Download Unit Plan for Basic Finance Program

Unit Plan for Basic Finance Program
Overview
The Basic Finance Program of Coos Health & Wellness is targeting residents of Coos
County that have little to no prior knowledge or skills in personal finance. To complete the full
program, there will be two meetings expected with your client. Materials that you may go over
with clients include a guidebook, informational brochures, and various worksheets.
Who is eligible?

Anybody that shows expressed interest, especially those under 200% poverty level
Statement of Purpose
According to the Coos County Health Assessment of 2013, 17.6% of residents in Coos County
fall below the federal poverty level, and almost 40% of residents fall below 200% of the federal
poverty level. The median household income is at $37,258, more than $10,000 less than the
Oregon state median household income. Almost 3% of adults in Coos County have less than a
9th grade education, and 9.7% have completed some high school but have not received high
school diplomas. About one quarter of Coos County residents have received a Bachelor’s
degree or higher, leaving the other three quarters of residents having little to no higher
education than high school. Between the higher than average low-income status of Coos
County and the lack of educated individuals, a need for basic personal finance education is
crucial for this community.
Goals
1. Participants will demonstrate a set of practical personal finance skills to improve
their credit score.
2. Participants will have a concept of where they can improve on in their budget and
can apply that to their everyday life.
3. Participants will develop a positive outlook on being able to manage their finances.
Behavioral objectives
Cognitive
1. Participant will have a basic understanding of what a good credit score is and
ways one may go about improving their credit.
2. Participant will understand the concept of interest, and how that can
negatively and positively affect you. They will know that a high interest rate
on a credit card is a bad thing, and a high interest rate on a savings account is
a good thing.
3. Participant will understand the pros and cons of establishing an account with
a credit union vs. a bank.
4. Participant will have a better understanding of commonly used personal
finance terms.
Affective
1. Participant will feel wary of payday loans and other predatory lending
methods and will not want to use them.
2. Participant demonstrates a desire to start a savings/emergency funds
account and starts acting on this desire.
3. Participant has identified financial goals, both short-term and long-term
Psychomotor
1. Participant will be able to come up with an expense tracking worksheet that
they will fill out for a month’s time.
2. Participant will assess expense worksheet and find places in their spending
that they could budget better.
Outline
1. First meeting
a. Basic Financial Needs Assessment
b. Personal Finance Terms
i. Fill in the blank worksheet
c. Your Credit Score
i. Visual of poor, fair, good, and great credit ratings
ii. How credit score is evaluated (pie chart)
iii. How to improve credit
iv. Don’t have much credit? How to start establishing credit
d. Credit Cards
i. The 5 big tips on having a credit card
e. Credit union vs. Banks
i. What credit union is, why it’s different than a bank
ii. Pros and Cons of credit union
iii. Resources of Coos County: Northwest Community Credit Union,
South Coast ILWU Credit Union
f. Savings and Emergency Funds
i. Rules to go by
g. Predatory Lending
i. Personal story of individual falling into payday loan trap
ii. Facts on payday loans in Oregon
h. Expense Tracking handout
i. Look over expense tracking handout to see what you need to not
include or include for your homework
2. Homework to bring in to next meeting
a. Expense tracking: track expenses for one full month. Ask client to try to add
up totals if they can before your next appointment
3. Second Meeting
a. Go over expense tracking worksheet with client. Add up amounts if they
haven’t been totaled yet
b. Participant fills out worksheet entitled “Thinking about your Results”
c. Take retrospective test: “The Financial Skills Ladder”
Block Plan
Basic Personal Finance Program
Time allotted: 100 minutes
Session 1:
Go over Guide to Personal Finances with client
Session 2:
Go over homework
Introduction (5)
Expense Tracking Worksheet (30)
Finance terms matchup game (10)
Thinking About Your Results Worksheet (10)
Credit Scores (10)
Retrospective quiz (5)
Credit Cards (5)
Credit Unions (5)
Savings and Emergency Funds (5)
Predatory Lending (15)
Materials
1. Materials: First visit
Facilitator



Guide to Personal Finances
Expense Tracking Worksheet
“Thinking about your Results” worksheet
Participant

Paper and pencil
2. Materials: Second visit
Facilitator
3.
4.
5.
6.
Calculator
Pen and paper
“Thinking about your Results” worksheet
Retrospective quiz
Participant
7. Filled-out expense tracking sheet