Module 1.3.1: Financial priorities self-assessment activity

In this activity, you will identify your financial priorities by writing a short paragraph, and then evaluating your paragraph against a rubric.

For the activity to offer maximum benefit, you should not scroll down to view the rubric until after you have written your paragraph.

What are your financial priorities?

Write your paragraph in an outside area, such as Microsoft Word or handwritten on actual paper. Think about the following things when identifying your priorities:

Short-term:
Tracking income and expenses
Planning
Debt and interest rates

Medium-term:
Having a reliable car (if necessary)
Learning to make better financial decisions
Having appropriate insurance
Saving money

Long-term:
Being financially secure
Increasing income (not necessarily by working more hours!)
Providing for financial security of children (if applicable)
Buying a house (possibly)
After basic needs are fulfilled, saving for retirement
Investing
Contributing time and/or money to charity work or proselytism

Be specific about your financial desires (e.g., use dollar figures sometimes).

After you are finished, scroll down to the rubric (below) and evaluate your paragraph.

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RUBRIC FOR FINANCIAL PRIORITIES ACTIVITY

Budgeting was identified
Yes (2 points)
Sort of (1 point)
No (No points)

Financial priorities include reducing debt if present
Yes or not applicable (2 points)
Somewhat (1 point)
No (No points)

If debt is present, reducing high-interest debt first was prioritized
Yes or not applicable (2 points)
Somewhat (1 point)
No (No points)

Saving money for the future was identified
Yes (2 points)
Somewhat (1 point)
No (No points)

All three types of goals (short-term, medium-term, long-term) were included:
Yes, all three types (6 points)
Just two types (4 points)
Just one type (2 points)
None of my goals imply any timeframes (No points)

Having good health insurance (equivalent of HealthCare.gov Silver Plan or above) was identified
Yes or not applicable due to already having it (3 points)
Health insurance was identified but no specifics (2 points)
No, but other insurance was identified (1 point)
No, no insurance was mentioned (No points)

FOR THE FOLLOWING 8 ITEMS:
Increasing income, children’s college fund, financial freedom, retirement saving, investing, buying a house, making better financial decisions, charity work
Add one point for each that was present (up to 8 points)
Then, if these aren’t applicable to your desires, add 1 point each: children’s college fund, buying a house, charity work (up to 3 points)
Total should not exceed 8 points

Priorities were specific and measurable:
Yes, at least 3 times, specific, measurable goals were identified (5 points)
Only once or twice were specific, measurable goals identified (3 points)
No goals were specific or measurable (No points)

WHAT IS YOUR TOTAL SCORE?

Maximum is 30 points
25 points or above is good
If you have 20 points or below, this course may be especially useful to you.

Now that you’ve seen the rubric, it might be useful to go back and revise your priorities paragraph. You might then want to post it on your refrigerator or make it your computer or smartphone background. This might help you keep your financial goals in mind.

By Richard Thripp