of 10 school

days, and report out financial gain or loss

Unit/duration:

Unit 5 – Protecting Your Money (2 weeks)

Essential Questions What steps can I take to protect my money?

Overriding Skills Reading: Comprehension, Purpose

Analysis: Cause/Effect, Interpretation

Skills/Content Identify the various methods of protecting assets

Discuss the benefits of insurance

Relate how the act of budgeting can reduce risk of experiencing financial loss

Examine the concept of “Easy Money”

Personal Finance Final Assessment -

This unit will be followed by a comprehensive final. This assessment will consist of multiple choice, true or

false, and short response questions. There will also be an essay question asking the student to reflect on their

learning in this course and discuss the most important lesson(s) they have taken away from this course.

Performance Indicator – Students will need to earn 70% of the points possible on this assessment to show

mastery of Personal Finance.