Family & Consumer Issues
Homework Section 1
Have students start a journal of personal finance information and readings that they encounter in the daily
newspaper, Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, news magazines, and personal business periodicals
such as Money, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Consumer Reports, and on the World Wide Web.
1. How do age, marital status, household size, employment situation, and other personal factors affect
financial planning?
A person’s needs, values, and goals are directly related to these demographic factors. As a person’s
life situation changes, financial goals, spending patterns, need for insurance, and other financial
activities will be revised. (pp. 11-12)
2. Using the Goal Sheet on the PFP create three short-term and three long-term goals.
3. Use library resources, such as The Wall Street Journal, http://www.businessweek.com, or other Web
sites to determine recent trends in interest rates, inflation, and other economic indicators. Information
about the consumer price index (measuring changes in the cost of living) may be obtained at
http://www.bls.gov. Report how this economic information might affect your financial planning
decisions.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
4._ Opportunity cost refers to
a. your personal values.
b. trade-offs when a decision is made.
c. current economic conditions.
d. commonly accepted financial goals.
5. Economics refers to
a. setting personal financial goals.
b. planning future financial security.
c. changes in prices due to supply and demand.
d. the study of wealth.
6. Calculate the relative prices of the following:
a. Cost of bologna $2.50
b. Cost of deli meat $6.25
c. Cost of lunch meat $4.50
Have lunch meat be the base number (= 1.0). Round to one decimal place.
7. Name the five important components of goals