Insurance Search 2014

Objective:  Students will learn why insurance is critical to making sure they are covered in the event of a catastrophic loss.  Students will complete a Journal Entry about the primary types of insurance they may require in their lives.  Students will discover what Renters Insurance is and why it is important.  Students will calculate basic costs for different types of coverage and estimate monthly costs associated with Renters Insurance. Students will then choose a Dream Car and investigate the costs of owning and operating it.

STEPS

1.  Read Lifehacker Article and Complete Journal (Weebly) Entry

2.  Follow steps to learn about and estimate Renters Insurance Needs.

3.  Follow directions for Dream Car exercise and investigate insurance costs.

4.  Enter costs on Budget Sheet prior to leaving class today!

5.  Work on any items still outstanding for class.

Please READ the following article http://lifehacker.com/what-types-of-insurance-do-i-really-need-1488536904 and write a Journal Entry (Weebly) about what types of insurance you need and why (In Your Own Words!).  Then continue with the exercise below and enter your insurance costs (Projected Cost Column) on your Budget Sheets.

RENTERS INSURANCE

Unfortunately, sometimes bad things happen. We get car
insurance, homeowners insurance and health insurance to be on the safe
side. But what if you are a renter? Who protects your belongings and
makes sure you are not held responsible for personal or property damage
at your apartment?  If you rent an apartment, condo, or home, rental insurance is your safeguard against property loss and personal liability.

Imagine the following scenarios:

• What if all your clothes, TV,
  computer, furniture, and other belongings were destroyed by fire? Could
  you replace them, immediately, out of pocket?


• Could you be held liable if your friends or family were injured on the apartment grounds or in your apartment?


• What if your apartment unit was broken into and your personal property was stolen, how would your belongings be replaced?

Fire. Injury. Robbery. These are just a few reasons why people get
apartment renters insurance. It is up to you to protect your belongings
and prepare for the unexpected with rental insurance. Whether you are
looking for apartment rental insurance or insurance to cover your
storage rental you need to consider these:

• protect you against the financial risk associated with property damage


• insure full replacement value for your personal property and that of your neighbors


• provide you with quick payment for approved claims


• provide you with temporary living expenses over and above your normal living expenses if your apartment is covered in the loss


• give you peace of mind!

Use this calculator to total up the value of everything in your
apartment and think about how you would replace it in the event of a
disaster or problems:

http://www.residentshield.com/contentscalculatorequote





PICK YOUR DREAM CAR 

Use this calculator to find out how much
you might pay annually for insurance: (If you have a car in this budget,
enter the amount of your monthly payment estimate)



http://money.msn.com/auto-insurance/auto-insurance-quotes.aspx



Use this calculator to estimate your monthly payment.  You must estimate using a 48-month loan at 7% interest.  Good Luck!



http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/auto/simple-loan-payment-calculator.aspx



NOW use the following calculator to think about how much Savings you
will need to set aside while you are earning a living (your starting
amount is the amount left over from your shopping trip on moving day:



http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/savings/simple-savings-calculator.aspx



Add your monthly savings into your budget.



You might also need some life insurance, but that is normally handled
with your employee benefits people.  Your new jobs could include Life,
Health, and other benefits we will discuss today.



Finally, you can now add 10% of your earnings from our Investopedia
Stock Market Game.  Call me over to make the withdrawl if you want.  I
will have today's print out with totals and will approve all withdrawls.



Enter all of your items on your budget and save it for tomorrow!!



-Mr. S

Budget Posting Day & Utility Costs 2014

Objective:  Students will begin to enter data on their budget sheets.  ALL ENTRIES ARE TO GO IN THE PROJECTED COSTS COLUMN OF THE BUDGET!  Students should spend time today entering their Projected Costs for rent, transportation (train/bus pass), shopping costs and any other items on their budget sheets.  Students should also add the MONTHLY INCOME to the INCOME BOX to initialize the sheet.  Finally, students should research the cost of utilities in their new city and estimate the costs on their budget sheets.  See directions below for figuring out your monthly utilities.



Steps:

1.  Enter your Monthly Income in the Income Box on the Budget Sheet

2.  Enter your Projected Cost for your RENT

3.  Enter your Projected Cost for the SHOPPING you did to move in.

4a.  Complete Journal Entry (Weebly) Listed Below

4b.  Use the tools below to determine your Average Utility Costs for the Month:

• Electric, Natural Gas, Water, Sewer, Trash Pickup, Phone, Cable, Internet

5.  Enter those costs on the Projected Cost Column of your Budget

6.  Work on anything else you owe for this class.



UTILITY COST ESTIMATE TOOLS:

Here is an article with a good idea of how much you should estimate based on your income for your budget:



http://www.zillow.com/blog/rules-of-thumb-for-estimating-apartment-utility-costs-100024/comment-page-1/





Today you will be examining how much your local utilities cost.  You are
at your new apartment and you need to estimate your monthly utility
expenses.  There are many websites you can use, but to make sure you are
estimating correctly you will need to read the following article first:



http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/how-to-estimate-cost-of-utilities.htm



Once you have read the article, please open your Weebly.com Journal and
write a few sentences about which utility companies you use in your new
city and how much you are estimating for the costs for your new
apartment.



Here are some additional websites to help you estimate your costs:



http://www.allconnect.com/shopping/sc-phone/phone.html#selectedTab_tv



http://www.whitefenceindex.com/



http://hes.lbl.gov/consumer/





You can also use Google (or another search engine) to find sources for estimates of costs in your city.



Once you have estimated your costs, enter the amounts in your budget
under the PROJECTED COSTS COLUMN.  Only when you actually recieve a bill
would you use the ACTUAL COST COLUMN.



WATER/SEWER:



The average household US water bill varies widely from
state to state and municipality to municipality.  Small town household
water rates fall somewhere between $1.00 and $2.00 per 748 gallons of
water or HCF (hundred cubic feet).  Large city household water rates are
from $2.00 to $3.00 per 748 gallons of water.

Many water bills are billed on a bi-monthly basis.



Many large cities have tiered water rate structures, whereby customers pay much higher rates for the water they consume beyond a certain predetermined amount.

The average US resident uses around 150 gallons of water per day.  This number varies widely. Let’s look at a household of 4’s water consumption for one month or over a billing cycle:

• Average daily water consumption: 600 gallons of water


• Average monthly water consumption: 18,000 gallons of water


• How many HCF is this? -> 18,000 divided by 748 = 24


• Average cost per HCF? -> $1.50


• Average monthly water bill? -> $1.50 x 24 = 36


• Average bi-monthly water bill? -> $72

(Bear in mind that this number is for the small municipality only)

* We of course need to add to this number the sewage rate/cost plus any additional fees.  To be safe, let’s just call it an $15 per month.

• New average US household water bill? -> $51

Now, let’s acknowledge that this is only a number to which there’s no
need to hold fast to.  It merely gives us an idea of the expensiveness
of water, and just how quickly a water bill can go through the roof due
to a running or leaking toilet, say, a phenomenon to which 90% of all
high water bills are due.



TELEPHONE, CABLE, and INTERNET:





Make sure you find your local providers and compare pricing.  If you are using a Mobile Phone, you must also add that to your Budget Sheet.





Keep up the Great Work on this project!  The school year is almost over!



- Mr. S

Investing and Stock Market Challenge 2014

Objective:  Students should learn the basics about savings accounts and investing in the Stock Market.  Students will use independent learning time to navigate through a series of videos to help them better understand basic Personal Budgets, Saving Money, Credit Card Tips, and how to Invest in Company Stocks.  Students will complete a Journal (Weebly) Entry, a Budget Worksheet, and sign up for our class Stock Market Challenge 2014.



Steps:

1.   Read the Article below and complete a Journal (Weebly) Entry

2.  Watch Videos Below and Complete Class Worksheet & Vocabulary List

3.  Create an account on Investopedia.com and click link below to join 2014 Game

4.  Work on anything else you owe for this class if all other items are finished.



To begin your investing journey, please read the following article:  Investing VS Gambling Article (Click Here) and write a brief (2-3 Sentences) journal entry (Weebly.com) about your feelings about the main point of the article.



Second, watch each video link below on your own.  After each video, answer the questions on the worksheet for today.  When you have completed the worksheet questions, please research and fill in the Vocabulary Section on the back of the sheet.  Turn in the sheet for credit!



1.  Personal Budget Tips:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_GZOr4l7P0



2.  How To Save Money:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxC_KaCD8KQ



3.  Savings Account Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0ttAaz32VU



4.  Credit Card Tips:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en6IfLFlrJM



5.  Company Investing Tips

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MPtq56CT1I



Third,   Use the link below to sign up for our Stock Market Challenge.  Please go to Investopedia.com and create an account using your class gmail address.  Once Created, click the link below and you should automatically be forwarded to the game.  The name of the game is Crossroads2014 and the password is caatech.  Once you have created and account, click the BUY link and enter the Stock Market Symbol for the company you want to buy and how many shares you want (See Market Price).  If you make any money in the market this week, you can add it to your Final Budgets!





Crossroads@Meade 2014 Stock Market Challenge 

 










Use the following sites to help you pick stocks
for the game:

MarketWatch (Wall Street Journal) Website (CLICK HERE)



MSN Money Top 50 Stocks (CLICK HERE)

Finally,  please click the following link and create an account in
Investopedia.com.  You will use this site, and the $1,000,000 in your
account to purchase stocks in real time.  Make sure you spend some time
discovering how to use the simulator to BUY and SELL stocks.  You will
be able to track your purchases and look at class rankings after the
system updates overnight.  There will be some great prizes for everyone
who participates and you can add some of the money in your account to
your Personal Monthly Budget later in the program if you EARN MONEY over
your initial $1-Million Dollar Investment.



Additional Resources:  here is a link to the Stock Market Basics Presentation from Class (Click Here)



We will be reviewing the following video together in class:  Investing Basics VIDEO (CLICK HERE)  and
discussing how you can find stocks you might be interested in investing
in for the project.









GOOD LUCK!!



- Mr. S