Module 16 : Calculating Your Future:
Personal Finance
ABOUT
In Calculating Your Future: Personal Finance, students learn the skills and knowledge needed to take ownership of their own finances. Students apply mathematical concepts to the making of short- and long-term financial decisions, such as how much to spend on a daily and monthly basis; how to create a budget; whether to apply for a credit card and, if so, which one; what to consider before making a major purchase, such as an automobile; how to pay for college; how to assess risk and choose among different investment options; and when and how to plan for retirement.
Students use critical-thinking and problem-solving skills to set financial goals and evaluate strategies for meeting those goals. Throughout the module, they use algebra and data analysis to study financial situations. For example, students construct and explore functions that express relationships among the variables of principal, interest, and time in order to maximize their investments and minimize debts. Students also consider how personal values and other non-economic factors affect financial decisions, and they examine the short- and long-term effects of different financial decisions.