Brian NelsonArvin High School

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke speech link

The current financial crisis as it relates personal finance

Jump$tart Coalition National K-12 Standards for Personal Finance◦ 20 pages long!◦ Glossary of financial terms

Rule #1 Never spend more than you make or “live below your means”

Save at least 10% of income for long-term savings

Invest in the worldwide economy

Establish an emergency fund (3-6 months of monthly expenses) for unforeseen expenses

Insure your assets, especially your health

Financing college or vocational training◦ Free Application for Federal Student Aid (Fafsa)◦ Applying for scholarships

Choosing your career carefully

Establishing checking and savings accounts◦ Washington Mutual, Charles Schwab

Establishing credit and your credit report◦ Annualcreditreport.com Bankrate.com

The perils of credit cards…”El Diablo!”

Health Insurance for Students◦ Major medical-Need $3-5 million in coverage◦ On campus student health centers

Purchasing a car, auto insurance Minimizing expenses in college Renting an apartment Retirement Plans

◦ Traditional Pensions◦ Roth IRA’s 401k’s, Mutual Funds

Taxes, Purchasing a Home

Kiplinger Magazine◦ “Starting Out”◦ Erin Burt◦ Kiplinger Quizzes◦ Best of List

Kiplinger magazine is hands down the best online personal finance magazine◦ Search any financial topic within the website

Students write reviews of personal finance articles on a daily basis

Investing Classroom◦ 172 lessons about the capital markets

Stocks Bonds Mutual funds Portfolios (asset allocation)

◦ Quizzes at the end of each chapter if registered at site (free of charge)

Curriculum runs from very basic to MBA level

“Instant X-ray”◦ This tool from Morningstar will diagnose any

portfolio and display its asset allocation or mix of investments

◦ A VERY valuable tool that is free of charge

Graphical results of asset allocation◦ Expenses◦ Industry mix◦ Much more portfolio data

Worldwide Business News◦ Current events◦ More than just business news◦ Much content is free

Personal Finance Section of WSJ◦ “Yoder & Son” column- A WSJ columnist and his son

discuss personal finances, very relevant to high school students

The Wall Street Journal Classroom Edition◦ Geared toward high school students◦ College and Careers, Personal finance, Technology◦ Most content is free

Math that matters…The miracle of compounding interest

Rarely taught in school The rule of 72

◦ Divide a rate of return into 72 to find out how long it takes a lump sum to double

Online personal finance calculators Microsoft Excel’s Future Value (FV) function

◦ Students also use excel to create personal financial statements-Balance Sheet & Income Statement

The Stock Market Game◦ Students teams manage a hypothetical $100,000

portfolio and compete against other teams in California

◦ Game operates like an actual brokerage account◦ Student learn about the capital markets and how

to research investments.◦ Students certainly learned about the riskiness of

stocks in the short term in the last game! “Financial Football” from

practicalmoneyskills.com

Online quiz sponsored by the U.S. Treasury Department to promote financial literacy among high school students

35 multiple choice questions

$1000 college scholarships awarded to students from Charles Schwab if all questions were answered correctly!

Certificates and medals awarded to top performing students

www.finance.yahoo.com www.marketwatch.com www.smartmoney.com www.zillow.com www.financefreak.com www.moneyinstructor.com www.fool.com www.vanguard.com www.jumpstart.org www.nefe.org www.money.aol.com www.morningstar.com www.kiplinger.com www.stockmarketgame.org www.ehealthinsurance.com

www.collegeboard.com www.finaid.org www.californiacolleges.edu www.brokescholar.com www.savingforcollege.com www.scholarships.com www.fastweb.com www.latinocollegedollars.org www.scholarshipsforhispanics.org www.cavhs.org www.uscollegesearch.org www.fafsa.ed.gov

Brian_nelson@kernhigh.orgEmail:

Thank you!