The document outlines the '4-H Build a Million' curriculum aimed at teaching financial literacy to high school students, highlighting the lack of formal finance education among teachers. It discusses the current economic challenges, including high unemployment and significant college debt, and introduces an educator guide composed of six units with interactive lessons on budgeting, investing, and risk management. The program, funded by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, is designed to be adaptable for various educational settings and is offered free of charge.

1. 4-H BUILD A MILLION
By Fahzy Abdul Rahman
Family Resource Management Extension Specialist
New Mexico State University

2. ECONOMIC EDUCATION - 2011
NM: High School course required to be taken

3. PERSONAL FINANCE- 2011
NM: Not even included in the K-12 Standard

4. Surveys on Teachers ….
• Teachers recognized the importance of teaching personal
finance but few have had formal preparation (Way &
Holden, 2009)
• 89% of teachers agreed or strongly agreed: Students should be
required to take a financial literacy course or pass a literacy test for
high school graduation
• Few teachers are teaching financial topics (29.7%)
• K-12 teachers are acquiring very little formal education
• only 37% of teachers had taken a related college course (ever)
• only 18.9% had taken a personal finance workshop (last 3 years)
• only 11.6% had taken a workshop on teaching personal finance (last 3
years)

5. New
Economic
Reality?

6. Characteristics of the “New Normal”
An extended period of:-
• Slow U.S. economic growth: GDP growth < 2%
• Low single-digit average annual stock returns
• Stubbornly high unemployment levels: 7.8% (14.7%?)
• Precarious job security (public and private sector)
• Youth, <25: 53% jobless or underemployed
• College debt --- Next financial crisis wave. Averages at $26,500
• March 2012: College Debt > Auto Loans and Credit Card
• Tightened credit standards
• Declining asset values (e.g., housing)
• Increased precautionary household savings and debt
repayment
• Decreased household spending

7. Introducing the 4-H Build a Million
Curriculum
• Youth Investing Education Curriculum
• Two Major Components
• Educator/Volunteer Curriculum
• Youth Website
• In the website: Tools, interactive games and activities
• to show them how to save money and discover the basics of investing
• Targeted for High School Aged Students
• School or Club Based Instruction
• Supplement or stand alone program
• Combine with other 4-H program – E.g. Goal-setting; Budgeting
• It’s Free!!!

8. History of the Project
• Funded by FINRA Investor Education Foundation
• Started as a grant to University of Kentucky – Dr. Robert
Flashman
• In cooperation with Michigan State University, University of
Tennessee and Virginia Tech University
• June of 2010- Grant was awarded to Michigan 4-H
Foundation (Erica Tobe, former Program Leader, Michigan
State University Extension, hired as consultant for the
project)

10. Curriculum Development Process:
Review and Pilot Stages
(Educator/Volunteer Guide)
• Original Project Team developed the Curriculum
• Reviewed by Dr. Celia Hayhoe (Virginia Tech) and Dr.
Dena Wise (Tennessee) and a team of 4-H educators
from MSU Extension
• Piloted with 11 community sites in Michigan (each unit
piloted at least three times)
• 4-H Clubs
• Schools
• Financial Professionals
• Material was revised by project consultant and edited by
MSU ANR Communications staff

11. How is the Educators Guide/Volunteer
Curriculum laid out?
• Made up of six units comprising 16 lessons
• Focus is on Investing education…
• All but Unit 3 are designed to be completed in one hour
• It is recommended that the lessons be completed in the
order that they are listed in the curriculum
• More advanced groups can skip a lesson if they are
already competent in the material

12. Units and Lessons
• Unit 1: Do You Have What it • Unit 4: It’s All About Risk … 121
Takes to be a Millionaire? … 7 • Lesson 12: Personal and Investment
• Lesson 1: Picture Your Success Risk
• Lesson 2: Making Choices • Lesson 13: Understanding Business
• Lesson 3: Do you Want to be a and Economic Risk
Millionaire?
• Unit 2: Learning the Basics … 35 • Unit 5: Economy and Investing
• Lesson 4: Budgeting Your Money … 135
• Lesson 5: Credit Cards 101 • Lesson 14: Investment Allocation
• Lesson 6: Investing Your Money
Decisions
• Lesson 15: How is Our Economy
• Lesson 7: Saving Early
Doing?
• Unit 3: Investment Basics … 75 • Unit 6: Putting it All Together
• Lesson 8: Cash and Cash Equivalents and Next Steps … 153
• Lesson 9: Understanding and Investing • Lesson 16: As You Start Your Journey
in the Stock Market
• Lesson 10: Bonds Basics
• Lesson 11: Understanding Mutual
Funds

13. Core Components of the Program
• Instructor key concepts
• Quick overview handouts
• Icebreakers
• Discussion questions
• Web resources

14. Core Components of the Program
Each unit begins by providing the following information:
• Learning objectives
• Time
• Materials needed
• Lesson plan overview

15. Unit One: Do you have what it takes to be
a Millionaire?
• Lesson 1: Picture Your Success
• Explore the concept of goals.
• Differentiate between short, intermediate and long-term goals.
• Outline the various types of goals.
• Practice goal-setting techniques.

16. Unit One: Do you have what it takes to be
a Millionaire?
• Lesson 2: Making Choices
• Review the decision-making process.
• Illustrate the concept of opportunity cost.
• Help youth distinguish between wants and needs.
• Lesson 3: Do You Want to be a Millionaire?
• Familiarize youth with the characteristics of American millionaires.
• Demonstrate the advantages of making wise financial decisions.

17. Unit Two: Learning the Basics
• Lesson 4: Budgeting Your Money
• Familiarize youth with key concepts such as budgeting and saving.
• Provide youth with an opportunity to complete a budget utilizing the
“Spartan Dollar$ and Cents” simulation.
• Lesson 5: Credit Cards 101
• Familiarize youth with credit card terminology.
• Provide basic information about credit card usage.
• Discuss using credit responsibly.
• Explain how to read and understand credit card statements and
agreements.

18. Unit Two: Learning the Basics
• Lesson 6: Investing Your Money
• Familiarize youth with key concepts such as:
• Investments and Investing
• Return on investments
• Compounding
• Lesson 7: Saving Early
• Introduce youth to the benefits of beginning to invest early.
• Demonstrate the value of compound interest.

19. Unit Three: Investment Basics
• Lesson 8: Cash and Cash Equivalents
• Familiarize youth with various cash and cash equivalent accounts
available at local financial institutions.
• Provide youth with practice calculating returns and making
investment choices based on goals and timelines.
• Lesson 9: Understanding and Investigating the Stock
Market
• Provide youth with a basic understanding of the stock market.
• Familiarize youth with the general terminology associated with
stocks, types of stocks, and the stock market.
• Familiarize youth with the process of buying and selling stocks.

20. Unit Three: Investment Basics
• Lesson 10: Bond Basics
• Provide youth with a basic understanding of bonds.
• Provide youth with an understanding of how market interest rates
affect the selling price of bonds.
• Illustrate to youth a simple method of calculating the yield (rate of
return) of bonds and the relationship between selling price and
yield.
• Lesson 11: Understanding Mutual Funds
• Provide youth with a basic understanding of mutual funds.
• Educate youth on how to evaluate and select a mutual fund.
• Educate youth on how to compare mutual funds.

21. Unit Four: It’s All About Risk…
• Lesson 12: Personal and Investment Risk
• Introduce youth to the concept of risk.
• Have youth consider their personal risk tolerance.
• Provide youth with an understanding of the risks associated with
various investment vehicles.
• Lesson 13: Understanding Business and Economic Risk
• Provide youth with an understanding of the risks of investing
• Provide youth with the ability to distinguish between business and
economic risks.

22. Unit Five: Economy and Investing
• Lesson 14: Investment Allocation Decisions
• Encourage youth to think about how to allocate their investments.
• Familiarize youth with the concepts of time and the importance of
goals in the decision-making process.

23. Unit Five: Economy and Investing
• Lesson 15: How is Our Economy Doing?
• Teach youth to identify and think about key factors in our economy.
• Explain that these factors should influence investment allocation
decisions and investment choices.

24. Unit Six: Putting It All Together and Next
Steps
• Lesson 16: As You Start Your Journey...
• Review with youth the “Picture Your Success” activity from Unit 1.
• Have the youth explore their investing plans for the future.
• Review the overall curriculum and discuss next steps for continuing
education.

26. Let’s Explore…
Where to Access the Materials? :::
• http://campus.extension.org/file.php/498/Millionaires%20F
inal/Index.html
OR
• Internet Search: “4-H Build a Million”
• http://www.extension.org/pages/61531/4-h-build-a-million

27. 4-H BUILD A MILLION
By Fahzy Abdul Rahman
Family Resource Management Extension Specialist
New Mexico State University
fahzy@nmsu.edu; 575-646-2253