TROOP 157
PERSONAL
MANAGEMENT MERIT BADGE
November 16,
1999
Over the next two months, we will be
working on Personal Management merit badge at most of our troop meetings. We have scheduled five meetings at which we
plan to work on the badge requirements.
Because there are several requirements that you need to complete on your
own (outside of a troop meeting), you will also have a few specific assignments
to complete between meetings. Perhaps
the most difficult aspect of the badge is requirement #2, setting up a budget
and keeping track of your expenses for 3 months. We will discuss this requirement at our kick-off meeting. Although it will not be possible to complete
the 3-month record (or, therefore, the merit badge) in time for the February
Court of Honor, the holiday gift-giving season is an excellent time to sharpen
your money management skills.
We have scheduled our time to work
on Personal Management on: November 16 (kick-off), November 23, November 30,
December 7, and December 21. Of course,
it is still possible to complete the badge even if you cannot attend all of
these meetings, but it would be more difficult because you will not have the
benefit of the meeting discussion and will have the added homework burden of
writing out the requirements. Note that
some of the requirements have an either-or component, and we have recommended
which of the two requirements you should do.
November 16 Meeting
2.Do the following:
a.Prepare a personal budget or
spending plan for three months, including a "pay
yourself first" savings plan.
Keep track of everything you buy. Balance all
income with expenses and savings at
the end of each month.
b.Share your three month budget with
your merit badge counselor. Explain how
you determined discretionary income
(income not spent to meet fixed
expenses), how much you saved, and
what you spent money on. Did you
spend more or less than you
budgeted?
A set of blank budget and
worksheets is attached to help get you started! Note that they include a column for chores. Since keeping track of your chores around
the house (also for 90 days) is one of the most tedious requirements for Family
Life merit badge, you might consider just doing this small additional bit of
record keeping every day in order to begin that badge.
Begin working on your
3-month record of expenses and bring your completed budget to the
November 23 meeting.
Two requirements have to do with setting goals and
then working to achieve those goals. Do
these also as preparation for the November 23 meeting. For requirement #1, bring a note from an
adult member of your family saying that you had the required discussion. For requirement #3, do part a. rather than
part b.
1.Do the following:
a.Lead a discussion with your family
to identify one family financial goal that
must be saved for out of family
income. Choose a goal that has strong
personal interest for both you and
your family (a family trip or vacation, a
new VCR, or a family car, for
instance).
b.Discuss the goal in detail (where to
go on vacation, for example, or what kind
of car to buy), the cost of the
goal, and when you want to reach the goal.
c.Discuss how your family could
accumulate funds to reach this goal, how the
goal will affect the rest of the
family budget, and how you could help your
family achieve the goal.
3.Do ONE of the
following:
a. (Do this one.) Identify a
personal financial goal and make a plan to achieve that goal.
1.Write down the goal you want to
achieve. (This may be a small, short
term goal such as buying
clothes, or it may be a major, long-term goal
such as saving for college.)
2.Develop a financial plan to accomplish the goal. Determine how
much
the goal will cost, how much
time you have to reach the goal, how you
will earn money to pay for the
goal, and what adjustments you could
make if you cannot reach the
goal in the desired time with the income
you can earn.
3.Discuss your plan with your
counselor (at the November 3 meeting).
OR:
b.(Do not do this one.) Determine
a spending/savings plan for living on your own.
1.Choose a realistic job based on
your age, skills, education, and
experience (working at a
fast-food restaurant, movie theater, or
college library, for example).
Determine how much you would
probably make per hour and how
many hours you would work each
week. Determine your spendable
income (after taxes and other
deductions are taken out) for a
month.
2.Make a list of all basic
monthly living expenses: rent, food,
transportation, clothing,
telephone, etc. Ask family or friends, or call
sources to help you determine
costs.
3.Compare projected income with
projected expenses. Would you have
enough income to live on? Would
any be left over for fun? For
savings?
4.If expenses exceed income,
determine what options you would have
for bringing the two into
balance. Could you reduce or eliminate
expenses? Work more hours a
week? Get a higher-paying job?
5.Discuss you final plan with your counselor.
We will be discussing the
goal-setting discussions and personal planning that you will have completed
before the meeting. Then, we will
discuss saving and investing as outlined in requirement #6:
6.Do the following:
a.Explain the difference between
saving for a goal and investing for a goal.
b.Explain the two basic methods of
investing: loaned and owned.
c.Explain the concepts of simple and
compound interest and how compound
interest can be used to increase
your savings and investments more rapidly.
d.Explain the concepts of yield,
profit, and total return, and how they are used
to evaluate investment performance.
e.Explain the basic features of the
following types of investments, including
risks and rewards and whether they
involve lending or owning: bank savings
accounts, certificates of deposit, U.S. Savings Bonds,
shares of stock, shares
in a mutual fund, real estate.
Keep working on your 3-month record of expenses, and
complete the comparison shopping requirement (#4). Bring ads, coupons, and your notes of various sources and prices
to the November 30 meeting.
4.Do the following:
a.Choose an item you would like to
buy. Be specific. (For example, identify the
brand name of a pair of shoes you want,
or the title of a CD.)
b.Comparison shop for the item. Find
out where you can buy the item for the
best price. Call around; study ads.
Look for a sale or a discount coupon.
c.Consider alternatives. Could you buy
the item used? Should you wait for a
sale?
d.Discuss your shopping strategy with your counselor (at the November 17 meeting).
November 30 Meeting
We will discuss the comparison shopping that you
will have completed before the meeting.
Then, we will discuss credit and debt as outlined in requirement #7:
7.Do the following:
a.Explain what a loan is, what
interest is, and how the "annual percentage rate"
measures the true cost of a loan.
b.Choose something you want to buy or
do, but currently cannot afford. Set up
an imaginary loan so you can
"achieve" that goal. Identify the "principal"
amount, interest rate, and repayment
schedule. Determine the total cost of
the loan (principal plus interest).
Determine how it would affect your total
cost if you paid back the same
amount every two weeks, instead of once a
month.
c.Explain the differences between a
charge card, a debit card, and a credit
card.
d.Identify the factors that affect the
costs of credit. Tell which factors can be
controlled.
e.Explain credit reports and how
personal responsibility can affect your credit
record.
f.Describe ways to reduce or eliminate
debt.
Assignment for December 7
Meeting
Keep working on your 3-month record of expenses, and
visit a bank or other financial institution as outlined in requirement #5. Bring a note from either a parent or the
bank/financial institution official confirming that you completed the
requirement.
5.Do ONE of the
following:
a.Visit a bank. Ask a bank
representative to explain checking accounts, savings
accounts, loans, and automated
teller machines (ATMs). Explain to your
counselor the difference between a
checking account and a savings account.
Discuss with your counselor the
minimum requirements to open and maintain
the accounts or to take out a loan.
OR:
b.Visit another type of financial
institution, such as a stock brokerage firm or an
insurance company. Ask a
representative what the firm does and how it
works with consumers. Explain to
your counselor the differences in services
offered by the following types of
financial professionals: financial planner,
stockbroker, insurance agent,
accountant, tax preparer, banker, estate
planning attorney.
We will discuss the bank visits that you will have
completed before the meeting. Then, we
will discuss risk and insurance as outlined in requirement #8:
8.Do the following:
a.Explain the five ways to manage
risk.
b.Explain the six basic types of
insurance and why someday you might need
one or more of them.
c.Define the two major types of life
insurance (term and permanent) and
compare their advantages and
disadvantages.
Keep working on your 3-month record of expenses, and complete requirement #9. You will need to do some research into a job or career, including interviewing an adult who has that job or career now, and then presenting your findings to the troop. Do not interview one of your parents. Prepare a good 5-7 minute presentation!
9.Do the following:
a.Identify a job or career that
interests you and do basic research about it at
your library or through other
information sources. Make a presentation to
your troop or counselor about the
job or career. Your report should include:
1.An explanation of your interest
in the job or career (how you learned
of it, what about it that
interests you, what its job prospects are, and
how you think the job or career
will change in the future)
2.Any qualifications required
(education, skills, experiences) and how
you might become qualified for
the job
3.The job's functions and
responsibilities (the duties of the job or career)
4.The organizations, trade
associations, professional associations,
governmental regulations, or
licenses involved in the career field
b.Do ONE of the following:
1.( Do not do this one.) Prepare
a personal resume for the job.
OR:
2.(Do this one.)Interview
someone in the job or career field and prepare a summary
of the interview. (Be prepared to discuss your interview
with the group on December 15).
December 21 Meeting
Each person will make a brief (5-7
minute) presentation on the job or career they researched and discuss the
interview they did as part of this research.
Once all of the other requirements are completed, each Scout will then
have a brief individual discussion of requirement #9 with Mr. Sallay, almost
like a mini board of review for the merit badge.
9.c.Discuss with your
counselor your personal goals and ambitions in life. Relate
these to your intellectual,
physical, spiritual, and moral development. How has
Scouting helped you in accomplishing
your goals and ambitions? Share your
thoughts with your family (following the meeting).
Completion
When you are done with your 90-day record of budget and actual expenses in February, bring your completed papers to a troop meeting and show them to Mr. Sallay to complete the badge and get your blue merit badge card signed!
******
Please call Mr. Sallay at 235-7089
if you have any questions.