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Morningstar
Early Investor Education

Buying Goods and Services

Harron Young, Jessica Gibson

Welcome to Buying Goods and Services, the second course in a six-part curriculum focused on personal finance and financial literacy. For directions on how to teach the curriculum, see How to Use This Curriculum.

Goals and Outcomes

These are concepts students should learn and understand upon completion of this course and the final project. All outcomes align with the National Standards for Financial Literacy:

  • There are a lot of factors that influence what we choose to spend money on, including the price of a good or service, the price of alternatives, how much money we have, and our personal preferences.
  • When we consume goods and services, our consumption impacts the economy, society, and the planet.
  • When buying products, consumers usually pay attention to their features and costs. For goods that last for longer periods of time, consumers should consider durability and maintenance costs.
  • Consumers may be influenced by how the price of a product of service is expressed (for example, "four payments of $25" versus $100).
  • People may choose to donate money to charitable organizations and other nonprofits because they gain satisfaction from donating.
  • The government has enacted consumer protection laws and established institutions such as the  Federal Trade Commission to provide consumers with information about goods or services and protect them from fraud.

Launch

This is the first introduction to the topic. It’s meant to get students thinking and asking questions. Before you dive into the outline and requirements for the final project, facilitate an open discussion with your students based on “Ramit Sethi: What Is Your Rich Life?”, which is an episode of Morningstar’s The Long View podcast. (Play up to 4 minutes and 24 seconds.)

In this episode, personal finance expert and author Ramit Sethi shares the philosophies laid out in his best-selling book, I Will Teach You To Be Rich. After listening to this excerpt from the podcast, ask students about what’s important to them when it comes to spending and saving money. Take the time to have a group or partnered discussion with students. Use the questions below to get the discussion started:

  • What is your rich life?
  • How do people get into debt, and why is it so hard to pay it off?
  • What do you love spending money on?
  • If you had $10,000, what would you do or buy?
  • What things do you currently spend money on now that you might be able to cut back on, so you can save up for something you want more?

Pre-Assessment

To gauge students’ baseline understanding of the topics outlined in this course’s goals and outcomes––and to serve as a benchmark for your lesson plans––have students complete this question-based activity on their own. This activity shouldn’t be graded.

Download the Worksheet
Get the Buying Goods and Services Pre-Assessment Worksheet PDF.

Final Project

Students will write an article for the online magazine Tips for Consumers that shows readers how to make the most of their money when it comes to purchasing goods and services. They should give advice on topics like buying expensive, durable goods or impulse buying. They can also make the article more personal by describing their own spending habits and how they might change them to buy what they really want. Finally, they should discuss the role the government can play in helping consumers avoid bad products and fraud. Students will complete this worksheet for the final project.

Download the Worksheet
Get the Buying Goods and Services Final Project Worksheet PDF.

Checks for Understanding

To be able to complete the final project (and the course itself), students must be able to answer these questions through personal research and any lessons provided in class. These questions are in order of how they should be researched and “checked” by the teacher/facilitator. We’ve provided articles as a starting point, but students can do additional research on these concepts as they see fit.

  1. What are some common rules or tips related to spending? (Examples: Don’t spend more than you make; save up for big purchases; organize finances regularly)

    Resource:

  2. What might influence someone’s decision to buy athletic shoes?

    Resource:

  3. Someone is thinking about buying car. What should they consider before making the purchase? Why is it important to search for more information when purchasing expensive durable goods? How can someone avoid impulse spending?

    Resources:

  4. Explain why a store might advertise the price of a flat-screen TV as an amount per day or week instead of the actual price.

    Resource:

  5. Think of a charitable organization that supports a cause that you believe in. Why might someone choose to spend their money on charitable causes?

    Resource:


About the Authors

Harron Young is an associate equity research analyst for Morningstar and a former third-grade math teacher with Teach for America. She has a master’s degree in business administration.
Jessica Gibson is a credit ratings analyst for Morningstar and former first- and second-grade teacher with Teach for America. She has a master’s degree in urban education, with a focus on administration and policy.

Contributors

Lead content strategist: Courey Gruszauskas
Editor: Karen Wallace



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