I believe you! Learning to manage a budget is an important and useful skill. More students would be interested in math if they studied it as it applies to their real lives.
One of my sons is a math whiz, but he detests the subject. He hates doing those boring exercises. He prefers the material presented in an interesting way. For example, he always enjoyed stories that teach math. Once I handed him a workbook on personal finance, and he loved it.
If you know any good, affordable books on that subject for the high school level, please feel free to recommend them. :-)
An economics teacher I knew used to have his students do a project. I don’t recall how they ended up with their jobs: I don’t know if each student selected one, if they were drawn out of a hat, or assigned. Each job had an average starting gross income. They may have also been assigned a pretend spouse and number of children.
The students had to determine first how much would be withheld from this salary for taxes, and so what the net income would be. From the net income, they had to determine a budget, and use information such as local real estate and rental guides to determine where they could afford to live and whether they could buy a home or needed to rent. They also had to figure out what sort of car they could afford to own, how much they would need to pay for food, whether they were going to save any money, how much was left over for entertainment, etc.
The project was quite eye-opening for some of the students - they had assumed that after graduation they would get a job and be wealthy, but very few of the “paychecks” went as far as most of the students had hoped.
It is actually REALLY fun!~
I don’t use a book though...
I make it up...
First I tell them that they have to have an apartment...
To find what they “want” and then send me links...
(I open a folder for each of them on my server...we keep all of their info (not personal) in their folder and they get to print it all out and keep it)..
Then...we discuss wages and (some) taxes...
Then we discuss room-mates...
(we also throw in some practical...let’s discuss what makes a good/bad room-mate.....it’s a good chance to talk about life...choices and their (mostly) crummy parents...)
We discuss 1 vs 2 vs 3 room-mates...and how possibly getting a house to rent is an idea..
We then go through making an Excel table.
(Totally fun because they can frequently show ME stuff...I give extra credit for teaching the teacher...)
Then, we go through things like cars and insurance etc...
THEN...we get into checking accounts and reconciling your account...(much different than when I was a kid..since MANY will never likely have checks)...
We also talk a TON about savings...these are NOT kids who come from families who save money..at all...
We have probably 1 whole WEEK on Credit Cards...and the traps...
I make them all find a story online of a credit card disaster story and they get to share it...
We spend a BUNCH of time working out percents and interest...and what “compounded” means...
Anyway...I also have them practice filling out forms...tons of forms..
They have a list to chose from...and they have to pick 10 and fill them out...
Bank account #’s
SS#’s
Names
Addresses
References
Etc...
(usually, depending on the make up of the group..I then TAKE their info (which they have freely given me on their work), and fill it in on some bogus application for a Target card or whatever...trying to illustrate just how easy it is to get phished)...
So...
It’s a really “good” time...sometimes we finish off with a game of Life...and I offer them an ice cream party...or, they can put their “party” in “the bank” and watch it grow into pizza at the end of the year/semester...
Also...we do a “thing” on Starbucks...and pretend to invest $4.00 per week to see JUST HOW MUCH 1 coffee per week would be worth when you’re 53 years old (invested at 35 years at an aggressive 12% return compounded monthly..)
(it’s $13,500 by the way)...
We talk about buying houses...and interest rates...points...closing costs...different loans...
etc..
Really a FUN, FUN time for all...
I’ve had a speaker come out from the bank to talk to them..
They always bring magnets...would you guess that high school kids still like getting magnets?
Really funny...
Anyway...enough of my BOOK!
:-)
Can you tell I LIKE my job???