Chapter 11: 11.2 #2 (p. 276)
• As part of your planning, how can you estimate what you can expect from Social Security as a contribution to your retirement income? Find this answer by going to http://www.ssa.gov/retire2. Using the menus at this site, find out your retirement age.
• How many credits toward Social Security do you have now?
• How many do you expect to accumulate over your working life?
• Use one of the benefit calculators to find your estimated Social Security benefit. How much could you receive monthly?
• Would you be able to live on your Social Security alone?
• How much more would you need to save for? What would happen if you continued to work or went back to work after taking your retirement benefit?
• What would happen if you took your benefit before your full retirement age?
Chapter 14: 14.1 #1 (p. 340) [no need to discuss with classmates]
Go to a financial news source to find out the status of all the economic indicators at this time. Make note of your findings and the date for purposes of comparison.
• How does the information inform you as an investor?
• How might these survey results inform you as an investor?
Social Security Paper (2-3 pages)
Research the development and administration of the U.S. Social Security program. Include its history, current structure, and calculation of benefits; also, include other benefits available through the program.
Play Money Paper (1-2 pages)
Pretend that you have $10,000 to invest for four weeks. You are to "invest" this money in stocks or mutual funds and to track your investments on a weekly basis for four weeks (see schedule for due date). Pick five different stocks or funds to follow.
Write a report on
1. why you selected the investments you did
2. whether any noteworthy company results, news events, or economic events impacted your investments during this period (show your gains or losses for the period)
3. how your investments' performance compared with the performance of the S&P 500 index during this period
4. your tracking of the following three stock market indexes:
• Dow Jones Industrial Average
• S&P 500 stock index
• Russell 2000 index for small caps
Personal Financial Plan (8-12 pages)
Develop a personal financial plan detailing the financial goals that you and/or your family have
developed. This is a staged project.
• Stage 1: Analyze your personal financial situation using appropriate financial tools.
• Stage 2: Identify short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals. Rank your goals in order of importance as they relate to the financial resources available and expected. Estimate the financial commitment for each goal.
• Stage 3: Consider all factors we have covered in class, including budgeting, time value of
money, asset protection, debt/credit, savings, investing, and estate planning.
Incorporate the first two stages to complete the development of the financial plan. This is the capstone assignment of this class, so careful preparation is needed to illustrate concept understanding and application.