CREDIT CREDIT CREDIT

All week we have studied about credit and debt and credit and debit and more credit. A credit card is like a card of money that you are able to use immediately at any time, but you must pay off the credit card every month. If you chose not to pay off your credit card every month, then more often than not you will end up in credit card debt. THAT IS NOT GOOD! However, what is good are debit cards. A debit card is hooked up to your checking account so that whenever you make a purchase with your card that money is coming straight out of your bank account. If you chose to use a debit card then you will most likely not get into any debt, which is YAY YAY YAY!!! More important than anything, you must read the fine print when applying for any credit or debit card, there could be things that trick you and then you are stuck in a pickle. All this is very important to know so you are aware of what type of card you are right for when you get older. Good Luck Credit Card Shopping!!!

MONEY IS A DRUG

"The Conscious Use of Money"
Written by Jack Canfield
Published by Bolder Giving
Written between 1990-2005


Jack Canfield, the co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, writes his story about going from no money to be a wealthy, financially stable person. As a child he went to private school paid for by his rich aunt, and was even able to get a scholarship to Harvard. He always wanted money, and to be wealthy, but he knew that if he achieved that dream he wouldn't use it on himself. Then his books became best sellers and in a whole year he made about 6 million dollars. With this money he did splurge and by himself and his wife nice things, but he also didn't forget what he really wanted to use the money for. He wanted to give the money to the people. He and his wife asked themselves one question, which is a great question in my opinion: We asked ourselves: if we had only one dollar to spend, where could we spend it to get the most transformation in the world? They decided to donate money to foundations that helped those literacy and dyslexia. This mans mission was to make a difference in the world, which he was trying to do even without money. So when he was given the benefit of having money it made it so much easier to make a difference in the world. However, now his book sales are dwindling and isn't having the high income he had before. This just made him realize that he has to make careful financial decisions.  

Jack's story shows that just because you have money doesn't mean you have the luxury of spending all that money every 5 seconds. He spent his money wisely, but did splurge for his family when he wanted to treat them. But he always stuck to his promise that he would help the people if he ever became rich. He did helped the people and he made a difference, all while maintaining his income. Even now he and his business partner have 10 or more percent taken out of their income and given to charity. He is a very generous person, and really wants to make a difference in the world everyday.

Money & Banking

This week in Weserville we applied for checking accounts. Now we are all members of the Bank of Nettie and are successfully depositing and withdrawing money from our accounts. I think this is a great thing to learn, because it is actually what we will be doing in the real world in the future. I'm really glad we are learning this now so that we will be fully educated and know how to do it when we get older. YAYYYYYYY MONEYYYYYYY!!!

ETHIOPIA

Quick Facts of Ethiopia

Published by Time Inc. 2014

Since this week in class we learned about Less Developed Countries, and will be starting a project on the country we have chosen I thought I'd do a little background search. I will be doing my global project on Ethiopia. These are just some quick facts about Ethiopia but I can't wait to research it more and learn the more economical side of the country. 

Official name: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

Size: 426,373 square miles (1,104,300 square kilometers); about twice the size of Texas

Population: 90,873,739 as of 2011

Capital: Addis Ababa

Climate: Moderate in highlands; hot and dry in lowlands

Languages: Amharic, Arabic, English, Oromigna, Tirigna, others

Currency: Birr

Products: Coffee, cereals, sugarcane, oilseeds, honey

We are Watching the Market

This week we have continued our lesson on competition, and also studied market structures, which is all very exciting and new. However, we have been introduced to a new game. We are now starting to play MarketWatch where we actually act as stock holders, trading and selling stocks. We are all competing against each other and possibly our parents if they chose to join in the fun. Only my mother said she would probably have -$0 if that is even a thing. But for now the competition is fierce, we are hoping we made good investments so we can earn the special prizes at the end of the month. Today was the first day of our trades and it seems like we are all doing pretty well. So i hope we can keep it up and turn out to be great investors in the stock market!

CLIMB FOR YOUR LIVES

WESERVILLE IS UNDERWATER!!!! WHAT DO WE DO? WHERE DO WE GO? AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Weserville has just been attacked with storm clouds, and a hug flood, 10 feet high has completely covered the town. All of our houses are completely damaged and under water. Residents are asked to stay out of low floors, and if you have a second story house to please stay on the 2nd floor. This is a very tragic accident, and we need all the help we can get. Right now the main road going to our new Walmart is completely destroyed and will be back up and running in about 9 months, hopefully. Only the biggest downfall of all is that the bridge which lets people get in and out of town has... wait for it... COLLAPSED!!! It is broken, demolished and just in pieces, so know no one can leave and no one can come in. FEMA is supposed to be coming soon to help us restore our lovely town. Please help Weserville get back on its feet!!!! <3

TOUGH JOB MARKET FOR TEENS

Teens Face Toughest Job Market on Record
Written by: Annalyn Kurtz on March 14, 2014
Published by: CNN Money


There was a study made by the Brookings Institution which concluded that job opportunities for teenagers and people in their early twenties are going down.  In the 100 largest metro areas only 1 in 6 young people are employed. Most teenagers are still in school, either enrolled in high school or college. But the study said that reason did not explain why so many young people were unemployed. There was a measure in the job market that shows about 1.8 million teenagers in the top metropolitan areas are "underutilized". Well what does that mean? Underutilized means that they are either looking for a job, would like to work but aren't looking, or they have a part-time job and want to work full-time. A writer of the study expressed her opinion that underutilization would not have spiked if students were happy in school and not wanting to work. In the study it is shown that teenagers from high-income families are more likely to get a job, and those from low-income families, or high school dropouts were denied the chance of employment. High school is a big step in one's life, because from that point on were are suppose to be ready to be on our own and go to college and get a job. However, now it is obvious that attending high school is not nearly enough preparation for students to get a job. The study report blames the education system for the decline in jobs for teens. It says that high school should better prepare for college course work and employment.

When I'm in school I really don't care about Math or History  or Theology or Science or English or learning a foreign language because that is not stuff I'm going to need to know for life. I don't need to know how to graph a point or find the surface area of a prism. I really don't need History because that's all in the past. School is not preparing us for real life. Classes like economics, life skills, and classes that teach us everyday skills. So I think school needs to focus on educating us in things that we really need to know to be able to survive in the future. How to manage our money, and run a household, things like that are important. Maybe if high school did a better job educating us in things that we really need, rather than useless things that waste time, we might be able to get a job. We might be able to go to college and know how to live once we graduate. Math is going to do me any good when I'm 80, so I don't know why it matters now.

@TipsForJesus

Anonymous Restaurant Tipper's Generosity Is Spreading!

Written by Meera Dolasia on February 22, 2014 

Published by DOGO Media, Inc. 

@TipsForJesus is not so much about economics, but I found it to be very interesting and it does have to do with money. There is an anonymous person going around making very very generous tips to waiters around the country. It began in Michigan and now has spread all the way from Hawaii to New York. This person gives incredible tips such as $1000, $3000, $4000, $5000, etc. In totally they have given about $130,000 away in tips. Some are convinced that the mysterious giver is Jack Selby, PayPal Vice President, but that was not confirmed and when asked to speak, he demands to remain anonymous. He stamps the receipts with the twitter handle of @tipsforjesus so the waiters know that it is not a typo. This generous tip phenomena has spread across America, which was his goal. He is hoping that those who are also wealthy enough will donate generously hoping to change someone's life. 

This generous tipper has a motto, which is "Doing the Lord's work, just one tip at a time." He is really spreading the Lord's work, not just in money, but showing that he wants to do good. These events are almost like they are out of the movie Pay it Forward, where one good deed turns into a chain reaction that spreads across the country. This is absolutely an amazing story because not only does this person have a lot of money he has a lot of heart. He is also very humble because even after all this media and press he still doesn't want to be known. He wants to keep his identity on the down low and keep giving generous tips. Who knows why he is doing it, but he is definitely making an impression. 

THIS WEEK IN WESERVILLE.

Exciting things are happening in this little happening town. We have broken ground on our new Wal-Mart, and will be adding roads soon to complete this project. Hoping everything goes off without a hitch.
This week was all about taxes. We studied all the bases and the structures of the tax system. And the best way to study taxes was to put them to the test. So Weserville collected taxes this week. We experimented with proportional, progressive and regressive tax collection. We were each given a certain amount of money some had $25,000 and some only had $6,000 and then we paid taxes. Half had to pay taxes using the proportional system where everyone pays the same percentage. Half paid taxes using the progressive system where the higher income people have to pay a higher percentage then the low income people. And then to test the final tax structure we took people who had already paid both tax systems to pay the regressive tax system. With this collection the low income people are forced to pay a higher wage, and the high income people pay a lower percentage. I think this is the most unfair tax system used. So now that we have collected taxes we no longer have $0 and are on our way to a bigger and brighter future.
We also had a test on Thursday and if our class gets a higher percentage than the other class then we get milk and cookies!! GO COOKIES!!

ONLINE DATING IS TOTALLY SAFE.

The Financial Risks of Online Dating
Written By: Gail Buckner
Date: February 20, 2014
Published By: FOXBusiness


ABSOLUTELY FALSE! There are so many risks to online dating, and not just the one that ends up getting your heart broken. There have been many people who have run into financial trouble when choosing to date online. Once they fall madly in love with someone over the internet they feel like they can trust them with anything, maybe even there own banking account information. DON'T FALL FOR IT! Over the internet you could be talking to anyone. A guy might think he is talking to a beautiful girl, when in reality he could be chatting up a man. You just don't know. Over the past couple years people have chosen to hide their true identity on the internet, and has caused many problems for the one who really feel in love. There is a strong chance that the person on the other side of the computer could be an identity thief or someone just looking for trouble. They may use lines like they are in medical trouble or really need help paying off some debt. Don't fall for it, be smarter. Keep your money your until you have met the person and know you can trust them.
I really believe that this is an issue in life. Some people just get totally blinded by love and can't blurt out all their personal information without even thinking. I know there was an episode of Catfish where this man gave her banking information to a women he was in love with over the internet, and in the end it did not go well for him. The woman was not who she claimed to be, and he was out thousands of dollars. There are very high risks taken when deciding to join a dating website. I'm not saying don't do it, I'm just saying be careful. You don't want to be left with no money, and all alone because you leaked personal information to someone you "trusted". Be careful the internet is a dangerous place.

MORE JOB OPENINGS DUE TO MORE QUITS

     More confident, people are quitting jobs: Why that may be bad
        Written by: John W. Schoen on February 11, 2014
        Published: CNBC Economy


FACT! People have started to quit there jobs thinking that they can find something else better out there. And because of all these people leaving, there are now more job openings for others. Months ago people wouldn't even think about quitting their job due to the government shutdown and the unemployment rate, but now it's what they do. They say that the rise in quits had been because of the rise in job openings. Which is kind of funny considering that when a person quits...BOOM... another job opening. Problems with this change is that the employers are having trouble finding qualified candidates to fill the skilled positions. This had left them with the option to raise the wages to fill those higher positions. Everyday more people are able to find jobs in the low-paying industries where they are able to work and have a low-wage. Since this low-paying jobs are growing and growing more people are able to find work. However, the growth of this low-wage jobs won't really help to boost the economy. Employers need to be able to fill the high-paying positions before the low-paying positions.
It is good that more jobs are opening up for those who really need them. But is it really right for people to just randomly quit their job thinking they can find something better. What if they can't? Then they are left with no job, and probably feel stupid for quitting. They also may be taking away the opportunity of someone who really needs a job at the moment. They thought they were better, that they could do better. And sometimes you have to take a chance. But is the risk really worth it? Be absolutely sure that you will get a better job before you up and quit the decent job you already have.

WILL PEOPLE WORK LESS UNDER OBAMACARE?

Obamacare May Prompt People to Work Less
      Writen by Tami Luhby on February 5, 2014
      Published: CNN Money
Who Will Work Less Under Obamacare
      Written by Tami Luhby February 6, 2014
      Published: CNN Money

THIS IS FACT! It is known that the more you earn, the less assistance you will receive. Some people have chosen to work less so they can still receive Medical subsidies under Obamacare, and are not left without healthcare. It is shown that in the future years there will be less workers working. Jobs will not be lost, but people will shorten their hours so they can have more care.
It's hard to agree that with less work they are able to receive more care, that doesn't seem right to me. It makes more sense that the people who work hard and work more should be more covered under Obamacare. The people who work more probably have a better chance of getting hurt and need healthcare. Those who don't work as much don't need more. This is the way i see it. I think this rule needs to change.

FIRST BLOG EVER!!!!!!

"BLOG BLOG BLOG BLOG...BLOG BLOG BLOG BLOG... ALL YOU NEED IS BLOG!"

First time ever blogging, it's gonna be an interesting couple of months. I'm not a reader or a writer. I hope everyone has a fantabulous week!!!!! <3