............................Overview.............................

These student pages are designed to help your team locate the information you will need for your project, to guide you in the preparation and presentation of that information, and to return to as a continual reference source during your work in this unit.

Page Links

 Information

 Planning 2

Research 3

Technology 4

Presentation 5 

Assessment 6

Your mission, since you have decided to accept the Budget Bonanza challenge, is to actually practice what you are studying. Can you stay ahead of the bill collector? Can you squeeze enough out of your budget to afford a movie? Or, will you end up wrecked on the rocks of financial disaster? To survive, you’ll have to learn the economic necessities everyone should know - how to: balance a budget, finance and insure your automobile, figure your taxes, rent or buy a house, establish credit and avoid its risks, invest in the stock market, and plan for retirement.

Wow! This sounds like a lot of work, but it’s not really as bad as it seems. Because many people never take the time to learn to do these things well, they think it's difficult. Not necessarily so! If you learn a few basic fundamentals and, above all, learn to locate and analyze the information that is out there for you to use, you can do consumer economics with the best of them.

And - in addition to taking control of your financial life, you’ll have an opportunity to win “Bonanza Bucks”! Several of our community merchants are going to provide prizes of U.S. Savings Bonds to those of you who best meet the objectives of this project. So, with the incentives of earning “Bonanza Bucks” and acquiring some useful knowledge, let’s take a quick tour of the program.

Students will...

  • Plan monthly budgets and balance check books
  • Learn to establish credit and use credit cards responsibly
  • Compare cost-of-living in different U.S. and global areas
  • Compare mortgage to rent payments
  • Pay state and federal taxes
  • Research and compare types of insurance
  • Research projected savings and retirement needs
  • Plan investments and read stock 'results'
  • Learn to use the Internet, E-mail, PowerPoint, PageMill, and budget software(Quicken)

Week 1
First, after a brief look at the course, the projects, and Internet requirements, you’ll take some time to put your economic “team” together and decide on individual team members’ roles and responsibilities. And best of all, you’ll learn more about how to win that prize money.

Week 2,3,4
Next, as you begin to learn about personal budgets and how to track them using budget software, you’ll also look into the financial world of automobile ownership. Your team will complete work on your first personal budget project and PowerPoint presentation. (And have a chance for the first of 4 'Budget Bonanza' awards.)

Week 5,6
Then, on to taxes; state and federal. How best to file? What about deductions? Why do we have to pay them? Again, your team will complete your personal budget info and your PowerPoint presentation. (Again, a chance for more 'bucks'.)

Week 7,8,9
After taxes, what’s left? Not much! (Just kidding.)Next, you'll look into rent, mortgages, and credit card use. (Again, a chance for more 'bucks'.)

Week 10,11,12
What about your future? Saving, investing, and retirement information will help you plan for those expenses that will come later in life. (Again, a chance for more 'bucks'.)

Week 13,14,15
It's time to put to use what you've learned so far. With the magic of technology and the WWW, you are going to create a web site that will explain, to those not lucky enough to have taken this course, how they can plan a secure and rewarding financial future.

Week 16,17
These two weeks are for presenting your web sites to your classmates and the people who will judge them. This is when you will submit all your hard work to compete for 'Budget Bonanza" bucks.

Week 18
The moment of truth. Award day. Who do the judges award 'Budget Bonanza' bucks too? 

 


Page Links

 Information

 Planning 2

Research 3 

Technology 4 

Presentation 5 

 Assessment 6

 

Home Page

 


Created for the Fermilab LInC program sponsored by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Education Office and Friends of Fermilab, and funded by United States Department of Energy, Illinois State Board of Education, North Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium which is operated by North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL), and the National Science Foundation.

Author(s): Skip Schmidt(sschmidt@portup.com) and Lisa Bianchi(lbianchi@portup.com)
School: LaSalle High School - St. Ignace, Michigan
Created: April 15, 1999 - Updated: April 28, 1999
URL: /lincon/w99/projects/budgetls/pre.html