GEN 102 Week 5 Discussion 1

Prepare: Prior to beginning work on this assignment, review the GEN 102 Week Five: Financial Literacy video , Modules 9 and 10 in your course textbook, and the following website and web pages:

·         Federal Student Aid 

·         Financial Calculators  

·         What is Financial Literacy? 

You might also consider reviewing:

·         Financial Literacy, Beyond the Classroom 

·         Goal Setting and Action Planning 

Reflect: Think about your past, present, and future financial situation. Consider how each decision you make today will affect your financial future. These daily decisions can affect your finances and ultimate freedom to make decisions in the future positively or negatively, such as your ability to buy a home or to purchase a new vehicle. Over the past five weeks, you have learned the significance of using digital tools to support your needs and goals as a responsible digital citizen. Digital tools can also help you achieve and maintain financial freedom in your personal, academic, and professional life. 

Write: For this discussion, address ONE of the following prompts:

Option 1:

Visit one of the following web pages Calculators-Your Life, Your Money  or Financial Calculators . Select one financial calculator that interests you.

·         Discuss one generalized financial goal for yourself and your family.

·         Identify one financial calculator you could use to reach this goal.

·         From Module 10.1 Strategies for Success: Tips for Saving from your course textbook, select one tip and explain how it will help you reach this financial goal.

Option 2:

Consider the following scenario:

Your good friend Kyle would like to go back to school to complete a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education so that he can fulfill his dreams of teaching 2nd grade. Years ago, he started college, but work and life responsibilities got in the way of him finishing. He knows that you recently enrolled at Ashford University and wants to ask your advice as he plans his next move. In order to help pay for his tuition, he plans to borrow student loans. Kyle tells you that he wants to borrow the maximum amount of available loan money to buy his kids new shoes and go on a vacation to Hawaii.

Based on the scenario above, address each of the following:

·         Identify at least two pieces of useful information about student loans that Kyle should know to ensure he borrows responsibly. Review the Student Aid (Links to an external site.) website for suggestions.

·         Describe a potential repercussion of borrowing the maximum amount of available loan money.

·         From Module 10.1 Strategies for Success: Tips for Saving of your course textbook, select one tip that you would suggest for Kyle to use to help him reach his financial goal of going on a vacation to Hawaii.

Your post should be at least 250 words.

Respond to peers: Review your classmates’ posts and respond to at least two of your peers by Day 7. Reply to one peer who chose the option you did not choose. What other strategies for financial success can you share with your classmates? What additional digital tools would you suggest or recommend to your classmates? Each participation post should be a minimum of 75 words.