Title: Develop a budget.
Course: Independent Living (22904-18) > Section: Managing Personal and Family Finances

Development should include

- establishing SMART goals
- examining budgets for a variety of individuals and families with different incomes and obligations
- evaluating a variety of investment opportunities.

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 are SMART goals?
- What are your long-term financial goals? What skills and strategies will help you achieve these long-term goals?
- Why is it important to be knowledgeable about financial management? What might be the consequences of a failure to understand the concepts of financial management?

Communication

- What advances in technology are helping with financial management?
- How can one use communication skills to learn about services offered by financial institutions (e.g., banks, credit unions)?
- How can one use communication skills to learn about investment opportunities?

Leadership

- What can establishing and following budgeting techniques allow one to do?
- Why is it important to be disciplined when following a budget?
- How can one influence others to respect one’s budget?

Management

- How much money, as a percentage of income, should one try to save each month?
- What are the benefits of preventing impulse buying and/or spending?
- Where should one save money?