The Money Maze – 5th – 8th grade

Description

Grades 5-8+

The Money Maze, Don’t Get Lost in the Middle, is a curriculum aligned personal financial literacy textbook for Grades 5 – 8.  Introduce your students to the concepts of handling their money, and then use the worksheets for ‘hands on’ learning!  Included websites and calculations will help your students learn to successfully manage their money. Table of Contents distinguishes grade levels.

Learning key strategies to handle your money now will allow you to create a balanced future and get you through the Money Maze – Point A to Point B – without too many detours!  In this book you will learn about and how to:

• Make and balance a budget
• Paychecks & W2s
• Checking accounts and Debit Cards
• Credit cards interest and payments
• Introduction to College and Financial Aid
• Introduction to Income Tax
• Compound Interest – and why you must start early!
• 401ks
• Roth IRAs
• And optional chapter on how to buy a car!

This book is written for an education level of 5th to 8th grade, however, it is the perfect book for ESL classes, GED classes, new immigrant classes, adults working on GED’s, generational poverty students, and any one else who has  minimal training in finances.

Curriculum Covered:  APPENDIX

Personal financial literacy. The student applies mathematical process standards to manage one’s financial resources effectively for lifetime financial security. The student is expected to:

Grade 5

(A)  define income tax, payroll tax, sales tax, and property tax;

(B)  explain the difference between gross income and net income;

(C)  identify the advantages and disadvantages of different methods of payment, including check, credit card, debit card, and electronic payments;

(D)  develop a system for keeping and using financial records;

(E)  describe actions that might be taken to balance a budget when expenses exceed income; and

(F)  balance a simple budget.

Grade 6

(A)  compare the features and costs of a checking account and a debit card offered by different local financial institutions;

(B)  distinguish between debit cards and credit cards;

(C)  balance a check register that includes deposits, withdrawals, and transfers;

(D)  explain why it is important to establish a positive credit history;

(E)  describe the information in a credit report and how long it is retained;

(F)  describe the value of credit reports to borrowers and to lenders;

(G)  explain various methods to pay for college, including through savings, grants, scholarships, student loans, and work-study; and

(H)  compare the annual salary of several occupations requiring various levels of post-secondary education or vocational training and calculate the effects of the different annual salaries on lifetime income.

Grade 7

(A)  calculate the sales tax for a given purchase and calculate income tax for earned wages;

(B)  identify the components of a personal budget, including income; planned savings for college, retirement, and emergencies; taxes; and fixed and variable expenses, and calculate what percentage each category comprises of the total budget;

(C)  create and organize a financial assets and liabilities record and construct a net worth statement;

(D)  use a family budget estimator to determine the minimum household budget and average hourly wage needed for a family to meet its basic needs in the student’s city or another large city nearby;

(E)  calculate and compare simple interest and compound interest earnings; and

(F)  analyze and compare monetary incentives, including sales, rebates, and coupons.

Grade 8

(A)  solve real-world problems comparing how interest rate and loan length affect the cost of credit;

(B)  calculate the total cost of repaying a loan, including credit cards and easy access loans, under various rates of interest and over different periods using an online calculator;

(C)  explain how small amounts of money invested regularly, including money saved for college and retirement, grow over time;

(D)  calculate and compare simple interest and compound interest earnings;

(E)  identify and explain the advantages and disadvantages of different payment methods;

(F)  analyze situations to determine if they represent financially responsible decisions and identify the benefits of financial responsibility and the costs of financial irresponsibility; and

(G)  estimate the cost of a two-year and four-year college education, including family contribution, and devise a periodic savings plan for accumulating the money needed to contribute to the total cost of attendance for at least the first year of college.