Title: Identify strategies for debt.
Course: Independent Living (22904-18)

Identification should include

- using budgeting and savings to avoid debt
- identifying debt-to-income ratios
- evaluating choices involving debt
- identifying the consequences of making poor credit decisions
- maintaining a recordkeeping system for credit purchases
- ensuring safekeeping of credit cards
- exploring the consequences of late-payment and other penalties
- examining debt payment plans
- recognizing warning signs for potential debt or credit concerns.

Teacher Resources:

- Empowering Futures, One Dollar at a Time, VCEE
- Teen Teach-In, Virginia Events Jump$tart! Financial Smarts for Students
- Financial Fitness, FCCLA

Process/Skill Questions:

Thinking

- What skills and strategies can one develop that will help one avoid debt?
- What is a budget? How does adhering to a budget help avoid fees and penalties?
- What are factors to consider when deciding whether to make a purchase or wait?

Communication

- Why is debt often a source of family stress and conflict?
- Where does one acquire one’s beliefs and attitudes toward debt?
- What difficulties might family members have if they do not share the same beliefs and values concerning debt?

Leadership

- What are the advantages and disadvantages of cash, check, debit card, and credit card as a way to purchase goods and services?
- What ethical roles do businesses play, if any, in encouraging consumers to accrue large debts through extensive use of credit cards? Why or why not?
- What are some effective ways to teach children about debt?

Management

- What guidelines should be put in the budget to help control debt?
- What information is needed to set short- and long-term financial goals?
- What are the possible consequences of going deeply into debt?