Personal & Family Finance
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Course Introduction

 

Core Standards of the Course

STRAND 1
Students will examine sources of income and the relationships between career preparation and lifetime earning power.

Standard 1
Identify various sources of income and specific employability skills.

1. Identify sources of income such as: wages, commissions, investment income, benefits, inheritance, and gifts.
   
2. Evaluate and compare career opportunities based on individual interests, skills, and educational requirements; the value of work to society; income potential; and the supply and demand of the work- force, including unemployment.
   
3. Compare the risks and rewards of entrepreneurship/self-employment.
   
4. Identify workplace skills needed in the financial industry within savings (bankers, advisors, planners etc.) and investing (stocks, bonds, mutual funds etc..).
   
5. Compare income to the cost of living in various geographic areas and the impact it has on purchasing power.
   
6. Identify the effects of state and federal taxes and the requirement to file, including income, filing status and dependency tax law, the differences between refundable credits, non-refundable credits, and adjustments, and the differences between gross and net income.
   

Standard 2
Identify and begin preparation for career and post-high school training.

1. Explore the correlation between education, training, and potential lifetime income.
   
2. Calculate the costs of post-high school training options and analyze the return on investment (ROI) based on career choices, including the cost differences between public and private, and nonprofit and profit education and training.
   
3. Identify what type of financial advisor you may need to hire as a consumer based on personal and family financial needs in saving and investing.
   

Performance Skills

1. Research and present on financial careers within the Human Services field. Identifying the skills needs in the career, education, career outlook, salary, and day to day responsibilities.
   
   • Family finances
   • Behavioral finances
   • Financial advisors
   • Financial planners
   • Financial educators
   • Financial counselors
   • Financial coaches
   • Financial therapists
   • Financial social workers
   • Housing counselors
   • Financial bloggers
   • FCSE teaching financial literacy
   • Real estate agents
   • Mortgage Brokers
   • Consumer Protection Agencies
   • Insurance Agents Banking
   • Banking
   • Etc.

STRAND 2
The students will identify how financial priorities and goals are affected by societal, family, and personal values, culture, and economic forces.

Standard 1
Analyze the role of cultural, social, and emotional influences on financial behavior.

1. Systemic nature of finances/decisions.
   
   • Describe the influence of emotions, attitudes, and behavior in making financial decisions.
   • Define how these influences may affect one's work with a potential client.
2. Recognize that individuals are responsible for their own financial decisions and for subsequent positive and negative consequences.
   
3. Explain scarcity of financial resources and its effects on wants and needs.
   
4. Relate instant satisfaction and delayed gratification to impulse buying and planned expenditures.
   
   • Identify resources that may help clients develop a plan for expenditures in their spending and practice delayed gratification.

Standard 2
Define how personal and family financial planning affect goal setting.

1. Discuss the decision-making process regarding spending plans, debts, and savings/investing for families and individuals.
   
2. Identify spending habits and their connection to personal & family financial values.
   
3. Instruct others on how short and long term financial goals are interconnected.
   
4. Discuss how financial planning and goals change over the course of your lifetime.
   

Standard 3
Define the decision-making process and the steps of financial planning.

1. Define opportunity cost (tradeoffs) and their role in decision making.
   
2. Describe a decision-making process.
   
   • Discuss intuitive decision making and analytical decision making.
3. Identify short- and long-term financial decisions and the impact they have on financial planning.
   
4. Define the elements of a financial plan and how they would be taught to a potential client.
   
   • Set financial goals (short-term & long-term goals)
   • Create a budget
   • Build an emergency fund
   • Manage debt
   • Plan for retirement
   • Revisit and adapt financial plan as needed
5. Discuss how emotions and societal influences can affect financial decisions in a family.
   
6. Describe the stages of finances (accumulation of wealth, growing and managing wealth, preserving and protecting wealth and transferring wealth) throughout the life cycle and the importance of lifelong learning for potential clients and as a professional.
   

Performance Skills
Students will practice conversations with potential clients that have made unwise financial decisions that are affected by: culture, family members, friends, or others, emotions.

STRAND 3
Students will examine personal and family financial health including communication, financial harmony, financial roles, and financial power.

Standard 1
Describe ways to communicate effectively about finances.

1. Identify individual goals vs family financial goals.
   
2. Define financial infidelity (unilateral decisions: hiding finances or purchases from your partner/spouse).
   
3. Identify money scripts and money habits.
   
   • Money Scripts are the unconscious beliefs about money. These are beliefs that are rooted in our childhood that ultimately shape our financial health. Financial outcomes and financial behaviors are both impacted by your money scripts
   • Money/financial biases: When people make undesirable financial or investment choices, it is often the result of biases and heuristics. Cognitive bias occurs when drawing incorrect conclusions, based on an ill-conceived heuristics (shortcuts), to make decisions.
4. Practice how to compromise on money issues.
   
   • Discuss when the right time to talk about finances in a relationship.
5. Identify strategies to conduct difficult financial conversations (e.g. competition vs cooperation; self-confidence vs doubt; vulnerability vs invincibility; taking credit for small successes rather than assuming or placing blame).
   

Standard 2
Understand principles of financial harmony.

1. Recognize that most couples experience disagreements about money.
   
   • Explore the root causes of the money disagreements that are occurring to help resolve the disagreements constructively.
2. Identify constructive strategies for addressing financial disagreements (e.g. competition vs cooperation; self-confidence vs doubt; vulnerability vs invincibility; taking credit for small successes rather than assuming or placing blame).
   
   • Explore outside resources for assistance with financial conflict.
3. Identify financial strengths and weaknesses.
   
4. Recognize barriers that deter healthy financial communication between spouses and partners.
   

Standard 3
Identify how to navigate financial roles and power.

1. Explore how power is manifested in financial roles: decision-making, punishment/rewards, shaming, control of resources, access to resources, resource ownership, etc.
   
   • Discuss abusive relationships and resources available.

STRAND 4
Students will evaluate personal and family money management strategies; budgeting, accounts, and credit.

Standard 1
Practice the personal & family budgeting process based on a set income and spending

1. Identify and prioritize fixed and variable expenses in a budget.
   
2. Identify ways to save money in a budget such as comparison shopping, instant gratification/delayed gratification, self-regulation, excessive spending, use of credit, and debt.
   
   • Explore how to use comparison shopping when grocery shopping by comparing unit price, bulk pricing, and store brand to name brand items.
   • Summarize the use of comparison shopping when purchasing large ticket items.
   • Identify behaviors/emotional connections behind spending.
3. Understand choice and information overload and its impact on decision-making, including decision paralysis.
   
4. Develop a budget with a potential client (peer) using these processes.
   

Standard 2
Identify personal and family accounts and the advantages & disadvantages associated with each type.

1. Individual vs. Joint Accounts
   
   • Savings and checking accounts.
2. Identify rationale and good practices when using a business Account.
   
3. Identify the purpose of saving for retirement at an early age.
   
   • Time Value of Money and Rate of Return
   • Career connection and employee benefits
4. Analyze the developmental need for Insurance (risk management)
   
   • Life Insurance
   • Health Insurance
   • Discuss different insurance needs at the different stages of life.

Standard 3
Analyze and interpret credit.

1. Interpret credit reports/scores and their impact on personal and family finances
   
2. Recognize different types of credit cards
   
   • Identify how to choose a credit card that benefits your personal and family finances.
3. Identify the benefits and disadvantages of using credit cards.
   
4. Identify debt management resources to give to potential clients.
   
5. Describe the personal and societal effects of bankruptcy and identify circumstances that lead to bankruptcy, such as uninsured medical costs, family break-up, or loss of job.
   

Performance Skills

1. Evaluate the total cost of a large ticket item purchased with credit when paid for with the minimum payment.
   
2. Evaluate three different credit card applications and determine the total cost of an item purchased on credit at three different rates of interest.
   
3. Students will practice helping a potential client create a budget using at least 2 strategies for managing debt.
   

STRAND 5
Students will evaluate the financial implications of relationship formation and dissolution.

Standard 1
Discuss how to protect finances at the beginning of a relationship.

1. Explore when to start talking about finances in relationships. Discuss issues related to financial compatibility.
   
   • Financial goals (long term and short term), living situations, savings, children, vacations, aptitudes about credit, spending, saving, etc..
2. Discuss the process for blending or not blending finances in a relationship.
   
   • Identify different ways that couples/families blend finances in their relationships and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Prenuptial agreement, postnuptial agreement, joint/pooled funds etc..

Standard 2
Explore how divorce/remarriage or relationship dissolution affect one's finances.

1. Describe how custody, child support, and spousal support and consequences operate.
   
2. Discuss the cost of divorce or relationship dissolution.
   
3. Describe healthy financial boundaries and how to maintain those boundaries (e.g. who pays for the financial needs of children from previous and current marriage?).
   

Standard 3
Explore the implications of the loss of life on a family's financial resources.

1. Discuss potential expenses for funeral/burial of a child, spouse or parent.
   
2. Identify ways in which a family may prepare for funeral/burial expenses.
   

Performance Skills

1. Interview an individual who is in a committed relationship for at least 5 years, about when they started talking to their significant other about finances. Identify at least 3 topics that the interviewee feels is important to discuss with a significant other in a committed relationship.
   
2. Students will make an overall plan for budgeting and saving; including debt, income, protecting, saving, growth, & flexibility in their overall plan for family/individual saving.
   

Workplace Skills

1. Communication
   
2. Problem solving
   
3. Teamwork
   
4. Critical thinking skills
   
5. Dependability
   
6. Accountability
   
7. Legal requirements/expectations
   

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http://www.uen.org - in partnership with Utah State Board of Education (USBE) and Utah System of Higher Education (USHE).  Send questions or comments to USBE Specialist - MAREN  HANSEN and see the CTE/Health Science & Human Services website. For general questions about Utah's Core Standards contact the Director - THALEA  LONGHURST.

These materials have been produced by and for the teachers of the State of Utah. Copies of these materials may be freely reproduced for teacher and classroom use. When distributing these materials, credit should be given to Utah State Board of Education. These materials may not be published, in whole or part, or in any other format, without the written permission of the Utah State Board of Education, 250 East 500 South, PO Box 144200, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4200.