68 customizable lessons, aligned with National Standards, exams and more.
Read NGPF's school-by-school analysis of financial education in America today
Activities
Advocacy
Behavioral Economics
Best Of
Budgeting
Buying a Car
Career
Checking
Consumer Skills
Credit
Cryptocurrencies
Current Events
Curriculum Announcements
Economics
Entrepreneurship
Edpuzzle
ELL Resources
FinCap Friday
Gambling and Sports Betting
Insurance
Interactive
Investing
Math
Paying for College
Philanthropy
Podcasts
Press Releases
Professional Development
Question of the Day
Savings
So Expensive Series
Taxes
Teacher Talk
I saw this headline in the USA Today and expected something other than a listicle with 10 ways to get to $100K by 30 (including advice such as “go to a cheap school” or “avoid credit card debt.”). I thought this would be a great question that would enable students to flex their Excel (or Google Sheets) muscles to figure out how they could get there.
Here is link to the spreadsheet. Remember to have students copy the spreadsheet before completing the activity. As a teacher, you can modify the spreadsheet based on the Excel skills of your students. The base version has all of the formulas already added. Students have three key assumptions to play with:
By providing them with a table, students can see the impact of their decisions on getting to their goal of $100K by 30. Here are the columns in the spreadsheet with descriptions:
Ultimately, what students will take out of this exercise, is that the main driver of how much they will have in savings at the age of 30 is their Savings Percentage. Even if you assume an 8% investment return (the highest option), students will discover they need to save about 17% of the average salary to get to this target of $100,000. The key question for discussion is how they will set a target which is both reasonable and one that will enable them to have an adequate amount saved by the age of 30. Enjoy!
Video Resource: Are Investors More Spock or Homer Simpson?
May Survey Results: What are your summer plans?
Use NGPF's Online Banking Simulation to Bring Real-World Skills Into the Classroom
Activity Idea: Virtual Career Day
NEW! NGPF Economics Resource Directory
Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.
Join the more than 12,000 teachers who get the NGPF daily blog delivered to their inbox:
MOST POPULAR POSTS
1
Question of the Day: How much did Taylor Swift's Eras Tour gross during its two-year, 149 concert run?
2
Get Festive with NGPF Resources and Activities
3
Useful Personal Finance Movies and Documentaries with Worksheets
4
NEW Holiday Personal Finance Posters
5
NEW NGPF Review Materials Released
Before your subscription to our newsletter is active, you need to confirm your email address by clicking the link in the email we just sent you. It may take a couple minutes to arrive, and we suggest checking your spam folders just in case!
Great! Success message here
New to NGPF?
Save time, increase engagement, and teach life-changing financial skills with NGPF’s free curriculum
1.Register for a free TeacherAccount
2.ExploreSemester Course
3.Findstudent favorites
4.LeverageNGPF Academy
Your new account will provide you with access to NGPF Assessments and Answer Keys. It may take up to 1 business day for your Teacher Account to be activated; we will notify you once the process is complete.
Thanks for joining our community!
The NGPF Team
Complete the form below to access exclusive resources for teachers. Our team will review your account and send you a follow up email within 24 hours.
To speed up your verification process, please submit proof of status to gain access to answer keys & assessments.
Acceptable information includes:
Acceptable file types: .png, .jpg, .pdf.
Once you submit this form, our team will review your account and send you a follow up email within 24 hours. We may need additional information to verify your teacher status before you have full access to NGPF.
Take the quiz to quickly find the best resources for you!