Category Archives: Ch. 8, Home and Auto

Mind Games and Fuzzy Math

Posted on September 25, 2013 by ajkeown

You are at your local mall shopping for a sweater for your dad’s birthday. Ever find yourself wishing you had a calculator? How fast can you figure out what 25% off of $52.00 is? Would you make your “decision to … Continue reading →

Posted in 10 Principles of Personal Finance, Ch. 1, Financial Planning Process, Ch. 8, Home and Auto | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

How Best to Pay Off Your Debt

Posted on August 30, 2012 by ajkeown

There’s no question, the logical way to pay off debt is to go after the debt that you pay the most interest on first, and then work down to the accounts with the lowest interest rate.  In spite of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Ch. 6, Credit Cards, Ch. 7, Consumer Loans, Ch. 8, Home and Auto, Ch.18, Financial Life Events | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mortgage Lengths – the Surprising Popularity of the 15-Year Mortgage

Posted on August 2, 2012 by ajkeown

For most people, their home mortgage amounts to the most money they will ever borrow.  In Chapter 8 of Personal Finance, Turning Money into Wealth we look at “the mortgage decision” and lay out the steps you need to take … Continue reading →

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Class Discussion and Assignment: What We Spend Our Money On

Posted on May 1, 2012 by ajkeown

Teaching Tip:  The Planet Money article, “What America Buys” is fascinating, and the side-by-side graph showing the spending differences between 1949 and 2012 are extremely interesting.  If you can project these onto the board in class, it’s a great place … Continue reading →

Posted in Ch. 2, Measuring Financial Health and Making a Plan, Ch. 8, Home and Auto, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Class Discussion and Assignment: 100 Years of Spending

Posted on April 12, 2012 by ajkeown

100 years can bring about a lot of change.  Let’s look a a couple of these changes: In 1901, the average family size was 4.9 people, by 2002-03 it was down to 2.5. In 1901 women made up one quarter … Continue reading →

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Personal Finance in the News: The Mortgage Settlement – Class Discussion and Teaching Video

Posted on February 23, 2012 by ajkeown

Teaching Tip:  Jean Chatzky has a short (3-4 minute) video from the Today show on the new “Mortgage Settlement” that summarizes what took place. In mid-February, 2012, the Justice Department announced a $25 billion settlement deal between 49 state attorneys … Continue reading →

Posted in Ch. 7, Consumer Loans, Ch. 8, Home and Auto | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Class Assignment: Financial Words of Wisdom

Posted on February 21, 2012 by ajkeown

One of the best financial blogs is “The Color of Money” by Michelle Singletary which appears every Wednesday and Saturday in the Washington Post and is syndicated in over 100 newspapers. If you’d like to see what Michelle is writing … Continue reading →

Posted in Ch. 8, Home and Auto, Ch.11, Investment Basics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Class Discussion and Assignment: A Look at Discretionary Spending in the United States

Posted on February 17, 2012 by ajkeown

Teaching Tip:  Mint.com has a great exercise called, “How Little Things Add Up,” that students can either do in class (if they have access to the internet) or before class.  It will give them an estimate of how much they … Continue reading →

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Class Assignment and Discussion: The Napkin Assignment

Posted on January 27, 2012 by ajkeown

Teaching Tip and Assignment:  One of the best personal finance columnists around is Carl Richards, a certified financial planner and founder of Prasada Capital Management.  On his blog “Bucks, Making the Most of Your Money”in the New York Times, Carl … Continue reading →

Posted in 10 Principles of Personal Finance, Ch. 8, Home and Auto | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Class Discussion & Podcast: A Financial Advisor Takes a Hit in the Housing Market

Posted on January 16, 2012 by ajkeown

Teaching Tip:  This is a fascinating podcast that describes how a financial advisor got sucked into the housing boom and suffered a sad ending.  The podcast isn’t that long, only a bit over 17 minutes, so it isn’t too much … Continue reading →

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