Martinez Money Message: Financial Literacy Semester Class for High School Kids

Students will be able to:
Week 1: Behavioral Finance
-Assess your own personal values that shape how you make financial decisions
-Understand how social media can influence spending habits
Week 2: Finding Work in High School
-Identify strategies to use for finding a job during high school
-Create a resume and cover letter
-Prepare for a job interview
Week 3: Checking
-Explain what a checking account is used for and why it is important to have one
-Balance and reconcile their checking account and statement
-Use online bill pay
-Compare and contrast banks and credit unions
Week 4: Saving
-Understand fundamentals of saving
-Identify obstacles people experience when trying to save money
-Understand why it’s important to establish an emergency fund
-Compare different savings vehicles such as savings account, CD, and money market account
Week 5: Budgeting
-Determine personal needs and wants
-Create a budget
Week 6: Taxes
-Read a pay stub and describe the different deductions
-Identify common tax forms
-Explain the different ways you can file
Week 7: Investing
-Recognize the value in investing early and regularly
-Analyze the performance of individual stocks over time
-Explain what mutual funds, index funds, exchange traded funds, and target date funds are
Week 8: Paying for College
-Identify quantitative and qualitative benefits of going to college
-Explain the role the FAFSA plays in the financial aid process
-Find scholarships and grants
-Analyze student profiles to determine the best course of action to take for student loans
Week 9: Career
-Identify different available career pathways
-Analyze potential careers based on salary, stability, growth, training, and responsibilities
-Explore different career options based on your interests
Week 10: Credit & Debt
-Understand the basic components of lines of credit: principal, interest rate, and term
-Explain how a credit card works
-Calculate how much an auto loan will cost
-Explain what a mortgage is and use a mortgage calculator
-Know the components of a credit report
-Name components of a credit score
Week 11: Insurance
-Identify risks and protection strategies
-List factors that determine auto insurance premiums
-Explain how health insurance works and the different types of plans available to them
Week 12: Financial Pitfalls
-Identify common financial pitfalls the people fall into and strategies to prevent them from occurring
-Identify signs of common types of scams and fraud
-Outline what steps to take if you are a victim of identity theft
-Explain what it means to file for bankruptcy and the impact it can have on your finances

I am from the United States and have been teaching various business, marketing, and finance courses for 13 years. I have taught both at the high school and collegiate level. I teach both in person and online but online is my favorite! I have a Bachelor's degree in Marketing and Business Information Technology Education, a Masters in Business Administration and a PhD in Online Education. 
I am very excited to work with all of you through Outschool!

55 minutes per week in class, and an estimated 2 - 4 hours per week outside of class.