Part 1: Situation and Savings (35 minutes)

Transcription

1 Volunteer Guide

2 Introduction: Do you remember the first big decision you faced in using money? Were you prepared to make a good choice? How we manage our income really affects our lives and our families. Every choice we make allows or limits us to make other choices and decisions. What do you wish you would have known about money as a teenager? To really learn the importance of managing money you have to experience it. If you have ever felt the pleasure of buying something that you had to save for, received a fee for a bounced check, or have been overwhelmed by credit card debt, then you know what I mean. Experience is a great teacher! Finance Park introduces students to real world experience without having to face the difficult consequences of poor choices. Your role as a volunteer is to encourage discussion and to help the students apply Finance Park to the real world. We would encourage you to share stories of real life experience as the students work through Finance Park. During the day students will receive a new life scenario (i.e. age, married or single, job and annual income). Students will also be given a list of bills that an adult might have to pay. They will need to choose the house, car, phone plan, and etc. that best fits their new life situation. Many students will be surprised at all their parents do to provide for them! We deeply appreciate your help to make Finance Park a special experience for students! Your participation makes a big difference. The day is divided into the following five sections. This manual will walk you through your responsibilities during each part of the day. 1. Situation and Savings (35 minutes) 2. Search and Research (40 minutes) 3. Lunch (30 minutes) 4. Budget and Shopping (60 minutes) 5. Payment and Check Out (25 minutes)

3 Part 1: Situation and Savings (35 minutes) 1. Meet the students (5 min). a. You will be helping a group of four to six students. b. Students interview volunteer using the Job/Career Exploration worksheet. 2. Assign a tablet and account number to each student. (5 min) a. Fill out Tablet Sign Out/Sign In sheet. b. Volunteers and students are responsible for the tablets listed on the sheet. Students are required to return the tablet to you in the same condition at the end of the day. c. JA staff will give you the account numbers for your group. Account numbers are assigned at random. Let s Talk About It! Students will learn more if they are engaged and thinking about how Finance Park applies to the real world. Try to engage students during each part of the day by asking lots of questions and encouraging group discussion. What questions could you ask during this section? How come some jobs pay more than others? What does it take to get a great job? What is your dream job? Is there something you could do now to prepare for this job? 3. Students log in to the tablet. 4. Students answer questions on tablet. 5. Students receive and share life situation. a. Students should consider their new family situation in decisions at Finance Park. (i.e. spouse and children s needs.) 6. Students calculate net monthly income. When does school start to count? Your boss tells you that you make a certain amount, when you get your paycheck it is significantly less. What happened? What is the difference between gross pay and net pay?

4 Savings After students figure out their net monthly income, the tablet screens will require a passcode. This will give you a chance to talk about the next concept with the group savings. You will want all of the students to be on the passcode screen before moving on. 1. Discuss the importance of paying yourself first (5 minutes). 2. Share the savings passcode with the students. The savings passcode is Students complete the savings decision on the tablet. 4. Stop and wait for JA City staff to announce the next part of the day Search and Research. Students should stay in business till the announcement. Let s Talk About Saving! Saving is critical for financial success yet very few people have enough savings to cover a rainy day! What skills have helped you become a super saver. Sharing stories, experiences and scenarios to make it more real for the students. Take a minute to share with the students why saving is important. Has your family ever been in a situation when you had to rely on savings? How much money will you need to retire? How much money will you need to save each month for retirement? Have you ever saved to make a big purchase? What did it feel like to buy the item after all your work to save? How does or would having money saved for an emergency make you feel? What does the term pay yourself first mean? How much money is left over if you wait to save till the end of the month?

5 Part 2: Search and Research (35 Minutes) It is important to do a little research before making budget and purchase decisions. During this part of the day the students will visit the JA Finance Park businesses on a scavenger hunt to find codes that unlock the shopping screens for each bill. Shopping screens show students what choices are avialable in each bill category. They will need to take their tablet with them to unlock the bill categories. 1. Share the research passcode with the students. This passcode is Students may be dismissed to unlock the shopping screens. Once the screen has been unlocked they may look at the options before moving on to the next category. 3. The passcodes are located on the computers of the different JA Finance Park businesses. The businesses are marked with a sign that matches the bill on the individual tablet. A list of the shopping passcodes is found on the last page of the manual. 4. Upon unlocking all of the shopping screens the students will return to their business group. Discuss the importance of a few of the categories as a group.

6 Part 3: Budget and Shopping (60 minutes) This phase is the most important part of the day. The students will create a budget and make purchase decisions for each bill category. If the budget doesn t work they will need to revisit some of the categories and make different choices. 1. The students will complete the suggested guideline screen on tablet. The students will estimate how much each budget item will cost. The total of all expenses should equal 100%. This practice will give the students an idea of what they will be spending it does not necessarily reflect actual cost. 2. Share the shopping passcode with students. The passcode is The students will make a decision in each expense category on the tablet by selecting a category and choosing the best option for their situation. 4. Go through each category one at a time as a group. This will give you opportunity to lead the group in discussion. See talking points on the back cover. 5. By the end of this practice the students will have made a choice and selection from each category on the budget. If they go over budget they will need to change some of their expense choices. Any money left over, will need to be allocated into one of the expense categories. Let s talk about budgeting! Unfortunately, budgeting has become a lost art. Many people believe budgeting is looking at your expenses after they have been made. (After the expense is made it is to late to budget!) Budgeting requires setting priorities and goals. You need determination and discipline to be successful! What would your top five priorities be on your budget? If going on vacation is important to you, were would it be on your budget? Do your decisions in one budget category affect others? Why is it important to know how much you can spend before going out shopping? What benefits come from keeping a budget? What could happen without a plan to manage your money?

7 Transition Passcodes Before Savings 111 Before Search and Research 321 Before Shopping 456 Research/Shopping Passcodes Bank (Mortgage Loan and Savings) 111 Cable 112 Clothing 121 Dining Out 211 Education 031 Electricity 102 Entertainment 143 Gas & Maintenance 343 Grocery 121 Housing 376 Insurance (Car, Health, Home and Renter s) 162 Philanthropy 246 Internet 375 That s Life 000 Transportation 632 Utilities: Water/Sewer/Trash 102