LifeScenarios

ResearchQuestions

SCENARIO1:Rent
1. Why is good credit important when renting an apartment? You will be able to buy and
maintain your apartment.

2. How much does it cost to rent an apartment in your area? Provide the zip code,
apartment complex, and price range for the complex. Cost: 715, zip code:87109, the
towers of abq, 820

3. What happens if you cant pay your rent?You need to do whatever you can to continue
to live there.

4. How long does an eviction stay on your credit history?It usually stays on for seven years
then it is deleted from your credit report and rental history.

5. What are the advantages to renting an apartment?The rent is cheaper than a mortgage
which means the bills are lower.

6. What is a lease?A contract by which one party conveys land, services, etc to another
for a specified amount of time.

7. Why is co-signing required?You need to do this because you do not have a good credit
record or a low income.

SCENARIO2:Paycheck
1. What is the difference between gross and net income? Gross income is the total amount
of income made and net income is the total minus taxes and other expenses.

2. Why do we pay Social Security taxes?You only have to pay if you have other substantial
income along with your benefits.

3. What are Medicare taxes for?This is for people who are over 65 who need to pay for
medical programs.

4. How much can a high school graduate expect to earn in your area?Minimum wage.

5. What are the benefits of using direct deposit?Most of the time you will have access to
your money a day earlier than if you did a paper check.

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ResearchQuestions
SCENARIO3:GasNGo
1. What factors influence your cars fuel economy?If you were to constantly accelerate and
brake your gas mileage gets lower and cola weather and frequent short trips can lower
your fuel economy.

2. What are the benefits of fuel economy?You can save money, oil, dependence costs, and
stop climate change.

SCENARIO4:ATMWithdrawal
1. What is the difference between paying with cash, debit, or credit cards? List the pros and
cons of each form of payment.Paying with cash is with paper money and it takes longer
to count out the money but you can get change. Paying with debit is where you use the
card and owe that much money to the bank you will not have to pay interest but you will
use up your cash. Paying with a credit card takes money straight out of your account and
you will pay exact amounts but you pay interest.

SCENARIO5:FlyAwayCafe
1. Why does the total on the receipt differ from the total amount paid?The receipt does not
show the tax and/or tips.

2. What is an appropriate tip at a restaurant?15% of your total..

3. How much should you tip for various services?
a. Sit-down restaurant:15%.
b. Food Delivery:10%.
c. Valet:$5.
d. Bellhop:$5 per bag.
e. Housekeeper:10%.
f. Taxi Driver:5 to 10 dollars.
g. Hair Salon/Barber:$5.

SCENARIO6:RitepriceGrocery
1. List 7-10 effective strategies for saving money on groceries.Use coupons, buy items that
are on sale, compare prices to other stores, buy generics, create a budget, buying bulk,
get rebates.

SCENARIO7:CommunitySpectrumExpoCenter
1. These concert tickets were expensive. What are cheaper sources of entertainment in
iscount movie theater, Red box rental,
your area? LIst 7-10 ideas with links for details. D
Store bought movies, Renting books based off of movie or vise versa, internet video,
television, eletronic device.

SCENARIO8:MercyCentralHospitaland
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ResearchQuestions
1. What was the impact of going to the emergency room without insurance?You would
have to pay a lot more than if you had insurance.

2. What are the benefits of having medical insurance?You would not pay as much.

3. What are some different ways to obtain medical insurance?through your job, or directly
through the insurance company.

4. The balance in the reserves jar is now negative. What does this mean? You will not be
able to have money for other expenses than the car, or food.

5. What would the cost be without health insurance?The price is 450 dollars.

6. What is the deductible?There is no deductible.

7. What is an out-of-pocket maximum?The maximum amount that you pay out of your own
pocket.

SCENARIO9:AmalgamatedBankcardServices
1. Why are you unable to pay the entire credit card bill?I do not have enough money to pay
the full bill.

2. What are the consequences of not making a payment by the due date?You could get a
late fee and your credit score will be lowered.

3. What is a grace period?A period of time after the due date where they allow you make a
payment without being penalized.

4. You have a remaining $260.11 left on this credit card. If your interest rate is 14.95%
APR, and you only pay the minimum $20/month, how long will it take to pay off this card,
and how much interest will you be charged?

5. What if you ONLY made minimum payments on the entire $585 balance?
SCENARIO10:CityParkingAuthority
1. You write a check for $25, but theres only $2.21 in your bank account. What does this
mean?Either the check is going to bounce or you will have an overdraft.

2. What are the typical requirements to open a checking account?You have to have
identification,and you have to have money.

3. How do you get money into your checking account?You could have a direct deposit or
write a check and deposit it.

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ResearchQuestions
SCENARIO11:OverdraftFee
1. Why are you charged an overdraft fee?You dont have enough money in your account to
cover the check.

2. The bank could have bounced the check instead. What would have happened then? The
check will bounce back to you and you will still owe a certain amount.

3. Why would an overdaft and bounced check occur?An overdraft check occurs when you
write a check for more than you have in your account and then it bounces back.

4. How can you protect yourself from overdraft and bounced-check fees? You could get
overdraft protection.

SCENARIO12:Paycheck
1. What is a W-4?This is used by an employer to keep the right amount of federal income
tax from your paycheck.

2. What happens if you ask your employer to withhold too much?You will get a tax return
when you file your taxes.

3. How do you estimate your taxes?You could look at what you paid last year and use that
as a baseline.

SCENARIO13:ATMWtihdrawal
1. What is an ATM? Automated telling machine.

2. How do you avoid fees? You dont overdraw your account.

SCENARIO14:OurTownConvenienceStore
1. What is gasoline tax?An excise tax imposed on the sale of fuel.

SCENARIO15:BankStatement
1. Why doesnt the bank statement show all of your checking account transactions?Some
of the transactions might not have cleared at the time the statement is created

2. Which transactions are missing from this statement?The transactions from january tenth
are missing.

3. How can you verify the current balance of your account?

4. How can you verify the Current Balance of your account?You can check your account
summary.
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ResearchQuestions
5. What does it mean to balance your checkbook? This means to take the balance and
deduct all purchases.

6. Why do you need to balance your checkbook?You can keep track of your transactions.

7. How do you balance your checkbook?You should either spend or make a deposit and
record it in your checkbook register.

SCENARIO16:TaxRefund
1. What might you do with a tax refund?You could use it to pay for a vacation.

2. What are the benefits of an emergency fund?You could have less debt and more money
for retirement.

3. How large should your emergency fund be?I t should be between 6000 and 18000
dollars.

4. Is it beneficial to have a large tax refund?No it is actually bad because the government
can hold on to your money for a long time and do whatever they want with it.

SCENARIO17:TraderMoes
1. Higher-quality food costs more. What are some ways to eat healthy on a budget?You
could shop at discount stores and buy things that are on sale.

2. Junk food might be the cheapest, but is it the best choice?No you could have a heart
attack and have to go to the hospital.

3. Where can you shop near the apartment you found in scenario 1?You could shop at
Trader Moes.

4. What is the unit price and where is it found?This tells you the cost per liter, kilogram,
pound, etc and it is located on the shelf or on the item itself.

SCENARIO18:AutoLoan
1. How is the monthly interest payment on an auto loan calculated?The interest is
multiplied by the price of the car multiplied by the number of years you are financing the
car.

2. How is the monthly principal payment calculated? You divide the amount you just got by
the number of months it is being financed.

3. How long will it take you to pay off this car loan?It will take me approximately
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ResearchQuestions
4. How much will you be paying in interest over the the life of the loan?I will be paying 9%
which will be 75 dollars.

5. What happens if you fail to make your auto loan payments? You could have a late fee or
they could repossess the car.

6. What happens when you have a poor credit score?You have higher interest rates.

7. What is the difference between Direct Lending and Dealership Financing?Direct lending
is through a bank or credit union.and dealership financing is through the dealership.

8. What is the difference between buying and leasing a car?When you buy you own it and
when you lease it you are renting it.

SCENARIO19:Paycheck
1. Rolands Bookstore pays its employees weekly. On what other pay schedules to
employers operate?You could do monthly or bi-monthly.

2. How much in withholdings will be taken from my paycheck?$76.66 will be taken from the
paycheck.

SCENARIO20:TwinOaksFactoryOutlets
1. Buying clothes is fun, but also expensive. What are ways to get quality clothing for
less?You could buy clothes that are on sale, buy from discount stores and buy online.

SCENARIO21:AristotlesGarden
1. It can be difficult to eat healthy food while traveling. What are some ways to avoid eating
junk food during trips?You could pack healthier snacks and eat at healthier restaurants.

2. Is it possible to eat healthy at fast food restaurants?Yes it is you could look at the calorie
count and base your meal off of that. You could get a salad or grilled meat.

SCENARIO22:TeslaElectricCompany
1. How can you reduce the amount you spend on utilities each month?You could limit the
amount that you use each month.

SCENARIO23:TheHitNRunTruckstop
1. Transportation costs (fuel, maintenance, etc.) are among the top expenses for young
people. How can you keep from going broke when you need a car?You could carpool,
and take public transportation or ride a bike.

2. What is a realistic first car for you?A used car or a parent hand me down vehicle.
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ResearchQuestions
3. What basic maintenance is required for the car you chose in question 2?I will need tire
rotations, gas, oil changes, and filter changes.

SCENARIO24:HorizonWireless
1. Going over your plan limits can be expensive. How can you avoid that mistake?You
could convert to an unlimited plan or use your phone less.

2. What do you need to think about when choosing a mobile plan?You need to think about
if you will get unlimited talk and text and how much it costs.

3. What is the difference between a postpaid and prepaid wireless plan?The prepaid is
already paid in advance and the postpaid is not.

4. Choose a wireless company and one of their wireless plans. List the company and the
details of the plan. Why did you choose this company and plan?I choose verizon and the
unlimited talk, text and internet because I dont have to worry about going over my limits
and I can have internet whenever. This plan costs about 59.99 a month.

SCENARIO25:Paycheck
1. Rolands Bookstore pays you an hourly wage. What other forms of pay can employees
receive?Employees can also receive a salary, or only get payed if they work.

SCENARIO26:Super-Mart
1. What is sales tax used for?This is used to pay for schools, police departments, fire
departments, and government employees.

2. How much is sales tax in NM right now?It is currently 5.125%.

SCENARIO27:BankStatement
1. Which transaction is missing from this statement?The negative 207.6 dollar transaction.

2. Why doesnt this check appear on the statement?This isnt here because the transaction
isnt supposed to show it.

3. Your checking statement says you have $867.40 available in your account. Banzai says
you have $659.80. Which is right? Explain. 659.80 is correct because the statement did
not show a transaction.

4. What is identity theft?The use of a persons private identifying information.

5. What is identity fraud?Unlawful identity change.

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ResearchQuestions
6. How can you fall victim to identity theft or fraud?You can make sure to stop spending
money and discard your financial paperwork.

SCENARIO28:Always-SafeInsurance
1. Why is it important to be personally insured?Yes because you wont have a financial
loss.

2. What are the penalties for driving without auto insurance?You will be fined more than
1500 dollars the first time and within three years of that you will be fined 3000 dollars.

3. What is the difference between liability and collision insurance?Liability covers the harm
done to your body and not your car and collision covers your car.

SCENARIO29:DiegosTacoShop
1. Compulsion or addiction spending is dangerous. How much could a bad habit really cost
you?If you use these packs for 42 day the money spent would be 306.6 dollars.

2. How expensive is a nicotine addiction?The average pack is 7.3 dollars.

SCENARIO30:AmalgamatedBankcardServices
1. Because you made only the minimum payment, there was an interest charge on this bill.
How can you avoid this in the future?I could pay the entire balance.

2. The total balance on this credit card is $442.42. How long will it take you to pay the card
off in full if you only pay the minimum monthly payment of $20?It would take you a little
over 22 months.

3. Why is the monthly credit card statement important?It gives you an idea on how much
you are able to spend in the future.

4. How is the minimum payment calculated?It is a percentage of your total balance ar all
interest plus another percent of the principal..

5. What is APR?Annual percentage rate of interest on loans or credit.