Pre-Test

Current Financial Situation

Before you proceed with the lesson, assess your current financial situation. This self-
assessment tool will help you determine your status and help you improve your personal
financial management.

This assessment is excerpted from Money Management International E-Book

onFinancial Literacy: Your 30 Step Path to Financial Wellness.

Financial Practices Always Sometimes Never

Pay the rent/mortgage payment and utility bills on

time? ✔

Save at least 10% of your net income? ✔

Keep three months net income in reserve for

emergencies? ✔

Plan ahead for large expenses? ✔

Set and keep financial goals?

✔
Follow a budget?
✔
Shop for comparison? ✔

Regularly review your credit report?

✔
Examine your checking account statements often? ✔

Continue your financial education? ✔

SCORING
Add your points using this system:
Always = 2 points Sometimes = 1 point Never = 0 points

0-10 Points: Indicates a need to take control of your finances.

11-15 Points: Reflects a good effort to manage your money effectively.
16-20 Points: Demonstrates ability to manage your finances successfully.Can
you write down your realization?

PREPARED BY: CHECKED BY:

ALONA JANE C. DIVINO GERALDINE G. MAGONCIA

T-1 MT- 1
Activities and Assessment
Assessment 1. Case Analysis: How Do I Budget?

The case study that you are about to read is adopted from Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF).

Sharon thought back her conversation with Alana last month. All of Sharon’s friends
knew who to turn to if they had money questions and problems. Sharon has been a secondary
teacher for four years. Alana, her friend and co-teacher, has been experiencing financial stress
for the past years. Alana asked Sharon what she could do to manage her money more
effectively. After Sharon answered with a one word answer, Alana asked “How do I budget?”
Sharon asked Alana to describe her goals and current spending habits.Alana responded
in the following way:
“I totally freaked out after talking with my parents. They were asking me to help
send my younger sister to college. College costs a lot of money and my parents tell
me now that they expect me to pay for my sister’s board and lodging expenses
which I estimate to be 70,000 per year. That’s so unfair. I have no idea how I can
make both ends meet given that additional responsibility.. Something needs to
change, but I don’t know where to start.”
Sharon developed a basic plan for Alana to track every peso she spent over the
course of a month. Alana collected all her receipts in a shoebox and reviewed them with
Sharon at the end of the month:
• Food: lunch and snacks at Jollibee/Chow king - 5,000 per month
• Transportation: 2,000 per month
• Clothes: 3 trips to the mall with friends @ 4,000.00
• Shoes: 1 pair @ 1,500.00
• Cell phone/internet load : 1,500.00
• Movies: 4 movies - 4,000
• Personal/beauty care: 2,000.00

To help make sense of all of this information, Sharon asked Alana to organize the
information by using the budget template provided below. In the category column, she
would list all of her various expenses. She would then make a judgment call about whether
each expense was a Want or a Need. In the Monthly Cost column, she would total up the
cost for each of the expenses. In the last column, she would calculate how much that item
was as a percentage of her total costs. This would help her determine where she was
spending most of her money in the past month.

PREPARED BY: CHECKED BY:

ALONA JANE C. DIVINO GERALDINE G. MAGONCIA

T-1 MT- 1

Answer the questions applying the principles and tips on financial management that you learned.
Help Alana realize her spending by completing this chart with the information provided above:
 Cost Total Costs

Movies Want 4,000 20%

Food Need 5,000 25%

Clothes/mall shopping Want 4,000 20%

Cell phone bill Want 1,500 7.5%

Shoes Want 1,500 7.5%

Transportation Need 2,000 10%

Personal/beauty kit Want 2,000 10%

TOTAL COSTS 20,000

Answer these questions:

1. Do some quick math to compare how much Alana is spending for her needs and for her wants.
Alana spent 35% percent of her needs and 65% on her wants and therefore she spent more on
her wants than her needs.
2. What should be her goals by this time?
She should lessen her expenses on her wants and prioritize the needs.
3. What 2-3 options would you outline for Alana to help her achieve her goals?
Be ready to discuss with her the ways to adjust her budget. Be specific with your recommendations,
highlighting specific principles in achieving financial success.
F. In my own opinion, Alana needs to set financial goals and focus on needs not want. If she knows
how to choose easy ways of budgeting, she could help her parents in sending her sister to college and
for herself at the same time.

Once Sharon lent some clarity on Alana’s pay, she felt slightly better, but she’s still really
worried about her initial problem:
“This is going to be extremely difficult for me to cut anything. I mean, I’m working hard,
and think I deserve to enjoy my salary. To save Php7,000 per month for my sister’s
college education is much of a sacrifice. This is really going to crimp my social life, and
what about my beauty maintenance?

Sharon thought back to where their conversation started last month and how lost Alana
seemed. She hoped that having Alana prioritize her goals and review her spending would help her
gain some necessary perspective. Instead, she seemed to be at a dead-end, less focused on
solutions and more on her inability to change. Sharon thought her best approach would be to
outline a few options for Alana so she could choose a solution that would work best for her.
Sharon had worked with enough friends before to know that these conversations could be
difficult ones, but she looked forward to solving Alana’s money problems.

PREPARED BY: CHECKED BY:

ALONA JANE C. DIVINO GERALDINE G. MAGONCIA

T-1 MT- 1

Assessment 2. “Sanglang ATM”

Another case you will read is about the plight of teachers who have succumb to money
lenders.
 It is payday again and Principal Reyes is already anticipating that some
teachers would either go to school late or go home early. As usual they have to
go to Mrs. Puntarito, a known loan shark in the municipality. Because she holds
the ATM of the borrowers including the PIN (supposed to be confidential) they
need to see her every pay day to get the remaining balance of their salary for the
month after deducting the installment plus the interest of their loans.

Principal Reyes became more anxious this time because three of the
newly appointed teachers, just five months in the service, have already joined
the bandwagon. He observed that the young teachers’ passion for fashionable
clothes, iPhones, tablets, laptops, and other stuff have caused them to be in this
complicated, embarrassing, and demeaning situation. No wonder, even on
paydays, they don’t look happy, inspired, and rewarded.

1. Why do you think the so called “Sanglang ATM” is happening to teachers and personnel of the
department?
It is happening because there are lot of banks and other loan institutions would love to offer the
teacher loans. There are also individuals who would sell them products through cash or credit. They all sound
tempting and because of that, they will be loaded with debts that push them to go to “sanglangatm” just to
pay it and survive on daily expenses.
2. How can the teachers get out of that situation?
The teachers can get out of that situation if they will learn about financial literacy and apply the
principles needed to attain good financial management.
3. What recommendations can you give them?
I recommend lessening the habit of loaning especially if it is not really necessary.

PREPARED BY: CHECKED BY:

ALONA JANE C. DIVINO GERALDINE G. MAGONCIA

T-1 MT- 1

Assessment 3. The Debt Test

This Debt Test is also excerpted from Money Management International E-Book onFinancial
Literacy: Your 30 Step Path to Financial Wellness.
You are now about to unveil your ways of dealing with debts. The questions are answerable by
YES or NO. Answer it honestly with either “yes” or “no.”

1. Yes No Is an increasing percentage of your income going toward paying debts?

2. Yes No Is your savings cushion inadequate or nonexistent?
3. Yes No Are you near or at the limit of your lines of credit?
4. Yes No Can you only make the minimum payments on your revolving charge accounts?
5. Yes No Are you often late with bill payments?
6. Yes No Are you paying bills with money earmarked for something else?
7. Yes No Are you using credit to pay for items you used to buy with cash?
8. Yes No If you lost your job, would you be under immediate financial strain?
9. Yes No Are you unsure about how much you owe?
10. Yes No Are you being threatened by collectors with possible legal action?

A ‘yes’ to any of these questions is a sign that you may need to make debt payoff a priority.Write your
reflection here.

I answered yes to questions number 2 and 8 and I

have realized that I need to make debt payoff priority. My
savings is inadequate because as of now, I am still
investing on things that I need to provide for my work and
family. As of now, I think that if I lost my job, I would be
under immediate financial strain because I have some
debts and I don’t have enough savings.

PREPARED BY: CHECKED BY:

ALONA JANE C. DIVINO GERALDINE G. MAGONCIA

T-1 MT- 1

Assessment 4. Take the 30-day Challenge

Things to do:
1. Get a transparent jar. You can decorate it if you desire.
2. Prepare a Saving Chart (A) as shown below.
 3. In the chart, write down your target amount.
4. Make a daily saving to develop your saving habit. As you start saving, make an entry to the chart (A)
every day.
5. In another chart (B), track where you’re saved money goes: ex. save in the bank, put in stock market
or put in a business.
6. Note: Sunday is a recess day for saving.

Saving Chart A
Target Amount: Php.900
Target Dates: (has to be 30 days excluding Sundays)
Week/Total per Week Date Amount
Week 1 7/2 Php. 300
Total Money Saved: 300 7/3
7/4
7/5
7/6
7/7
Week 2 7/9 Php. 300
7/10
Total Money Saved: 300 7/11
7/12
7/13
7/14
Week 3 7/16 Php. 300
7/17
Total Money Saved: 300 7/18
7/19
7/20
7/21
Total Amount Saved Php.900
Hit the target? Why?
Yes I hit the target because I allocated an amount that I considered as enough and attainable.

What to do next? (whether you hit or not the target)

I planned to increase my savings amount.

Saving Chart B

Inclusive Dates Amount Saved Where Do Money

Go
1st 30 days 7/2-7 300 bank
2nd 30 days 7/9-14 300 bank
3rd 30 days 7/16-21 300 bank
4th 30 days 7/23-27 300 bank

Total Money Saved 14,400

(at the end of the
year)

PREPARED BY: CHECKED BY:

ALONA JANE C. DIVINO GERALDINE G. MAGONCIA

T-1 MT- 1

Assessment 5. My Budget and Spending Plan

This simple plan will help you budget your monthly income. Include in this budget plan your savings, debt
payment and bill payment.
Month & Year:FEBRUARY 2020
Total Income: 20,985.00
Savings/Item/Service Need / Want? Targeted Cost Actual Cost
TRANSPORTATION/ NEED 1,000 1,000
GASOLINE
FOOD/FAMILY NEEDS NEED 8,000 7,500
INTERNET WANT 1,300 1,300
WATER/ELECTRIC BILL NEED 1,500 1,000
LOAN FOR LOT NEED 7,780 7,780
SAVINGS NEED 1,405 1,405
Total
20,985.00
Reflection:

I have realized that I need to prioritize my needs over my wants for me to save enough that can be used in
times of emergency.

Assessment 6. My Long-Term and Retirement Plan

Here, make your long-term and retirement plan. You might be interested to buy a house and lot or a car
or attend school or send someone to school, so, you need to make this plan.
Don’t forget to allocate for your retirement. Make a sort of an investment plan for your retirement age.
Make sure to keep your goals SMART.
Financial Priority Target Number Amount What to Remarks
Goals (Low, Date of Years Required Do
Medium,
High)
House and Lot High 2023 1 year 500,000 Save money
Masteral degree Medium 2023 3 years 500,00 Save money

Reflection
Portfolio Making

o In every plan that you make, you are asked to make a reflection. Put them in a portfolio.
o At the end of the year, reflect on how this session affects you as a person and as a teacher in
terms of your financial status.
This session helps and reminds me on how to manage money that will be a great guide
for me to achieve my long and short term goals.
o State your commitment on what you will do for the next year.
T I commit to practice financial management by lessening my debts and focus on needs.
o You are encouraged to do the suggested plans the next year around or improve them if you
wish.

PREPARED BY: CHECKED BY:

ALONA JANE C. DIVINO GERALDINE G. MAGONCIA

T-1 MT- 1