Personal Management Badge Req. 1
Do the following:
(a) Lead a discussion with your family to identify one 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.
Personal Management Badge Req. 2
(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.
Personal Budget [Income]
Income
1st Month
2nd Month
3rd Month
Total
Planned
Actual
Totals:
Personal Budget [Expense]
Expense
(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?
Personal Management Badge Req. 3
Do ONE of the following:
(a) Identify a personal financial goal and make a plan to achieve that goal.
(1) Write down the goal that 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.
Discuss your plan with your counselor.
OR
(a) 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.
[ You can use calculator at http://www.paycheckcity.com/NetPayCalc/netpaycalculator.asp if necessary]
(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 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?
Personal Management Badge Req. 4
(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.
Personal Management Badge Req. 5
(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.
Personal Management Badge Req. 6
(a) Explain the difference between saving for a goal and investing for a goal.
(b) Explain the difference between saving for a goal and investing for a goal.
(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.
Personal Management Badge Req. 7
(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.
Personal Management Badge Req. 8
(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.
Personal Management Badge Req. 9
(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) Your report should include 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) Your report should include any qualifications required (education, skills, experiences) and how you might become qualified for the job.
(3) Your report should include the job's functions and responsibilities (the duties of the job or career).
(4) Your report should include the organizations, trade associations, professional associations, governmental regulations, or licenses involved in the career field.
(b) Do ONE of the following:
(1) Prepare a personal résumé for the job.
(2) Interview someone in the job or career field and prepare a summary of the interview.
(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.
Scout's Name: Troop Number: Today's Date:
If answered on-line, be sure to print your exam for submission to your local counselor then,
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Created: 11 June 2000 - Last Edit: 29 December 2005 Courtesy of ARCO, LAUSD, & The Robert Havlicek Family