Financial Decisions

Personal Finance
What contributes to the
decisions you make?

Values

Needs

Wants
 What is a Value?

Value - a fundamental belief or practice

about what is desirable, worthwhile, and
important to an individual
Everyone has different values

Education

Family
Financial
Honesty
Security
Helping ?
others
 What influences your values?

Friends/
Family Teachers
Peers

Culture Media ?
 Needs and Wants

Wants– the desire

for goods and
Needs – goods services that can
or services that increase our quality
are required of life but are not
absolutely
for survival necessary for our
survival
 What are your needs
and wants?
Perception of needs versus wants is dependent
on personal values

Wants vs. Needs

 What are your needs
and wants?
• Name brand clothing
• A daily soda or coffee
beverage
• A personal automobile
• Downloading music
• A refrigerator
• At least three meals per day
• Shoes

Needs
• Watching or participating in Wants
athletic activities
• A computer
• A warm and safe place to live
• A television
 Spending Board Activity

Directions: Use one Skittle as your money marker on

your spending board. Each student will be given a bag
that contains different amounts of money aka candy.
Some students will have more and others will have less,
much less. Students will decide what they are willing to
purchase based upon the money available. Do not eat
your markers until the activity has been completed.
•Spending Board Activity
 Why do needs and
wants matter?
Will help you decide what to spend and not
spend your money on

Opportunity cost –
Use trade-offs the value of the
and opportunity Trade-off - giving next best
costs to help you up one thing for alternative that
make these another must be forgone as
decisions a result of a
decision

Is the trade-off to your decision a need or a want?

What is the value (opportunity cost) of that trade-off to you?
Making Financial Decisions

Analyzing trade-
offs and
opportunity cost
will help you
make decisions
 Why is it important to understand
what influences your decisions?

Understanding
Decisions that
what influences
create high
your financial
well-being
decisions
 Needs, Wants, and Values

When making spending decisions, consider if your needs are met before spending
on any of your wants. What you determine to be a need versus a want will
depend on your personal values.
 You’ve Got Money Activity

• You recently received $200 in birthday cash-what great family and

friends you have! What should you do with this unexpected
money? You have identified three options and are wondering
which option would be the best financial decision for you. Write
an email to a financial expert explaining your three options. Make
sure to analyze the trade-offs and opportunity cost of each option
so the financial expert can recommend the decisions that is best
for you based on your personal values, needs, and wants.
 References:

• Take Charge Today -The University of Arizona

(n.d.). Financial Decisions. Retrieved from
https://takechargetoday.arizona.edu/lessonpl
ans/financial-decisions
• Take Charge Today -The University of Arizona
(n.d.). Financial Decisions. Retrieved from
https://takechargetoday.arizona.edu/lessonpl
ans/exploring-values-needs-wants