Budget Challenge Personal Finance Textbook

Budget Challenge Personal Finance is the comprehensive textbook for the award-winning, real-time financial literacy simulation used by over 850,000 students and over 10,000 teachers. Highly relevant topics, student-focused narrative, section pre-reading questions, charts, graphics, and text using the latest data make Budget Challenge Personal Finance the most relevant and compelling financial literacy text available. End-of-chapter questions focus on application and higher-order thinking skills with each chapter's Math, ELA, and In the Sim extension questions and activities. The seventeen chapters include Keys to Financial Success, Playing Budget Challenge, Employment, Banking, Loans and Credit Cards, Savings and Investing, Investing for Retirement, Purchasing and Consumer Protection, Buying or Leasing a Vehicle, Housing, Insurance, and Managing Risk: Motor Vehicle and Property, Insurance and Managing Risk: Health, Life and Disability, Building and Managing Credit, Data Security, Taxes, The Next Steps, and Paying for College. Budget Challenge meets state standards for financial literacy or personal finance. State standard correlation document available on request. A companion teacher guide includes lesson suggestions, content area vocabulary, answer keys, and additional reproducible student resources.

What are teachers saying?

"The Budget Challenge Personal Finance textbook is an excellent complement to the Budget Challenge Game, which our school has used for the past five years. The author does an excellent job of covering most of the personal finance state standards. The text is logically organized and chunked very nicely for the first-time student. As a personal finance teacher for 19 years, I believe that the Budget Challenge simulation is the best 'real-life' simulation on the market. The addition of this textbook, supporting the simulation, will take the student-learning experience to the next level."

Steve Latter
Personal Finance Teacher

Contents

Chapter 1: Keys to Financial Success 
Section 1 - Successful Financial Management 
Section 2 - Foundation Principles 
Section 3 - Managing Risk
Section 4 - Budgeting Basics - Creating a Plan 

Chapter 2: Playing Budget Challenge 
Section 1 - Getting Started 
Section 2 - Registration 
Section 3 - How to Play 
Section 4 - Simulation End 

Chapter 3: Employment 
Section 1 - Types of Pay 
Section 2 - Payroll 
Section 3 - Benefits 

Chapter 4: Banking 
Section 1 - Managing Cash 
Section 2 - Financial Services 
Section 3 - Ways to Save 
Section 4 - Understanding Fees 
Section 5 - Practicing Good Banking Habits 
Section 6 - Other Banking Options 

Chapter 5: Loans and Credit Cards 
Section 1 - Lending Basics 
Section 2 - Applying for a Loan 
Section 3 - Type of Loans 
Section 4 - Credit Cards 
Section 5 - Managing Your Credit Cards 

Chapter 6: Saving and Investing 
Section 1 - Saving and Investing Basics 
Section 2 - Saving and Investing Considerations 
Section 3 - Types of Investments 
Section 4 - Mutual Fund Basics 
Section 5 - Types of Investment Accounts 

Chapter 7: Investing for Retirement 
Section 1 - Retirement Realities 
Section 2 - Start Early and Use Tax Advantaged Investing 
Section 3 - Employer Sponsored Retirement Plans 
Section 4 - Individual Retirement Accounts 
Section 5 - Selecting Mutual Funds 
Section 6 - Determining Retirement Needs 

Chapter 8: Purchasing and Consumer Protection 
Section 1 - Before You Shop 
Section 2 - Buying Options 
Section 3 - Money Saving Tips 
Section 4 - Warranties and Service Contracts 
Section 5 - Consumer Protection 

Chapter 9: Buying or Leasing a Vehicle 
Section 1 - How Much Can I Afford? 
Section 2 - What Type of Vehicle Should I Purchase? 
Section 3 - Should I Get a New or Used Vehicle? 
Section 4 - Should I Buy or Lease? 
Section 5 - Making the Purchase or Lease 

Chapter 10: Housing 
Section 1 - Types of Housing 
Section 2 - Renting Versus Buying 
Section 3 - Deciding on a Rental 
Section 4 - Purchasing a House 

Chapter 11: Insurance and Managing Risk: Motor Vehicle and Property 
Section 1 - Insurance Basics 
Section 2 - Motor Vehicle Insurance 
Section 3 - Homeowner’s Insurance 
Section 4 - Cost Factors 
Section 5 - Shopping for Insurance 

Chapter 12: Insurance and Managing Risk: Health, Life, and Disability 
Section 1 - Health Insurance Basics 
Section 2 - Health Insurance Plans 
Section 3 - Additional Considerations 
Section 4 - Life Insurance 
Section 5 - Disability Insurance 

Chapter 13: Building and Managing Credit 
Section 1 - The Five Cs of Credit 
Section 2 - The Credit Report 
Section 3 - Credit Scores 
Section 4 - The Importance of the Credit Score 
Section 5 - Getting Credit Assistance 

Chapter 14: Data Security 
Section 1 - The Need to Secure Your Data 
Section 2 - Safeguarding Personal Information 
Section 3 - Phishing, Vishing and Other Imposter Fraud 
Section 4 - Dealing with Identity Theft 

Chapter 15: Taxes 
Section 1 - Tax Basics 
Section 2 - Types of Taxes 
Section 3 - Federal Income Tax 
Section 4 - Filing Your Tax Returns 
Section 5 - Tax Strategies and Considerations 

Chapter 16: The Next Steps 
Section 1 - Considering Careers 
Section 2 - Entering the Workforce 
Section 3 - Military Service 
Section 4 - College, Vocational, and Trade Schools 
Section 5 - Other Considerations 

Chapter 17: Paying for College 
Section 1 - The Rising Cost of Higher Education 
Section 2 - Applying for Financial Aid 
Section 3 - Types of Financial Assistance 
Section 4 - Federal Student Loans 
Section 5 - Student Loan Repayment 

Glossary 

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