Dual Credit Personal Finance

National Standards For Business Education published by the National Business Education Association

  1. The Financial Planning Process
  1. Explain why personal financial planning is so important.
  2. Describe the five basic steps of personal financial planning.
  3. Set your financial goals.
  4. Explain how career management and education can determine your income level.
  5. Explain the personal finance lessons learned in the recent economic downturn.
  6. List ten principles of personal finance.
  7. Understand that achieving financial security is more difficult for women.

Project – Create a cover letter and professional resume for a career of interest.

Assessment – Test

21st Century Skills – analytical skills, critical thinking

  1. Measuring Your Financial Health and Making a Plan
  1. Calculate your level of net worth or wealth using a balance sheet.
  2. Analyze where your money comes from and where it goes using an income statement.
  3. Set up a record-keeping system to track your income and expenditures.
  4. Implement a financial plan or budget that will provide for the level of savings needed to achieve your goals.
  5. Decide if a professional planner will play a role in your financial affairs.

Project – Create a realistic budget based on the net pay of a career of interest.

Assessment – Test

21st Century Skills – analytical skills, how to read a paycheck stub, math skills to create a budget

  1. Understanding and Appreciating the Time Value of Money
  1. Explain the mechanics of compounding.
  2. Understand the power of time and importance of the interest rate in compounding.
  3. Calculate the present value of money to be received in the future.
  4. Define an annuity and calculate its compound or future value.

Assessment – test

21st Century Skills – Finance calculator, critical thinking

  1. Cash or Liquid Asset Management
  1. Manage your cash and understand why you need liquid assets.
  2. Automate your savings.
  3. Choose from among the different types of financial institutions that provide cash management services.
  4. Compare the various cash management alternatives.
  5. Compare rate on the different liquid investment alternatives.
  6. Establish and use a checking account including reconciliation.
  7. Transfer funds electronically and understand how electronic funds transfers work.

Assessment – test

21st Century Skills –Finance calculator

Project – checking account and reconciliation project

  1. Using Credit Cards: The Role of Open Credit
  1. Know how credit cards work.
  2. Understand the costs of credit.
  3. Describe the different types of credit cards.
  4. Know what determines your credit card worthiness and how to secure a credit card.
  5. Manage your credit cards and open credit.

Assessment – test

21st Century Skills – finance calculator

  1. The Home and Automobile Decision
  1. Make good buying decisions.
  2. Choose a vehicle that suits your needs and budget.
  3. Choose housing that meets your needs.
  4. Decide whether to rent or buy housing.
  5. Calculate the costs of buying a home.
  6. Get the most out of your mortgage.
  7. Understand, buy and maintain homeowner’s insurance in a cost-effective way.
  8. Recover on a liability or a loss to your property.
  9. Buy the automobile insurance policy that’s right for yu.
  10. File a claim on your automobile insurance.

Assessment – test

21st Century Skills – finance calculator, analytical thinking

Project – consumer pricing

  1. Life and Health Insurance
  1. Understand the important of insurance.
  2. Determine your life insurance needs and design a life insurance program.
  3. Describe the major types of coverage available and the typical provisions that are included.
  4. Explain the purpose of long-term care insurance.

Assessment – test

  1. Investment Basics
  1. Set your goals and be ready to invest.
  2. Calculate interest rates and real rates of return.
  3. Manage risk in your investments.
  4. Allocate your assets in the manner than it best for you.
  5. Understand how difficult it is to beat the market.
  6. Invest in stocks.
  7. Read stock quotes online or in the newspaper.

Assessment – test

Final Exam – critical thinking skills, analytical skills, finance calculator problems.

Updated August 2017