Grades 5, 6, 7, 8

Spending and Saving

Credit and Debt

Employment and Income

Investing

Risk Management and Insurance

Financial Decision Making

Apply strategies to monitor income and expenses, plan for spending and save for future goals.

Develop strategies to control and manage credit and debt.

Use a career plan to develop personal income potential.

Implement a diversified investment strategy that is compatible with personal financial goals.

Apply appropriate and cost-effective risk management strategies.

Apply reliable information and systematic decision making to personal financial decisions.

Develop a plan for spending and saving.

Develop a system for keeping and using financial records.

Describe how to use different payment methods.

Apply consumer skills to spending and saving decisions.

Analyze the costs and benefits of various types of credit.

Summarize a borrower's rights and responsibilities related to credit reports.

Apply strategies to avoid or correct debt management problems.

Explore job and career options.

Compare sources of personal income and compensation.

Analyze factors that affect net income.

Explain how investing may build wealth and help meet financial goals.

Evaluate investment alternatives.

Demonstrate how to buy and sell investments.

Investigate how agencies protect investors and regulate financial markets and products.

Identify common types of risks and basic risk management methods.

Justify reasons to use property and liability insurance.

Justify reasons to use health, disability, long-term care and life insurance.

Recognize the responsibilities associated with personal financial decisions.

Use reliable resources when making financial decisions.

Summarize major consumer protection laws.

Make criterion-based financial decisions by systematically considering alternatives and consequences.

Apply communication strategies when discussing financial issues.

Analyze the requirements of contractual obligations.

Control personal information.

Use a personal financial plan.

Assess how spending priorities reflect goals and values.

Analyze how spending and saving behavior can affect overall well-being.

Discuss the components of a personal spending plan, including income, planned saving and expenses.

Compare saving strategies, including "Pay Yourself First" and comparison shopping.

Compare the advantages and disadvantages of saving for financial goals.

Illustrate how inflation can affect spending power over time.

Justify the value of an emergency fund.

Explain why saving is a prerequisite to investing.

Prepare a personal property inventory, including descriptions, locations and estimates of value.

Develop a system for organizing personal financial records, both paper and electronic.

Investigate ways to secure vital personal financial data and records.

Compare and contrast different types of local financial institutions and the services they provide.

Summarize the advantages and disadvantages of checks, stored value cards, debit cards, gift cards and online and mobile payment systems.

Verify sales receipts for accuracy, including calculations, sales tax and any fees.

Evaluate the relationship between spending practices and achieving financial goals.

Analyze how external factors, such as marketing and advertising techniques, might influence spending decisions for different individuals.

When making a consumer decision, consider a range of spending and non-spending alternatives.

Illustrate the effect of inflation on buying power.

Investigate a private charitable organization and its purpose.

Assess whether a specific purchase justifies the use of credit.

Explain how debit cards differ from credit cards.

Explain how interest rate, compounding frequency and loan length affect the cost of using credit.

Calculate the total cost of repaying a loan under various rates of interest and over different periods.

Discuss potential consequences of using "easy access" credit.

Explain how individuals use debt as an investment.

Recommend ways that a person can regain a lender's trust after losing or damaging borrowed personal property.

Weigh the potential payoffs of a positive borrowing reputation versus the potential consequences of a poor borrowing reputation.

Identify indicators of excessive debt.

Predict possible consequences of excessive debt.

Recommend actions that a borrower could take to reduce or better manage excessive debt.

Give an example of how education and training can affect lifetime income.

Match personal skills and interests to various career options.

Compare the education and training requirements, income potential and primary duties of at least two jobs of interest.

Compare the costs of post-secondary education with the potential increase in income from a career of choice.

Devise a strategy to minimize the costs of postsecondary education.

Identify individuals who could provide positive job references.

Complete an age-appropriate, part-time job application.

Explain the difference between earned and unearned income and give an example of each.

Give an example of a situation that qualifies for a government transfer payment.

Explore how local government services assist people, such as those who are unemployed, elderly, disabled or low-income.

Differentiate between a progressive tax and a regressive tax.

Illustrate the relationship between income level and income tax liability.

Identify common types of payroll deductions.

Calculate how payroll deductions affect take-home pay.

Summarize Social Security, Medicare and Affordable Care Act benefits.

Explain how rate of return, frequency of compounding, taxes and inflation can affect changes in investment returns.

Devise an investment plan for accumulating money for a major expense such as a college education or the down payment on a car.

Compare gambling and other games of chance with investments as a means of building wealth.

Define the time value of money and explain how money invested regularly over time may grow exponentially.

Calculate and compare the time value of money in the following situations.<ul><li>Given a rate of return and number of years, calculate the future value of a lump sum investment.</li><li>Given a rate of return and number of years, calculate the lump sum amount an investor must invest today to reach a specific financial goal at a future date.</li><li>a rate of return, number of years and frequency of periodic payments, calculate the end (future) value of an investment.</li><li>a rate of return, number of years and frequency of payments, calculate the periodic payment amount needed to reach a specific investment goal.</li></ul>

Explain the difference between stocks and bonds.

Give examples of investments for current income and investments for future growth.

Compare investing in individual stocks and bonds with investing in mutual funds and exchange traded funds.

Use online data to compare investment performance of selected mutual funds and exchange-traded funds over different time periods.

Discuss the potential benefits of a long-term investing strategy.

Suggest types of investments appropriate for people who have a low risk tolerance for investment volatility.

Illustrate the benefits of tax-advantaged investments for young people.

Select appropriate investments for accumulating money for a major financial goal such as a college education.

Demonstrate how to open a basic deposit account at a financial institution or brokerage firm.

Explain how stock markets facilitate the buying and selling of securities.

Interpret the financial market price quotations of a stock, a mutual fund and an exchange-traded fund.

Describe how to buy and sell individual stocks, mutual fund shares and exchange-traded fund shares.

Discuss reasons why some investors sell stocks when the stock market is falling (panic selling) and buy when prices are rising (exuberant buying).

Calculate the average cost per share of an investment using a dollar cost averaging strategy.

Research federal government depository insurance coverage and limits related to consumer bank and credit union accounts.

Explain how federal and state regulators help protect investors.

Give examples of how people manage the risk of financial loss through avoidance, acceptance, control and reduction and transfer through insurance.

Predict the consequences of accepting risk with insufficient or no insurance.

Illustrate how to use insurance to share the risk of financial loss.

Discuss factors that affect insurance premiums.

Investigate a specific product safety recall.

Investigate the use of liability insurance to cover accidental bodily harm or damage to another person's property.

Categorize the kinds of expenses that typical auto insurance policies cover.

Categorize the kinds of expenses that typical renters' policies and typical homeowners' policies cover.

Categorize the kinds of expenses that health insurance can cover.

Analyze money-handling decisions that young adults commonly face.

Compare the benefits of financial responsibility with the consequences of financial irresponsibility.

Predict how influences such as current fashion trends, peer pressure and procrastination can affect financial decisions.

Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of various online and printed sources of product information.

Devise a way to test an advertising claim.

Determine whether information sources are accurate and reliable when comparing products and services.

Describe a process for making a consumer decision by combining pre-purchase information with point-of-purchase information, such as unit price data and discounts.

Investigate types of consumer fraud, including online scams and phone solicitations.

Give examples of behaviors that make consumers vulnerable to fraud.

Describe the consumer protection agencies and their responsibilities in one's state and community.

Give examples of unfair or deceptive business practices that consumer protection laws prohibit.

Outline the information needed to resolve a specific consumer complaint.

Apply systematic decision making to setting and achieving financial goals.

Prioritize personal financial goals.

Determine the cost of achieving a financial goal.

Evaluate the results of a financial decision.

Give examples of how decisions made today can affect future opportunities.

Analyze how discussing important financial matters with household members can help reduce conflict.

Assess differences among peer values and attitudes about money.

Demonstrate how to negotiate a fee for services such as babysitting or lawn care.

Categorize the types of rights and responsibilities typically found in employee handbooks.

Devise a family agreement that establishes the terms of use of a personal cell phone or the family car.

Investigate ways that thieves fraudulently obtain personal information.

Predict problems that might occur to a victim of identity theft.

Apply strategies for creating and maintaining strong online passwords.

Recommend ways to use social media safely.

Differentiate between assets and liabilities.

Construct a student's net worth statement.