| Electronic Financial Management
Andrew is in change of making sure his students are experienced in
using many popular software programs, including Microsoft Excel,
Internet Explorer and word processing software. But so that the
class can apply these programs to real life situations, he created
a financial education program utilizing much of this technology.
My Family Budget
In 6th, 7th and 8th grades, many students are just starting to
learn the responsibility they need to budget money. So Andrew
developed a program called “My Family Budget.” The
students are given a fictitious life to manage, along with a
fictitious $27,000 yearly salary to pay the bills. They must
allow for purchases of all the essentials – food, clothing,
housing, transportation. They must also pay the utilities as
well as taxes.
They first start by learning about local, state and national tax
laws. They progress through life decisions, including creating
a retirement plan and finally choose whether or not to marry and
have children. The consequences of their choices then manifest
as more decisions.
The Bottom Line
Students quickly learn how financial decisions affect their future,
and how poor decisions can stick with them for a long time. They
also learn the basic financial skills that everyone needs including
budgeting, earning and saving, among others and how to use software
programs to aid them in these tasks.
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