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Personal Finance 101

Spoiler alert: Credit cards are not free money.

  • Course Length: 3 weeks
  • Course Type: Short Course
  • Category:
    • College Prep
    • Life Skills
    • Middle School
    • High School

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Want to have a big house, five cars, and live large? We won't make any guarantees, but this course will at least marginally boost your chances of becoming so rich that you have a Bentley as your P.O.S. (piece of something-smelly) car. And it will definitely lower your chances of carrying around one of those sticks with a cloth bag on the end (unless the cloth bag holds gold bars or your secret password to the Swiss bank account).

There are certain things that smart people do with their money. We're talking:

  • Banking
  • Savings
  • Investment
  • Avoiding Bad Debt
  • Budgeting

and buying a car, a house, and a college education without breaking the bank.

Want the good things in life? This course shows you how to get 'em.

Required Skills

This course is a basic introduction to personal finance designed for the middle school to high school student. Students should be able to do basic math, such as calculating percentages.

Unit Breakdown

1 Personal Finance 101 - Personal Finance 101

This short course contains everything Shmoop thinks you need to know about money by the time you graduate from high school. We'll cover bank accounts, credit cards, paying for college—even insurance and the basics of taxes.


Sample Lesson - Introduction

Lesson 1.11: It'll Cost You

This is the perfect vehicle for your new construction job. It's even got a place for the company wheelbarrow.
(Source)

You've just decided to purchase a car with a $3,000 sound system. It's got sub woofers, side speakers, the works. The key is really those sub woofers. They cost a lot, but they make all the difference.

For the $500 you have left, the used car salesman sells you an excellent car. There aren't any brakes, but no biggie: just drag your feet on the ground, Flintstone-style. Good thing you can use this baby to get to work. You'll need that paycheck to fix whatever is causing that smoke to come out the back, because despite what the salesman told you, no it is not normal.

Of course, repairs aren't all you'll pay for when you own a car. Soon you'll be selling the sub woofers and doing wheelbarrow-style construction jobs just to pay for the darn thing. Keep reading to find out how insurance, gas, and repairs add up to make car ownership another one of those privileges you pay for.

Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 1.1.11: What It'll Cost You

Warning: These readings may turn you off car ownership entirely, in which case we suggest you move to Manhattan and spend the money you save by not owning a car on approximately 2 extra square feet of living space.

  • When buying anything on 4 wheels, there are more costs than you think. Shmoop breaks them down here.
     
  • Consumer Reports gives you some great graphs, charts, and whizamagigs for understanding what a car really costs to own, and ranks popular models from least to most expensive.

Kind of makes you feel like taking a walk, doesn't it?

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 1.11a: Car Cost Calculator

Now you know all about the general costs that go along with owning a car. But this tool gets even more specific. We just love it when stuff is specific, don't you?

Scroll down to the section labeled "See the top performers by class." You'll see cars divided by types like compact, subcompact, smart car, and so on. Spend some time studying the stats on the "Best in Class" for each category. The questions below refer only to the "Best in Class" cars.

  1. Which car has the lowest overall 5-year cost? What accounts for its lower cost?

  2. Which car has the highest overall 5-year cost? What accounts for its higher cost?

  3. Which car has the highest fuel costs? Why do you think the fuel cost is so high?

  4. Which car has the highest maintenance costs? Why do you think the maintenance costs are so high?

  5. Out of these cars, which would you pick? Why?

Showing Work and Short Answer Rubric - 15 Points

OutstandingProficientDevelopingNeeds Improvement
Work is Shown

All work is clearly and logically shown. Steps are clearly connected and legible. Necessary diagrams or graphs are included and labeled.

(9)

Work is logically laid out and understandable. Diagrams and graphs should still be shown, but it might have a few leaps in logic or skipped steps.

(8)

Work is shown, but doesn't always relate to the question at hand. Illogical arguments, absent crucial steps, and missing or insufficient graphs or diagrams.

(5)

Completely illegible and/or illogical work.

(3)
Answer

All parts of the question are answered correctly, including proper units and notation.

(6)

Answer is mostly correct, but has rounding errors, incorrect units, or is expressed improperly.

(5)

Answer is incorrect, but reasonable.

(4)

Answer is clearly incorrect or missing.

(2)

Sample Lesson - Activity

  1. What's the biggest cost of car ownership?

  2. Which of these isn't a factor in the overall cost of car ownership?

  3. Which of these isn't a part of the carrying cost of car ownership?

  4. Paying the purchase price up front will lower your overall cost of car ownership.

  5. You buy a brand new 2014 Chevy Spark. Kelley Blue Book tells you that the overall 5-year cost to own it is $24,328. How much does Sparky cost you per day if you own it for exactly 5 years?