In this new weekly blog post, the Curriculum team will highlight Just One Resource from our NGPF collection that maybe doesn't get the attention it deserves. Use it this week or bookmark it for later.

[The Resource]  ANALYZE: Change a Bad Financial Habit

The Gist: Do you ever buy that daily coffee and think, "It's just for today, or this week!", but it ends up being a habitual expense? Preview the revamped Financial Pitfalls unit, as this NEW behavioral finance activity digs deeply into how powerful habits are and how exactly we can interrupt these behaviors to create healthier, stronger habits.

The Best Parts:

• Students are must reflect critically, identify one bad financial habit that they want to eliminate, and investigate the origins of their habit.
• In this video that students will watch, Charles Duhigg goes over the details about the Cue, Routine, and Reward for his habit of eating a cookie every day at 3:00pm as an example -- yum!
• After learning about the concept of habitual change, students will APPLY Duhigg's theory to their own lives and track their financial behavior over the course of 7 days.
• This activity could be extended to helping students with various aspects of their life where they also want to improve!

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This new activity will be a part of our new Financial Pitfalls unit -- stay tuned for the Unit 8 revamp that will be released this Thursday!

About the Author

Abby Alcala

After graduating with a statistics major at UC Davis, Abby set off to Massachusetts to teach algebra 1 and geometry and enjoyed working with the curious and creative minds of high school students. She is passionate about helping students recognize and develop their strengths and leadership skills. She was instrumental in taking the high school cheer team to regional competitions, as well as elevating school spirit and pride through creating unity amongst the study body and educators. Back in the Bay Area, Abby is excited to work with other educators to build and share content to enhance the teaching experience in applied math and finance.