Workbook Introduction

What is this book all about?

Financial literacy is widely agreed to be a very important topic in our society. There are thousands of well-intentioned teachers trying their best to teach their students fundamental financial skills to help them live less stressful, more fulfilling lives.

Unfortunately, financial literacy is a particularly challenging skill to teach. This is because financial literacy requires a person to be able to foresee future problems, anticipate future needs, analyze complex decisions, and to problem solve and trouble shoot an incredible array of problems. The prospect of teaching such a dynamic and varied skillset in the context of a classroom is so daunting that many have simply given up and concluded that it is not possible to teach such critical thinking skills in a classroom.

I am on a personal mission to bring financial literacy to the people and classrooms of the world. I wrote this book for all individuals and teachers who are interested in learning or teaching this most complex and challenging skill.

What is this workbook for?

This book is one component of the Midas Financial Classroom Toolbox. The Toolbox contains four items that are designed to teach comprehensive financial literacy.

It is not enough to know financial words or be able to do a few calculations. To be financially literate, a person must have four things: Knowledge, Math Skills, Critical Thinking, and Experience.

Knowledge is basic terminology and rules of finance. This is more than just definitions – it is an understanding of the fundamental theories, concepts, purposes, and objectives of financial decisions and financial products.

Math skills refer to the ability to analyze a problem or situation mathematically to determine the costs and benefits. I have identified 9 Essential Financial Skills that every financially literate person should be able to solve, and provided easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions on how to perform these calculations.

Critical thinking is the ability to make effective decisions by using knowledge and skills to identify an optimal solution to a financial situation. Critical thinking is the most difficult component of financial literacy, as it incorporates both knowledge and skill.

Experience has been demonstrated repeatedly, in both practical life and in financial research, to be the best teacher of financial literacy.

How to use this workbook:

This workbook teaches the Math Skills component of financial literacy. To use it, do the following:

Step 1. Study the step-by-step instructions on how to perform each essential financial skill.

Step 2. Review examples of each skill being performed.

Step 3. Try a few practice problems.

Step 4. Review your work on the practice problems with the solutions at the end of the chapter.

Step 5. Repeat practice problems and solution checks until you can complete the skill perfectly every time!

Want more?

If you want access to the accompanying textbook, lectures, course module, and game to obtain knowledge, critical thinking, and experience components of financial literacy, please visit midasclassroom.com!