Today we will be watching the documentary, "Maxed Out".  We will be pausing the movie for brief questions/discussion, but we will use the entire period.  Your task today is to watch the movie and take notes which you will turn in at the end of class.  These notes will be "extra credit", but I do recommend that everybody do them.  This is an important subject which we will finish talking about on Friday.

Today we begin our second "month" of transactions.  We have many more checks to write, more ATM transactions to register, and more real-world transactions to simulate.  It should be fun.

Remember, if you're confused then you're probably doing it correctly.  The confusion generally comes because you care about getting this done accurately.  It's good to work through the confusion and nervousness when it's not your [or even real] money -- because eventually it will be.

Let me know if I can help you through any of the confusing parts.

Today we will be balancing our checkbook by using our monthly bank statement to "reconcile" the amounts in our check register.  We will also be completing an application for a used car and working through a quick budget worksheet to see if we can afford the car. 

Try to get your accounts balanced and reconciled because we begin the next months transactions tomorrow.

Hi Everybody! Unfortunately my illness finally got the better of me and I am home sick today. I expect my students to treat my substitutes with respect.  I don't want to hear a bad report from Ms. Pilqer.

What I would like you to do today is:

• Check your stocks at Virtual Stock Exchange.
• Complete your 1st months checking transactions.
• Compare your check register and balances with others.
• Work on your typing / practice for upcoming typing certification.

Before we begin todays assignment, we need to have a discussion about classroom etiquette and what my expectations are for the rest of this school year.

Before we begin, take a moment to check your "Stock Portfolio" at the Virtual Stock Exchange.

Today we will be taking a closer look at investing principles and making your money work for you.

• View Video: How the Stock Market Works
• Class Discussion: How do events and stories in the news affect the stock market.
• Discuss the importance of "making money while you sleep".
• Get out your NEFE (Finance) book and turn to page 27: Unit Three - Investing: Making Money Work for You
  • Read pages 27-29
  • Read & Discuss page 30: The Time Value of Money and The Power of Compounding

Due to unforeseen technical difficulties, we are going to start the Checking Account project on Monday.  Instead, we will today look at investing -- specifically the stock market.

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Scenario:  Your eccentric "Uncle Hoot" left you $100,000 in his "Last Will and Testament" -- the only catch is that you have to invest it all in a U.S. Stock Market and you can't check it out until June 1st. 

In order to get started, you need to sign up for an account at the Virtual Stock Market.  Just click on "Please Register" and then fill in the blanks (you can use your KHS gmail if you would like).  Then click on "Continue".   Next you need to join our class game -- in the box that says "Enter the Game ID below" type in KHSGriff (exactly as it looks) and press ENTER (or click the little orange triangle).  In the screen that opens up where it says, "This is a Private Game. Enter Game Password" go ahead and put in knights as the password.

[Note: The person who manages to make the most on their stock market portfolio will win a prize and a certificate at the conclusion of the challenge on June 1st.]

After we are signed up for the account, we will discuss how the Stock Market works and the principles of investing.

Here's an interesting old cartoon explaining how the Stock Market works.

Today we will begin working on our Banking Simulation by applying for a job:

• You are applying for an entry-level position as a [you decide the job] at Griffith Enterprises -- one of the most prestigious companies in the county.  The position pays $2000 per month and you will be paid twice per month ($1000 on the 1st and $1000 on the 15th).  
• Complete the Employment Application form that I will pass out in class.  You can also download a copy of the application here if you need one.
• Include a Résumé highlighting skills that will reflect this new position..
• Write a Letter of Application / Cover Letter to accompany your résumé.  Details for the letter are: Griffith Enterprises, 5480 Main Street, Kelseyville, California 95451.  (707) 279-4923.  The head of personnel is Robert Griffith.
• Place your application, resume, and cover letter in your large envelope [that I will pass out].
• Write your name on the top-front of your envelope and put your envelope in the black basket on the shelf.

Note:  If you are not able to print, make sure you save your documents to a USB drive or email them to yourself so you can print from another computer.  You MUST print these for the simulation.

First, spend 10 minutes working on your typing.  The typing test will be at the end of the 3rd Quarter, so get that speed up for your Typing Certificate.

Next we are going to do a quick simulation of writing checks and using a check register.  I will be passing out a worksheet with three checks and a register (you can view a copy here: Checks with Register).  Use the following scenario to complete your worksheet:

• You begin with $135.72 in your checking account.
• You receive a Check for $550.00 from your work and Deposit it to your checking account on 3/1/10.
• Write a Check for your rent on 3/1/10 for $525 to Kelseyville Green Apartments.
• You go to dinner at Lyndall's on 3/5/10 for $18.27 and use your Debit Card.
• You send a Check to John Smith in the amount of $31.19 on 3/12/10 for a movie you bought on eBay.
• You receive a Check for $550.00 on 3/15/10 from your work and you Deposit it to your checking account.
• You write a Check for your car payment on 3/16/10 in the amount of $224.72.
• You use Online Banking to pay $124.25 for your PG&E bill.

Compare your ending balance with a neighbors to verify your accuracy.

1. Spend 10 minutes practicing your typing.  Work on the Measurement Writing exercises so you can be ready for the Typing Test at the end of the quarter.
2. Complete your Personal Budget Research Project (House, Car, and Career).  Print your assignment and turn into the basket on my desk.  If you aren't able to print from your computer, email your assignment to me at askgriff@gmail.com or rgriffith@kusd.lake.k12.ca.us.

Today we will be looking at careers that can support your lifestyle (in this case, your house and car).  First, look at the recommended income level from both your car and house.  Choose the higher of the two to use as a baseline for what you should earn.

Use the Occupational Outlook Handbook to find a career that you are interested in and that will give you the needed income to afford the lifestyle you want.

Include:

• One paragraph explaining why this career appeals to you.
• Significant points about the job (See the OOH)
• Training / Education Needed
• Job Outlook
• Earnings (For the Year)
• Related Occupations

Today we will continue our Personal Budget Research and start shopping for a car.  Look over a site such as AutoTrader.com (see link below) to find the car of your dreams -- but try to stay reasonable and keep the price of the car below $35,001.

• www.autotrader.com

Open your Microsoft Word document from yesterday and make a section called "My Car".  Include the following information on your page:

• What is the year, make and model of your car?  (i.e. 1994 Chevy Silverado, 1989 Toyota Celica, etc.)
• How much does the car cost?
• Copy & Paste a picture of your car.
• Use the Car Loan Payment Calculator to figure your monthly payment.  Use 8% as the rate and 3 years (36 months) as the term.  Calculate 5% as a down payment.
• Monthly Payment: $ ________
• Yearly Cost: $ ________ (Monthly Payment x 12)
• What income would you need to afford this car?  (Yearly Cost divided by 12%)
• Look up the Kelley Blue Book value of your car to see if you're getting a good deal.  (http://www.kbb.com/) 
• Approximately what gas mileage (mpg = miles per gallon) does your car get?

Again, save your document in a safe location -- perhaps emailing a copy to yourself as a backup.  You will be adding to this document on Monday when we begin looking at possible careers to support your lifestyle.

Today we are going to begin looking at your future budget.  We will begin looking at buying a house, continue with buying a car, and then we will begin looking at careers.

For todays piece of the assignment I want you to focus your efforts on finding a house.  Almost everyone has an idea of where they would like to live and what type of house they would like to own.  It's your job to use the links below to find your dream house -- although we need to keep it realistic, so don't spend over $400,000 on the house.

• www.century21.com 
• www.realtor.com
• www.remax.com

When you have found the house you want, open Microsoft Word and put a title at the top of the page that says, "PERSONAL BUDGET RESEARCH PROJECT".  Next, make a section called "My House" and enter the following information:

• Where is the house? 
• How much does it cost?
• Use the Real Estate Loan Payment Calculator to figure your monthly payment for a 30 year mortgage.
• Monthly Payment (from above)
• Yearly Cost (Monthly Payment x 12)
• Income Needed (Yearly Cost divided by 28%)
• Paste a picture of the house on the page.
• URL (web address) of the site you used

Save this document to your Thawspace, but you might also want to email a copy to yourself in case the Thawspace gets wiped out again.  If you need to borrow a USB drive, please let me know.  We will be adding to this document tomorrow.

Today we did our 10 minutes of typing, then moved on to putting together a "Hard Times Budget".  In our hard times budget we came u with the bare minimum cost of living on your own.  We came up with expenses of $500 for rent, $75 for utilities, $25 for cell phone, etc.  We also created a tab on our budget spreadsheets for the hard times numbers.

After a class discussion of what living expenses can include for people living on their own, we built a spreadsheet to keep track of income and expenses.  We then used formatting tools to add color, borders, text alignments, etc.  Tomorrow we will continue working on our personal budgets creating a "Regular Budget" and a "Hard Times" tab.  There will be some budget research homework this week, but I think we made a great start today.

During the next two weeks we will be working through the NEFE High School Financial Planning Program workbook.  This is a good, rounded introduction to personal finance for young people.  It covers topics such as financial planning, budgeting, investing, credit, insurance, and your career.  We will be working through the book, doing some basic homework (mostly involving keeping track of spending, researching prices of items, interviewing friends or family, etc.), and then working on some financial simulations.

We will also continue working on typing during this time.  I expect everybody to spend 10 minutes at the beginning of the period working on "Measurement Writing" exercises in the MicroType Pro program.  I will begin administering typing tests very soon.