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
This NYT article caught my attention recently as it described how challenging it is for consumers to analyze cell phone offers:
One wireless phone plan allows customers to upgrade to a new phone in less than two years. Another allows a pool of data to be shared across multiple devices. Yet another offers unlimited data, but only at slower Internet speeds. All these perks are there for the taking, yet the average wireless phone bill continues with its monthly sting. Confused yet?
Welcome to the confounding world of wireless phone billing plans. Even executives at the wireless phone companies say their industry has created a Tower of Babel of competing plans, with highly specific requirements and offerings and even, in many cases, unique language buried in the fine print.
With nearly 80% of teens having cell phones, it is an engaging and useful lesson to have them analyze their own plan (yes, including the fine print). Since many of them may be under their parent/guardian’s family plan, this will also help foster conversation between them about a financial matter. For those students, that don’t have phones, they might enjoy analyzing offers from several top providers to see which one might work best for them.
As the article suggests, given all the permutations in the plans, a spreadsheet is necessary in order to compare. Ask the students to develop a list of the features of their own plan by bringing in a monthly bill or printing out the plan description from their online account. What are the features that they should report back on?
Class discussion:
Question of the Day: What’s Your Financial Resolution?
Student Loan Trends
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: What are the top 3 fastest growing careers that don't need a 4-year degree?
2
Fall 2024 Updates to Paying for College Resources
3
Useful Personal Finance Movies and Documentaries with Worksheets
4
FinCap Friday: FAFSA Fiasco
5
New Fall PD Badges are Here
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!